I recently graduated from my Masters degree at the University of Winchester. My graduation ceremony was at 10:30am on the Thursday morning. It’s a 3 hour drive from home, so this means that we had to go down the night before. When looking at hotels, I found that the majority of hotels in Winchester city centre were really expensive. This is to be expected, with it being a very expensive city. So, I had a look a bit further out and found the Marwell Hotel.

Marwell Hotel

Located next to Marwell Zoo, Marwell Hotel is situated in Colden Common which is just 7.5 miles outside of Winchester city centre. The hotel was built in 1989 with the architect taking inspiration from African treetops. The result was a colonial safari lodge in Hampshire. The hotel is like nowhere I have stayed before, with the 68 bedrooms split between four lodges. You can tell that the hotel has been inspired by African treetops and wildlife. I knew that this was going to be a good place to stay as my friend actually chose to stay there for her wedding night, so we booked two rooms.

The facilities

Marwell Hotel also has a leisure club which guests are able to use free of charge. This features a swimming pool, sauna, a spa pool and running machines. While I was down there I didn’t use the leisure club. This was due to not wanting to spoil my hair before graduation. However, had I have been there for any other reason I would have taken full advantage. I would have especially liked to have a swim before I went to bed.

The hotel also has conference rooms which are available for meetings and events and they also offer space for weddings. I think this hotel would be a beautiful setting for a wedding. Even if you don’t get married there, they have a Bridal Suite available. This is what my friend stayed in and she loved it.

Standard Rooms

My parents and I both stayed in Standard Rooms. The cost of the two rooms was £115 for one night. Which means that we got two rooms for less than the cost of one in central Winchester. They were placed in romo 305, while I was a bit further away in 107. All of the rooms were on the ground floor making them completely accessible.

Both of our rooms were different. My parents’ room had a standard double bed and a set of bunk beds; whereas mine just had a queen bed. Although I have a double bed to myself every night, a hotel bed always feels a bit more special. Even more so when you have a bigger one!

I was really pleased to find that the bathroom had good sized bath, which was excellent for my pre-graduation pamper. There was also a shower over the bath; it’s good to have a choice between the two. The bathroom was fully stocked with toiletries so I had everything I needed for a nice, relaxing bath.

My room had a door connecting it to the room next door, which is great if you are a family and need two adjoining rooms. Unfortunately, the person in the room next door to me was a very loud snorer. The noise kept me awake for most of the night and woke me up early in the morning when I did get to sleep. I think that I could hear it more through the door.

Food and drink

On the Wednesday night, we were knackered after such a long journey. Although there are a couple of pubs nearby, we chose to stay in the hotel. We headed down to the bar which serves a number of different dishes including curry and sandwiches. I wasn’t hungry after snacking in the car, bit my parents were. They had a gammon sandwich and a beef sandwich which came with vegetable crisps and salad. Then they also had a side of fries and a side of triple cooked chips between them. They both thoroughly enjoyed their food and it was reasonably priced too.

In the morning, breakfast starts at 6am. As we had to be up and out super early, I was down in the restaurant for 6:45am. I’m not big on breakfast when it’s that early, so I only managed a glass of apple juice and a couple of slices of marmite on toast. However, there was a hot buffet with all the usual breakfast items which my dad had. There was also a great selection of cereal, yoghurt, fruit and juices. Plus tea and coffee. Had it have been a bit later in the morning, I’m sure I would have enjoyed some scrambled egg and bacon!