My wife selected Eardisland Manor house for our group of 17 to celebrate a special birthday over a long weekend. Our first impression on arrival was "Wow". The house and grounds are beautiful and as we pulled onto the driveway the anticipation built.
The exploration of the house was an adventure in itself as we toured a grand collection of ground floor rooms: huge well-equipped kitchen; dining and reception rooms, before going on to explore the staircases, landings and bedrooms. The house was clean and beautifully decorated and furnished with a mix of modern and traditional styles. The bedrooms ranged from the grand to the simple but again the mix of traditional and elegant modern facilities gave a feeling of comfort, good taste and quality.
Outside the gardens are spacious, pleasant and well kept. Sunny weather ensured we made good use of terrace furniture to enjoy breakfasts, BBQs and general social gathering along with the well-equipped games/recreation barn and hot-tub.
Eardisland itself was delightful, with "picture-postcard" village views of river, bridges and cottages along with church, dovecote/museum and other country village features. There are two pubs opposite the Manor house, but we had no need to try them as we were so comfortable and had ensured that we were well supplied in the house.
We had a walk with our OS Map, towards Shobdon - a little longer than expected due to some unclear footpath diversions! However, the walk was enjoyable, the pub at Shobdon was most welcoming, setting us up for the return walk via the nearby busy and interesting airfield.
Back in the house, the variety of lounge/sitting rooms meant that our group of young adults and the older generation could mix in large or small groups as appropriate at various times.
The beds were soooo comfortable with good quality bedlinen. Bathrooms had thick fluffy towels and were thoughtfully equipped with toiletries. All of our group were as impressed with the house, facilities, garden and Eardisland village as we were.
A couple of minor things. The hot-tub was initially out of action due to a leak, but that was quickly attended to by the on-call house manager who was brilliant and clearly loves the house as much as her guests do. The grand piano was out of tune which was a shame as we had a pianist in our party eager to try it.
This was a special occasion for me and the Manor House provided an exceptional setting for it. All the elements needed for a perfect weekend.