Carden Park has long been one of the UK’s best spa hotels – in fact, just in September it was named Spa Hotel of the Year… again.
In the last 12 months its shelves have begun to groan under the weight of all the awards it’s accumulating, with its fine dining restaurant The Vines at Carden earning a third AA Rosette, placing it within the top 10% of venues in the UK.
And now Carden Park has unveiled the first phase of its £6.5m refurbishment, boosting its status even further with smart new bedrooms decorated in soft hues of blue and gold.
Carden Park is famed for its golfing and its outdoor pursuits, as well as its outdoor garden spa (we are very much here for the latter).
The luxury spa opened back in 2020, and features staggering features like a vitality pool, heated relaxation beds, Finnish sauna, a salt steam room, an aroma steam room, aroma showers, and a beautiful bio sauna with panoramic windows overlooking the hotel’s sweeping grounds.
And that’s just the indoor spa at Carden Park – I’m just getting started.
Carden Park’s indoor poolThe Finnish sauna at Carden ParkThe indoor pool at night
Its crowning glory is its outdoor garden spa, where footpaths weave between sunken hot tubs and heated thermal pods.
There’s an outdoor pool, also heated, with body massagers built in, and the sight of the steam rising from the pool over the frosty lawns is one for sore eyes and limbs.
From the all-weather Bollinger champagne bar, you can order a mulled wine or a glass of fizz, to sip around the fire pit or on a sun lounger (maybe not the latter at this time of year).
There’s also a panoramic herbal lounge, with sweeping views of the 1000 acre estate at Carden Park.
A panoramic herbal loungeThe fire pitThe Bollinger Bar at Carden Park SpaCarden Park’s outdoor poolA heated outdoor pod with Carden Park in the background.
A current package running until the new year – the Comfort & Joy Spa Experience – includes access to this incredible spa as well as a 50 minute ‘Time to Pause’ treatment.
Here, your sore muscles are scrubbed and loosened before you flip over for an invigorating facial, using cold stones to cool, soothe and drain toxins from your face.
It’s one of the most thorough and efficient treatments I’ve had at a spa and will leave you feeling pampered, relaxed and invigorated all at once.
The Comfort and Joy Spa Experience package also includes overnight accommodation, dinner in either restaurant, breakfast, a mulled wine or hot chocolate, and loads more.
A refurbished bedroom at Carden ParkThe view from the refurbished bedroomsA refurbished bedroom en suite at Carden Park
And back across at the main hotel, Carden Park’s 197 rooms are slowly being refurbished and crafted into luxury spaces with plenty of British details.
From the premium beds to the huge marble bathrooms, you’ll want to stay forever.
While The Vines at Carden might be the hotel’s more lavish restaurant, its Redmond’s Brasserie is also exceptional, with a menu full of British dishes including steaks, pies, and puddings.
This is also where guests head for breakfast, where there’s a full buffet of hot food, continental items and even a pancake-making machine.
The bar upstairs at the Carden Park spaDinner at Redmond’s BrasserieRedmond’s Brasserie
And after your breakfast, you can stroll around the hotel’s magnificent grounds, where there’s a vineyard, tennis courts, a lake, and a full sculpture park.
Director and general manager of Carden Park Hotel Hamish Ferguson said of the new refurbishments: “The overhaul of our hotel bedrooms marks a significant chapter in Carden Park Hotel’s journey.
“We are thrilled to embark on this exciting project to enhance our luxury accommodation, reinforcing our commitment to providing an exceptional and rejuvenating experience for our guests.
“Sustainability has been at the forefront of all previous renovations at the hotel, and we endeavour to continue this trajectory in all future transformation projects.”
The Comfort and Joy Spa Experience at Carden Park
A morning garden spa experience between 9am and 1pm (8.30am arrival)
Overnight luxury accommodation
A divine 50-minute Time-to-Pause ritual treatment; including back exfoliation and calming facial. Learn more about the treatment here.
