An Inspector Calls: Grantham
By The Inspector, Daily Mail
Last updated at 17:16 07 July 2008
The De Vere Belton Woods is a haven for weekend golfers...
...but the Inspector found it a comfy and 'fun' place to stay
Inspector rating: 3/5So here we are in Grantham, where there's a statue of Sir Isaac Newton — who was born nearby in 1643 — but not so much as a one-way street to honour Margaret Thatcher, whose father ran a grocer's in this Lincolnshire market town.
Nothing chi-chi here. And there's nothing chi-chi about De Vere Belton Woods Hotel either.
This is a huge (136 rooms and grounds of 475 acres) sprawling new-build of a place that must be ideal for corporate hug-ins — just as long as you love golf. There are two top-notch 18-hole courses, one nine-hole course and 20 bays in a floodlit driving range that seems to stay open most of the night.
When we pitch up on a Friday evening, a group of thrusting middle-order executive types are waiting for a bus to take them off the compound for a few hours.
At certain times of the year, you can get dinner, bed and breakfast here for £115 — for two people. Which is good value. The rooms are neat and clean, basic and functional. Staff are friendly, efficient and there's an on-your-bike sort of atmosphere of which Mrs T would approve. Never mind the corporate crowd and it's not exactly luxurious, but this is perfect for parents with lively children. It's like a Club Med without the fancy nosh.
In addition to golf, there's a full-size football pitch, several tennis courts, indoor swimming pool, gym, archery, quad biking and spa treatments.
Taking our seat for dinner, the room is alive to the sound of raucous laughter as stories of the fairways are swopped and embellished.
'We're putting you on the lower deck,' says a friendly waitress, who must suspect that the only iron with which we are familiar is the one that gets creases out of shirts. 'It should be a bit quieter.' She hands us menus, which have Great British Classics (£17.50 for two courses) written at the top. First up is Posh Prawn Cocktail and we think it's well above par. The same cannot be said for our pork steak, which is tough and tasteless.
Next morning, the energy levels are just as high. Golf buggies are whirring and it's obvious that by the time we arrive for breakfast at 9am a lot of people have already played 18 holes and might even have done a few lengths in the pool as well.
He's on fire: The hotel has two 18-hole courses. Sunset optional
Plates are piled stupendously high. Everything in the breakfast firmament is represented. While most people are carbo-loading for a day of exercise, we're readying ourselves for a visit to Belton House, a National Trust property across the road, followed by shopping in Grantham.
Both are a success and there's a spring in our step all day long. Why? Because Belton Woods is a lot of fun.
Travel Facts
De Vere Belton Woods
Belton, nr Grantham
Lincs
NG32 2LN
Tel: 01476 593200
www.devereonline.co.uk
Doubles from £115, dinner & B&B /p>
Inspector rating: 3/5
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