It’s not often we allow another county to charm us unless for good reason – and luckily for Derbyshire, Casa Hotel was that reason.
Found in the town of Chesterfield just a short drive outside of South Yorkshire and (more impressively) close by to the Peak District, Casa Hotel is a pretty unassuming place – sitting on the edge of the A61. But despite this, we deemed it worth our time, thanks to its location not only bang next to Chesterfield’s town centre, but also its incredibly short drive to the very closeby Peak District (namely the famous Chatsworth Estate). Not that we needed to actually leave.
Upon waltzing through the hotel’s brass-clad double doors, we were greeted with not only friendly faces, but high-end-looking art dotted around the swish lobby – giving us a tiny glimpse at the luxe vibe we could expect from our room (which just so happened to be the hotel’s incredible Jacuzzi Sauna Suite. I know, fancy huh?).
Now, when a little spa night is involved, any normal person would be pretty chuffed already – but upon stepping into our room, we were extra buzzing to see the sheer size of the luxurious suite. Put it this way, this was no pokey ’boutique’ bedroom. This suite was probably double the size of my two-up-two-down’s total square footage – and I really wish I was kidding.
Spacious and stylish with intimate lighting, the suite really was a little home away from home – one which we decided in the first ten minutes we were going to spend as much time in as possible to get the full experience, starting with getting the speedos out for a bubble away in the hot tub.
There is where you realise location really doesn’t matter. Between the comfy room, giant TV, fully stocked mini-bar and hot tub/ sauna combo, we had everything we needed to enjoy our laid-back Friday afternoon and then some – particularly when you factor in that Casa is home to not one, but two restaurants and bars. What is the outside world, again?
Our choice for the evening was the laid-back but super swanky Barça Bar, a place that brings the cosmopolitan spirit and delicious grub of Barcelona (in the form of Spain’s famous tapas dining style) to Costa Del Chesterfield. Oh, and cocktails. Plenty of cocktails. With a Friday 2-4-1 offer that quite simply, I couldn’t resist. I even went extra boujee and knocked back a shameful number of Pornstar Martinis – but when it’s on offer, can you really blame me?
To soak up the ample Martinis, we ordered a range of tasty dishes from the Barça Bar dining menu – a classic menu that’s been perfectly created with tons of crowd pleasers – from Spanish meatballs and calamari to potatos bravas and succulent red wine chicken thighs.
After much deliberation, we agreed on the red wine chicken thighs, Pan con Tomato (sourdough covered in marinated tomatoes, shallots and garlic salsa), pancetta and manchego croquetas, pan-seared scallops and pork and fennel meatballs – resulting in a pretty filling selection to share between two. Between the fluffy croquetas and the saucy meatballs, I was pretty stuffed, but I couldn’t help but keep stuffing my face with the delicious Pan con Tomato, which if you’re a fan of Bruschetta, you’ll likely appreciate.
And I know they say not to swim on a full tummy, but when there’s a hot tub literally on the balcony of your room, what is one to do? After dinner, we got straight back into the swimmers (which had been drying on a heated towel rack while we got fed and watered) and dived back in, before enjoying a pre-bedtime session in the room’s private sauna.
The evening was complete with a tranquil snooze in the suite’s huge Queen-sized bed, which put our mediocre King-size to shame and had us kicking each other’s ankles all night when we got home the next evening. If there’s one word that comes to mind about our stay at Casa, it would be spoiled.
Casa Hotel can be found in Chesterfield, and is ideally located for exploring nearby attractions such as Bakewell, the Chatsworth Estate and Hardwick Hall.
To find out more or book a stay, head to the website here.
[Featured image: Casa Hotels]
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