After just one night away at Aberdeen’s Macdonald Norwood Hall Hotel, my two friends and I felt refreshed and as if we had been somewhere far-removed from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.
We don’t often find time to all get together, so a luxury shopping trip was definitely right up our street.
We were just three miles from Union Street and its bustling crowds of Christmas shoppers, but Norwood Hall – dubbed the country house in the city – feels like you are in the middle of the nowhere.
Situated within the grounds of 15th Century Pitfodels Castle, the hotel is a luxurious base for exploring Aberdeen or further afield.
A roaring open fire welcomes you at the reception, along with an equally warming complementary sherry and shortbread – making us feel as though we had been transported to a golden age of hospitality.
The staff were professional and made us feel like someone was really looking after us – something you don’t often find in many faceless room-only establishments.
After checking into our executive triple room, we decided to take a short stroll up to the Cults Hotel for lunch and to take a look at the local shops that dot the pretty high street.
We all live in Aberdeen, so know what the city centre has on offer; its choice of Union Square, Bon Accord and St Nicholas Shopping Centres are also easily reached by car or bus within 15 minutes.
With Aberdeen’s Christmas Village now in full swing, we could have ventured in to go ice-skating or browse the many festive stalls.
Or we could have explored the numerous independent boutiques and coffee shops at the west end of Union Street and in neighbouring Thistle Street, where the monthly street market adds to the area’s thriving artisan vibe.
The monthly market located on Thistle Street and surrounding streets – Rose Street, Chapel Street, Huntly Street and Summer Street – is held on the second Saturday of the month between 10am and 3pm.
Another attraction which can be easily accessed whilst you shop is the Nuart Festival – artists have painted colourful murals on unused walls throughout the city centre.
Organised tours have stopped for the winter, but a map can easily be downloaded for your own tour, or you just keep your eyes peeled as the murals can suddenly appear from around corners.
But we were happy being suburban explorers and spent a good while having a rake through the local charity shop in Cults – finding designer garments galore on offer.
We had booked into the hotel’s acclaimed Tapestry Restaurant which has two AA rosettes. It features traditional Scottish decor alongside fine locally sourced produce and ingredients.
Before dinner we returned to our room and popped open the fizz that we had brought with us – a quick phone down to reception and our ice bucket and champagne flutes appeared – giving us time for a catch-up natter.
The menu was a set three courses and made for very hard decisions what to have, since they all sounded delicious.
I plumped for the goat’s cheese mousse, followed by the gnocchi with wild mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, Parmesan and chive cream sauce. Desserts were equally tricky to choose from, but the raspberry tart with pistachio ice cream and white chocolate shards won the day for me.
Another roaring fire dominates the dining room, so after more wine, we are all stuffed and ready to sleep.
In the morning, we dragged ourselves away from our lovely executive cocoon for a stroll around the gardens before eating again.
Breakfast is a buffet style full Scottish. One of my companions decided to plump for the made-to-order eggs benedict, however, and was not disappointed. The meal was another delight, providing a perfect end to what had been a perfect break from the clamour of the city.