I’m someone who can be rather easily influenced by Instagram and as soon as I saw Estelle Manor on the social photo sharing app – I wanted to go there. It was those gorgeous striped umbrellas, that outdoor pool and those positively sumptuous interiors… not to mention the fact it looked great for kids. Fortunately for me, one of my best friends is a member there and suggested a family trip for all of us using her member’s discount.
What is Estelle Manor
The ultimate country house hotel-cum-private members club located in Oxford countryside on 3,000 acres of beautiful parkland. I’d actually been there many years ago for a wedding back when it was Eynsham Hall but it’s all been completely refurbished with 108 gorgeous bedrooms, many of which are ideal for families. It’s just over an hour from London into Oxford Parkway station and from there around a 25 minute drive. Hanborough station is a little bit closer with a 15 minute drive to the hotel.
FYI unlike Soho Farmhouse you don’t need to be a member to stay at Estelle Manor, but it is obviously more expensive without the member rate.
Our room and the interiors at Estelle Manor
There are a few different options for families at Estelle Manor and we opted for a Walled Garden suite in the hotel garden adjacent to the main manor house – around a four minute walk. The suite afforded us the extra space of having a main bedroom with a cot and a living area with a sofa converted to a bed. 
Having stayed in many hotels, I recognise a good hotel bed; and the mattress, sheets and pillows here were excellent!
Sweet treats were left for a little ones and the fridge was well as truly stocked with snacks, drinks and other little luxuries. 
There’s no bath but the rain shower is just divine and the marble and brass finishes on the sink were the ultimate in elegance. Plus they left baby toileteries and a rather less glamorous but very useful nappy bin for Noah.
One great option for families are Estelle Manor’s larger scale cottages, these are a little further from the main house but there are some great choices that can host up to 12 people.
No expense has been spared with the interior of the main hotel, and New York design studio Roman and Williams had an unlimited budget to completely reimagine the previous Eynsham Hall. The designers have somehow ticked all the right notes of making the hotel grand and and traditional yet fresh and contemporary. The lobby / reception immediately signals that you’ve arrived somewhere special… 
While the lounge somehow looks like a jewellery box with vibrant topaz furnishings. 
The Grounds
Estelle Manor is a sprawling estate within the 3,000 acres with family sizes cottage, stables, gardens and the spa all lying around the main house. Of particular beauty is the hotel’s walled garden, adjacent to the main hotel and where our room was located.
Experiences and Activities
The number one activity for us at Estelle Manor was spending time in the gorgeous outdoor pool. Heated to 28 degrees its still that tad cold but that doesn’t bother Oscar who absolutely love swimming.
For him it was great and we made the most of the designated kids swimming times with plenty of time splashing around. For me I just loved the aesthetics of the pool, those striped umbrellas are handcrafted and have already become an iconic symbol of the hotel. Of course there’s a full bar menu too for ordering food and drink around the pool.
Outside of the pool, Estelle Manor provides a huge range of activities for adults and children. There is an age dependent holiday programme of supervised kids activities; ‘Estelle Explorers’ for aged 3-5 year focuses on discovering things in the countryside such as bug hunts, gardening and natural crafts. For the ‘Estelle Adventurers’ for aged 6-12 years there’s a bit more action with activities such as archery and fire lighting.
You can also book target sports such as archery, air rifling and clay pigeon shooting. There’s an introduction to falconery or various encounters with the animals of Estelle such as the ponies, Cotswold Lion sheep and Dexter Cows!
Our favourite moment of the trip was the chance for Oscar to ‘off road’ by driving Mini Landies… this activity is suitable from age 2!
There’s plenty of other things to do that don’t require booking such as lawn games, football and places to explore!
When we visited the hotel had two big TV screens set up, one for Wimbledon and one for the Euros! We watched the England final on one of the screen whilst enjoying drinks from a pop up bar and a Morrocan themed food menu. For the kids there was face painting to keep them entertained!
There was a great atmosphere here, it was just a shame that England lost!
Another unique selling point of Estelle Manor are the ‘Eynsham Baths’ a 3,000 sq metre adults-only Roman-inspired sp. The spa includes a vast tepidarium bathing hall with absolutely stunning carved marble details, five thermal pools, a lounge and ten treatment rooms. FYI the gym at Estelle Manor is members only.
Child Care
The Nook is the kids club at Estelle Manor is one of the best I’ve seen! It is a member’s only space but we were able to use it for up to two hours a day. It’s suitable for children from 3–8 years and there’s an indoor space with soft play, games, dress up, arts and crafts as well as an outdoor playground.
There’s also the Den for kids and teenagers over the age of 8. Here there’s gaming, foosball and pool tables, a dance mat and a variety of board games. This is an unsupervised space and and children under 8.
As we stayed out late on our second night watching the England in the Euros final on the big screen, we secured a babysitter for little Noah who struggles to stay up late. A child care provider from the Nook looked after him and I felt very happy and safe with their service.
Food
There are four different options for places to dine at Estelle Manor – something I was very pleased about as a few places that I’ve been to recently only have one restaurant. Of the four there was only one we didn’t try – The Billiards room which serves traditional Chinese dishes is adults only but I’d love to try it when we return to Estelle Manor at some point.
The hotel’s main restaurant is the Brasserie where we had breakfast and also visited for lunch and dinner. The Brasserie serves seasonal favourites using local ingredient and allows children until 7.30. I really enjoyed the octopus mosaic with citrus vinaigrette, avocado, capers and brioche along with the crab & native lobster fettuccine.
The Glasshouse is a simply stunning restaurant located in the Walled Garden, the focus here is on sharing and good hearty dishes. We really enjoyed prawns for starter and sea bass for main course when we tried the restaurant for lunch.
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Finally is the Living Room which offers both a classic bar menu and sushi menu. Which can be ordered inside the lounge’s sumptuous surrounds or out on the hotel’s pretty terrace.
I have to say Estelle Manor is really a new favourite for me. From the gorgeous interiors, impeccable service, fabulous food and the multitude of things to do for kids I really couldn’t fault it!
Great for Parents
Four restaurants serving high quality food.
Adult-only spa.
Beautiful design.
Great for Kids
Heated outdoor pool.
A diverse range of activities.
Brilliant kids club.
