HEALTH + WELLNESS to toe without any sense of rushing from one area to the next. I emerged warm, slightly sleepy, and with that wonderful heaviness in the limbs that makes returning to a lounger seem the only sensible course of action.
Fortunately, Utopia is designed for exactly that.
A spa break here doesn’ t just encourage you to make the facilities part of your treatment rather than simply something to squeeze in beforehand, it makes it easy to actually do so. Another swim, more time in the heat and zen time in the relaxation room doing very little, all extended the effects of the massage well beyond the treatment room. For guests staying on a dedicated spa break, access to Utopia is included, making it possible to return to the pools throughout the stay rather than watching the clock through a tightly allocated spa session.
Eventually, robes had to be swapped for something more appropriate for dinner, although even this is easy as you can wear them around the building to move from spa to bedroom.
Our abode for the night was the Mulberry suite, which continued the country-house feel upstairs and gave us a comfortable place to retreat between spa and dinner. That is where the overnight element at Rowhill earns its keep. There is no journey home after several hours in the spa, no need to get straight back to reality and no need to bring the day to an abrupt halt. Instead, there is time for a bath, replenishing tea, a change for dinner and a short walk back downstairs to RG’ s, the hotel’ s signature restaurant.
We had timed our stay perfectly for the new menu launch, meaning we had the choice of brand-new seasonal dishes, all explained with enthusiasm by Jade who herself had sampled them just that week.
Our dinner began with scorched cured mackerel, its oily richness balanced by heritage tomato and a beautifully clear tomato and wakame seaweed consommé finished with basil oil. It was fresh, saline and light enough to leave plenty of room for another course. My English watercress and Kentish pear velouté worked in a different direction- silky and gently peppery with sweetness from the pear. Watercress oil intensified the green freshness while a whipped nugget of blue cheese and a delicate walnut crostini added salt, crunch and richness.
For mains, Mr R opted for the 10oz sirloin which came with charred hispi cabbage, colcannon mash, carrot purée, roasted cherry tomatoes and a deeply savoury bone marrow jus. It was generous, comforting cooking, particularly once that jus found its way into the mash.
But, it was the St George’ s chicken breast that demonstrated some of the kitchen’ s finer attention to detail. The chicken, which was perfectly seasoned and reshaped, was served with truffled pomme purée, chicken-fat-glazed carrots and chicken jus, but perched above was a thin shard of confited and pressed chicken skin, fried until perfectly crisp. A small addition but precisely the sort of extra touch that turns familiar into memorable.
Desserts continued in equally accomplished fashion. The Jaffa Cake Brownie brought together rich dark chocolate brownie, joconde sponge, orange jelly and dark chocolate crémeux with orchard orange ice cream, delivering chocolate and citrus in several different textures rather than simply recreating its namesake.
Mr R’ s Textures of Kentish Apple was the fresher finish: apple compote with crème diplomat, sticky ginger sponge, oat crumble and vanilla bean ice cream, with cinnamon and ginger giving the fruit a gentle autumnal warmth.
Throughout dinner, Jade looked after us with warmth and an instinctive eye for timing, while Olivia, the hotel’ s events manager, deserves equal mention for the seamless attention to detail across our stay. Good spa hotels need that service element more than most. Once you have spent an afternoon deliberately slowing everything down, the last thing you want is logistics, waiting around or having to ask twice.
Rowhill Grange most certainly understands that the success of a spa break extends beyond the treatment room. Our Mulberry bedroom gave us somewhere comfortable to retreat, aided by dual-aspect views of the grounds and a large freestanding tub. RG’ s turns an evening into more of an occasion, while thoughtful service keeps everything quietly moving in the background.
Utopia, however, particularly the skilled hot stone massage by Bronti, remains the reason I would return. Its Roman-inspired pools and subterranean atmosphere make spending several hours doing remarkably little feel entirely justified, while that hot stone massage delivered exactly the combination I wanted- enough therapeutic work to ease stubborn muscular tension, wrapped within 70 minutes of genuine relaxation.
Dinner, a comfortable bed and excellent service simply meant I didn’ t have to leave Utopia behind too quickly.
alexanderhotels. co. uk / rowhill-grange rowhillgrange www. insidekent. co. uk • 155