What the Spabreaks.com team thought of a spa break at Bailiffscourt

I love the Historic Hotels collection - Ockenden Manor, Spread Eagle Hotel & Spa, and now Bailiffscourt as well. It's an amazing place, made up of a series of charming houses and cottages set in 30 acres close to the Climping coastline.

The main house is a medieval-style building, flanked by thatched houses and cottages, a 13th century chapel, an inner rose-clad courtyard and underground passageway. There are lots of things to do outside - a croquet lawn and tennis courts for example, and then there's the spa which is a modern addition in a barn-style building.

A hotel with history

I love a place with history, and Bailiffscourt is really special. It looks medieval but was actually built in 1927 for Lord Moyne, then Walter Guinness of the famous brewing family. Having been the destination of choice for high society in the 1930s, it became a hotel in 1948.

Today, it's still a gorgeous place to stay, with its old world style and exceptional customer service. The rooms are incredibly comfortable and all around the house is filled with tapestries and antiques collected by the original family from their travels around the world.

Serving up a Sussex feast

The food is amazing, using lots of local ingredients including Sussex wines. I had a cheese board instead of dessert and it was all local artisan cheeses, which were wonderful. At breakfast there is an à la carte menu as well as fruit and pastries. It's all incredibly fresh - the kind of meals you want to sit and just enjoy during long, leisurely mornings.

Magical spa gardens

The gardens frame the whole experience perfectly, so I highly recommend taking the time to go for a walk and take it all in. There are rope swings with wooden seats for the perfect Instagram moment - it's just like being in a movie - and there's a peacock that struts around making the place his own.

There's a chapel on site, so it's ideal for weddings. It's so tranquil it's hard to believe you're just 10 minutes from the centre of Littlehampton - which also makes it easy to get to whether you're driving or coming by train.

The most amazing spa treatments

The spa really is a little world of its own. It's modern but they have styled it perfectly to fit in with the rest of the property. There's a gorgeous outdoor pool - I got up before breakfast and went swimming which was magical - there were lots of little rabbits hopping about on the lawn while I swam!

There's plenty of sun loungers around the pool as well, and you could see how much people were enjoying it throughout the day. The outdoor hot tub that overlooks the pool, and it's those outdoor facilities that are my favourite because everything feels so fresh - just like you're on holiday. However, there's also a beautiful indoor pool, inside the timber framed space, surrounded by polished limestone and natural green oak.

The treatments are exceptional. They use TEMPLESPA, and I loved it so much I contacted the product brand afterwards to tell them how well the spa represented them. I had the My Kinda Skin facial, where they analyse your skin and tailor the products to suit you, with two face masks and a head, hand and arm massage. It's a really in-depth treatment and they checked on me throughout to make sure I was enjoying it.

After your treatment they take you to a relaxation room to rest under weighted blankets - I could have stayed there all day.

A spa for everyone

I really can't speak highly enough about Bailiffscourt - the team and I all had an amazing time, and would recommend it to anyone. Quite clearly it's a romantic destination, but it's also family-friendly. I would also recommend it for a solo break - for quality time to yourself, as a getaway with a small group of friends, and, as we found out, a great place to go with colleagues!