New Year’s Stay at MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel Chester

Happy New Year, kittens! Welcome to my first blog post of 2017 – I am so looking forward to the rest of the year and seeing where ’17 takes me. Speaking of which, I am kicking off my first update of the year with a combination of both the New Year festivities and travel… Here’s what I got up to for New Year’s Eve 2016;  a stay in a beautiful historical North West city at the 4 Star MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel Chester.

The City of Chester

The location of the MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel Chester could not be better for exploring beautiful Chester. It is right in the heart of the historic City of Chester, situated in the famous City Walls and near the Eastgate Clock Tower, said to be the second most photographed clock in England. When arriving, we walked 10 minutes from the train station straight to the city centre, and the hotel was right in the middle of everything!

As a city, Chester is absolutely beautiful and there is tons of stuff to do. It is steeped in history – town scattered with Roman archaeology and stunning black and white Tudor buildings – and at this time of year is totally festive, too. Think historical buildings, cobbled streets and plenty of fairy lights! We took ourselves on a mini tour along the walls of the city, down by the waterfront, along the main shopping streets, across the Roman amphitheatre and gardens, heading back to the landmark clock tower right next to the hotel.

Afternoon Tea

After an explore around Chester we headed back to the hotel for a spot of Afternoon Tea. We treated this as our lunch and having travelled there that morning we were pretty peckish! Welcome with a pot of tea (well, an Americano for Jonathan!) and it was the lovely treat after a chilly train journey.

We were offered a choice of finger sandwiches and the hotel were very considerate in asking for our preferences on fillings. Our cake stand arrived looking very impressive, with a selection of fruit cakes, custard tarts, sandwiches and of course – scones! The scones were my favourite, served with clotted cream and individual pots of jam; I am sure they were homemade. It’s making my mouth water just thinking about it…

The Room

Our room at the MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel Chester was lovely and clean with plenty of old fashioned charm (something to be expected from a hotel opening way back in 1650 – although I must assure you it has been updated since then, haha!). We stayed in a double room which had a very comfortable bed, a dressing table, a drinks station and all the other facilities you would need (including a hairdryer).

The bathroom was huge – hard to tell in my pictures – but it was so spacious with mini toiletries included. Who else loves hotel minis? The bath was my favourite part, and I had a lovely relaxing time chilling out with a glass of process and a Lush bath bomb, before getting ready for our dinner in the Hotel restaurant…

1650 Restaurant

The MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel Chester’s restaurant 1650 is named after their opening date, but it’s décor certainly reflects a way more modern aesthetic! It prides itself on using fresh food and quality ingredients, although if you’re passing Chester and not quite peckish enough, they also offer hand crafted 2-4-1 cocktails every evening between 5-7pm, which is a pretty good deal. We went for a bottle of wine from their extensive list, although unfortunately the bottle we wanted wasn’t available. However, the restaurant did recommend a new one (although we ended up paying a little more than we bargained for it!).

Jonathan and I both indulged in a starter and a main course – we aimed for three courses but were way too satisfied after our main meals to squeeze in dessert! Jonathan started with Calamari (£16.50) which was flavoured lightly with pepper and served on a bed of lettuce; this was delicious! I went for a light starter of Hummus and Pitta; the pitta was warmed through slightly and served with a selection of salad veg for dipping in. The carrots reminded me of a homemade packed lunch which I found very comforting.

The 1650 Restaurant in Chester is very traditional and serves comfort food we all know and love, so Jonathan and I made the most of it and chose two of our guilty pleasure dishes as our main courses; fish and chips (£13.50) and steak and chips (the rib eye is £23). Both of these prices were very reasonable and the meals were delicious, especially the triple cooked hand cut chips. Yum! Our favourite was the steak, which was cooked exactly to our liking and was a real treat.

Our Overnight Stay

After our meal, we headed into Chester for a night out, trying out a few more drinks and ending up at The Botanist for cocktails. The MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel really is in the ideal location and for me this was the main selling point – you can walk anywhere you want to in Chester and it’s almost all right on your doorstep… Just close enough for you to stagger back to your room on the cobbled streets without having to take your heels off!

Once back to the room, Jonathan and I both had a good night’s sleep. We were in room 307 which faced an inside courtyard and we heard no outside noise at all, only stirring in the morning as the guests started to make their way to breakfast.

Breakfast

Guests at the MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel Chester can opt for various breakfast packages and breakfast is served from 7.30 – 9.30am during the week. We headed down at 8.30am for our nibbles although I think we might have been a bit confused with our package; we were expecting a full English breakfast – or a cooked option – although we were told we were only qualified for the complimentary option.

After a big dinner the night before though, this was totally fine with us and we chose from their continental selection of what was left of pastries and cereal (although I do have to admit the fruit, juices and croissants had been somewhat ransacked by the other guests at that time!).

Experience

Over all, we had a lovely experience with the friendly staff for our New Year’s Stay at MacDonald New Blossoms Hotel Chester. Everyone we encountered with totally welcoming, the food was hearty and we had a peaceful night’s sleep. The best part, however, is the location – it’s right on Chester’s doorstep and the perfect place for a romantic weekend away.