£30 dinner allowance to be used in either Redmond’s Brasserie or The Vines (Thursday only) – Cheshire’s award-winning fine dining restaurant
Full English and Continental breakfast included in your stay
Access to the hotel state-of-the-art leisure club and 20-metre pool
Either a mulled wine or luxury hot chocolate included in your spa experience
Manchester is getting a £2m highways maintenance ‘blitz’ to fix the roads ready for winter
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is getting itself a £2m highways maintenance ‘blitz’ to fix up the roads across the region ready for winter.
Manchester City Council has confirmed that the maintenance work is due to take place throughout this month to ensure Manchester roads are ‘future-proofed’ for the next decade and more – and this will, crucially, include things like resurfacing.
It comes after the Council spoke to Mancs earlier this year, and residents declared that they wanted roads and pavements ‘up to standard’ and for them to stay that way, so as part of the Council’s commitment to this, a large-scale £2m resurfacing programme is set to run throughout September, with 53 roads due to be improved.
Ahead of winter, and the inevitable wet and cold weather it brings – which is the cause of a large number of issues to the road network – these upcoming works are to put a protective barrier in place ahead of time to nip potential future issues in the bud.
The work being carried out will take place in two stages – first will be the surface dressing stage, before the sealing stage, also known as the ‘Kiely Lock’ process, finishes it off.
Manchester is getting a £2m highways maintenance ‘blitz’ to fix the roads ready for winter / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
“We know that the cold and wet of winter puts additional stress on our roads, add in freezing temperatures and we have a recipe that can make short work of the road surface,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“This is why we’re mobilising now to ensure that we can protect as many roads as possible, which not only saves the taxpayer money in the long term, but also makes our journeys quicker and safer.
“Over the past year we have invested heavily in improvements to our highways network as we know from our residents’ feedback it’s one of the issues most important to them.
“We are confident that this programme of works will be a net positive for our residents and I’d like to thank them ahead of time for their patience as we futureproof our roads for the coming decade.”
The planned improvements will start on Tuesday 16 September, and will continue though until Saturday 27 September, and some disruption is to be expected, so do plan ahead.
You can find the full list of roads being resurfaced here.
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
Travel & Tourism
‘Mass disruption’ expected as Greater Manchester Bee Network bus drivers prepare to strike this month
Emily Sergeant
‘Mass disruption’ is expected on the Bee Network this month as thousands of bus drivers are set to stage strike action.
2,000 workers who are employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – all of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – will walk out in a co-ordinated strike amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union says all the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
At Stagecoach, around 1,000 drivers based across the Oldham, Stockport, and Middleton depots have rejected a pay offer of 3.5%, and 1,000 Metroline Manchester members will also do the same after turning down an ‘unsatisfactory’ below-inflation pay offer.
Workers at both Metroline and Stagecoach believe the offer doesn’t address years of low pay they’ve recieved, especially given the ongoing cost of living crisis.
‘Mass disruption’ is expected on the Bee Network this month / Credit: TfGM
Then, over at First Bus Rochdale, 110 members have rejected this year’s pay offer of 6%, as they feel this does not go far enough to address the fact they’ve had years of being paid less than their counterparts at other companies, and are still the lowest paid in the region.
Stagecoach, Metroline, and First Bus Rochdale, part of First Group PLC, are all firms which have seen a rise in profits in recent years.
Given the number of drivers and companies involved in the upcoming strikes, Unite says ‘travel chaos’ is expected – with many delays and cancellations of services in Manchester and the surrounding areas.
2,000 drivers are set to stage strike action / Credit: TfGM
It’s also expected to impact several events on in the city centre, including Manchester United v Chelsea at Old Trafford, comedian Peter Kay’s gig at the AO Arena, and singer Tom Grennan’s concert at Co-op Live.
“With so many drivers across the Bee Network walking out at once, this will be a highly disruptive strike that will bring parts of Greater Manchester to a standstill,” admitted Unite regional officer, Colin Hayden.
“We know residents will be disappointed to hear of potential action, but this is entirely the fault of the employers involved and our members feel they have no choice but to walk out to make their voices heard.
Daisy Jackson -
5th December 2024 
