Christmas is coming... enjoy a festive, indulgent and relaxing break at Alvaston Hall Hotel

You could have the best food, nicest rooms, and most amazing service on the market, but if the singers sound like Vic Reeves doing his pub singer routine, your weekend is all but ruined.

Thankfully, all of the vocalists at this Cheshire Warner Leisure Hotel had powerful and unique voices, harmonised sweetly with one other, and were superbly supported by the talented in-house musicians. It was obvious they were all carefully hand-picked to deliver the best for guests – and there you have the company’s ethos in a nutshell. Customer delight.

This was a weekend of luxury, indulgence, amazing service from a professional, courteous and attentive hotel team and a programme scaled from pure relaxation right up to activity central – it’s up to guests to determine where the slider stops.

We chose somewhere in between, taking up the offer of the crossbow shooting activity, though we could have also aimed for the bullseyes on the archery and rifle ranges too – all included in the price.

A bit of swimming in the excellent leisure centre – a 20m straight up-and-down rectangle pool with no obstacles to navigate around – and relaxing in the steam room and the jacuzzi, were all part of our fantastic weekend.

For an extra cost it’s well worth taking advantage of the excellent Temple Spa. I had a wonderful and relaxing Energy Booster back, leg and foot massage (£40 for 40 mins) while my wife enjoyed a stimulating but soothing facial costing £35 for 25 mins.

A Grade II listed Victorian property, Alvaston Hall is a half-timbered country house that can be traced back thousands of years to when it was the home of a Saxon farmer named Aelfgar. It has a pin-drop peaceful setting with its award-winning landscaped gardens.