March 2016 EAT. DRINK. SLEEP
The Belfry: England’s Leading Resort Sitting proudly amongst over 500 acres of West Midlands countryside, is England’s Leading Resort (World Travel Awards 2015), The Belfry Hotel & Resort. The Belfry has been synonymous with golf ever since it held its first Ryder Cup in 1985 and has written itself into golf folk law having gone on to host the infamous biannual event a record four times. The resort boasts three spectacular courses and a golf academy, but on a recent visit we were just as taken back by the facilities and service away from the hallowed greens. Just 20 minutes from Birmingham city centre, The Belfry is perfectly positioned at the heart of the country attracting guests from all over the British Isles. Upon arrival to the resort you are welcomed by a smiling concierge in top and tails and the smiles do not stop at the door as the level of service is exemplarily throughout the resort. After checking in we were shown to our signature room, one of 319 in the resort.
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Spacious and full of the amenities you would expect in a luxury resort, the room was a lovely base from which to explore the West Midlands retreat. Our exploring started in the Hotel’s main bar, the Brabazon bar, where we were served a delightful champagne afternoon tea. A range of finger sandwiches, scones and freshly baked pastries were beautifully presented on a 3 tiered cake stand and joyfully washed down with a couple glasses of bubbly. The Brabazon bar is certainly a very sophisticated setting for a few drinks and it will take you a while to make your way through its long and varied cocktail menu. The bar was lively initially made up of those on a conference day with The Belfry fully equipped for corporate days out with six boardrooms and more than 20 conference and events suites accommodating up to 400 guests.
As the afternoon passed the bar started to fill up with more hotel residents and those that had spent the day tackling the golf course. The usual route from the 18th green is to Sam’s Club House for a post round pint, where guests can take advantage of the relaxed environment and enjoy a menu of classic light bites and Sam’s double stack burger! Our destination for dinner though was The Belfry’s signature restaurant, The Ryder Grill. Award winning Chef Director Glen Watson has put together an a la carte menu that really does stir the senses! Using high quality, locally sourced ingredients the menu consists of succulent steaks, chargrills, spit roasts, fish and lobster. I went for the best of both worlds and opted for the Surf and Turf. Fillet steak perfectly cooked medium rare, accompanied by half a lobster and a side order of French fries, washed down superbly with a few glasses of fine wine of course. Somehow I did have space to tackle a sticky toffee pudding, which was well worth it.