There's only one thing better than a lovely weekend away in a lovely hotel and that's a lovely weekend away that someone else has paid for! The hotel is question is Barceló Shrigley Hall Hotel, Golf & Country Club a 19th century country house, very much in a 18th century style and décor to match. Its 20 miles south of Manchester but extremely peaceful and quiet. It's also a great place to explore the Peak District from, but also to check out the hustle and bustle as well as a good stop off point for Alton Towers. It was a family members 90th birthday and to celebrate a family reunion took place here. As people were coming from Finland, Dublin, ...  Read the complete review

One of the so called perks in my line of work is that the business I work for occasionally decides that now is a good time to bring staff together in a bonding and self development session away from the workplace. While the benefits of such breaks for the workforce are usually short lived, it does give me the opportunity every year or two to enjoy the hospitality of hotels and there are some poor ones out there! One of the better ones I have visited is the excellent Shrigley Hall Hotel, located between Stockport and Macclesfield in a huge estate on the edge of the Peak District National Park. So, why do I consider it a better hotel than ...  Read the complete review