Our Highlights From 2023
2023 is well and truly wrapped up – and what a year it was! At Careys Manor Hotel, we saw some exciting new launches, hosted some fantastic guests and won some amazing awards.
Here’s to more of the same in 2024!
Plant Power Spa Break
We kicked off the new year with an enchanting escape opportunity – the Plant Power Spa Break, just in time for Veganuary. With a four-hour session in the hydrotherapy suite, followed by a 60-minute Plant Power Face & Back Rejuvenation treatment, beginning with an anti-stress massage and finishing off with a facial using the remarkable power of the vegan Eminence Stone Crop range, which has super beautifying potency. Once suitably revitalised, head over to our flagship restaurant Cambium, or our Thai restaurant Zen Garden for a delicious vegan dinner. Then finish your day with a blissful night’s sleep in one of our beautiful bedrooms.
The Neigh Bar
Summer 2023 got off to an exciting start with the launch of The Neigh Bar – our outdoor dining experience, perfect for refreshing cocktails and grazing with friends in the summer sun. Supporting a multitude of local Hampshire producers, the menu consisted of seasonal, regional produce, with flat breads baked fresh in the onsite Roccbox and smaller plates like tandoori cauliflower with pickled cucumber and pumpkin seed dukkah, grilled Isle of Wight aubergines with miso, sesame and lime, and Brixham brown crab perfect for sharing. We can’t wait to reopen in Spring 2024.
‘Sweet As Honey’ Afternoon Tea
Following our Breakfast Chef Ben’s keen interest and success in beekeeping, we decided to share our sweet nectar, which is made and harvested on-site, with a brand new afternoon tea menu. Creatively incorporating the highest-quality natural honey, the selection of seasonal cakes and pastries on offer included lavender and honey macarons, a honey and almond tart and honeycomb choux buns. Available exclusively for summer, our other seasonal afternoon tea menus can be viewed here.
‘Moments for Me’ Menopause Spa Day
In the autumn, to align with World Menopause Month in October, we launched a brand new Menopause Spa Day at SenSpa, working in collaboration with The Menopause Boutique. This unique spa experience is completely tailored to help alleviate some of the known symptoms of the menopause, offering women relief, relaxation and complete comfort, with access to our hydrotherapy suite, a 60-minute menopause massage, and a refreshing two-course lunch at Zen Garden.
Spa Maintenance Week
November saw the closure of our hydrotherapy suite for the very first time since opening in 2004! After 19 years the spa underwent some essential maintenance work, along with a new sauna, fresh tiles and a stunning update to the feature staircase. During the closure, we launched a Limited Edition ‘Unwind & Day’ Day package, which included access to our leisure facilities for a full day of relaxation, as well as a 2-course meal at Zen Garden and a 30-minute treatment of choice, from a list of exceptional massages and facials.
Birchall Tea Collaboration
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In celebration of The King’s Coronation, we partnered with Birchall Tea on Instagram to give one lucky winner the chance to win a tea hamper worth £160 plus a full Afternoon Tea and a one-night stay for two at Careys Manor. A tea-rrific competition!
Their Nibs Collaboration
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Later in the year, we partnered with luxury pyjama brand Their Nibs to offer the ultimate sleepover and countryside escape in the New Forest, promoting our new Hide & Sleep package. Hosted on Instagram, the competition offered a lucky winner an overnight stay for two in one of our beautiful Oakwood Garden rooms with Prosecco on arrival, dinner in on of our three restaurants, a restorative breakfast and a £30 spa voucher to spend at the award-winning SenSpa, PLUS two beautiful sets of stylish pyjamas from Their Nibs.
Lymington Seafood Festival Silent Auction
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In June, we donated an Afternoon Delight Spa Day for Two in support of our local hospice, Oakhaven Hospice Lymington, to the Lymington Seafood Festival’s Silent Auction.
Oakhaven has been a part of the New Forest Community for over 30 years, supporting individuals and families facing end of life. Their ethos is to provide individualised care and support, from first diagnosis through their wellbeing services, to end of life care and in bereavement through counselling and support groups. They are so much more than their buildings; Oakhaven’s community teams reach out across the area, every day there are 300 hospice beds created in homes allowing patients to be supported in familiar surroundings with their loved ones by their sides.
Awards
- Gold for ‘Spa & Wellbeing Experience of the Year’ – Beautiful South Awards 2023
- Silver for ‘Large Hotel of the Year’ Beautiful South Awards 2023
- AA Best UK Spa Award 2023
- The Simpson Hilder Associates Award for Personal Achievement – Managing Director, James Hiley-Jones – New Forest Brilliance in Business Awards 2023
- Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice 2023
- Bronze in Body Care (Rinse Off) for SenSpa Relaxing Body Wash – Free From Skincare Awards 2023
- Finalist ‘Best Hotel (30+ rooms)’ – Muddy Stilettos Hampshire & Isle of Wight Awards 2023
- Finalist ‘Best Day Spa’ – Muddy Stilettos Hampshire & Isle of Wight Awards 2023
- Beauty Bible Awards – Body Wash – Bronze Winner & Beauty Steal 2023
- The New Forest UK Green Leaf Tourism Scheme – Gold 2023
What a year it’s been for us! We have welcomed so many wonderful guests on their break in the New Forest, and are thrilled to have retained our position as one of the best hotels and spas in Hampshire. We can’t wait to welcome our guests back in 2024, along with some new faces coming to explore the beautiful New Forest. Our Hampshire hotel restaurants will be cooking up exciting new seasonal dishes and at SenSpa, keep an eye out for relaxing new treatments and spa day deals. The New Forest is calling in 2024…
