Conjure up an image of a typical trading estate and I suspect I would be right in suggesting it doesn’t include a luxury spa hotel. As incongruities go, it’s up there with finding a verdant pasture on Mars. Yet if you ever happen to visit The Aztec West Business Park in Bristol, a luxury spa hotel is precisely what you will find.
Full disclosure: we were rather taken aback by said incongruity as the hotel hoved into view. We had just spent a few hours in nearby Bath which is almost indecently quaint – as Jane Austen and now Bridgerton fans will attest. Going from Bath's film set quaintness to a business park, in a matter of hours, was a contrast my family and I hadn't fully prepared for, but we were soon reminded why judging a book by its cover is unwise. Read on to discover why…
First impressions
The Aztec is no boutique hotel yet, despite its industrial size, it felt both luxurious and opulent. Its staff were also polite and attentive to a fault, and this combination really did make for a premium stay.
Our room was on the ground floor and located just a hop, skip and a jump away from the spa facilities, bar and restaurant, yet once cloistered away in our family suite, we felt as though we were in our own private villa.
It wasn’t just the roomy rooms we enjoyed but, with a restless one-year-old in tow, the roomy corridors too. As one might do with a dog, we let him out a couple of times an evening to stretch his legs, and it was on one of these excursions we discovered a touch that parents of very young children would appreciate, as will be revealed later…
Suite treats
Size aside, it was immediately clear a lot of thought had gone into making the family suites suitable for families. Sometimes prefixing 'room' with 'family' can just mean a bit more space or an awkwardly accommodated sofa bed. Not at the Aztec, however, which is full of thoughtful little touches for little people. Not only did we find a welcome bag with things to do for children, but kid-friendly nibbles were also supplied. Best of all, our daughter even had her own spa slippers and robe, which she donned with great excitement.
As for us adults, we were treated to a whopping great bed which far exceeded typical hotel standards of comfort.
Spa spa black sheep
For those not content with lounging in the hotel bar post spa, they can lounge in a 'baa' instead (apologies). The Black Sheep, the hotel's affiliated pub, is located just over the road and provides conventional pub grub and an excellent range of drinks.
The spa-pub combination may be aimed more at couples than families, but the spa itself caters to both. The pool area is immaculate with plenty of space for families to leave their paraphernalia. For really small children, there is a tiny little paddling pool at one end of the main pool, which can be entered by some very child-friendly steps.
Also present are the obligatory sauna and steam room. The former was actually a bit tepid for my fiery tastes but the steam room was one of the best I have ever let off steam in.
It’s a minor quibble but one area the hotel could improve upon is by ensuring the scheduled family pool times actually mean something. The rope demarcating the family zone may as well have been invisible which meant on the days we went to the spa, it wasn't always easy to guide our children around the pool without bashing into encroaching adults.
Curious about food
The hotel’s main restaurant is The Curious Kitchen and it is the perfect place to dine for those curious about Bristol’s thriving food scene. I went to university in the city some 20 years ago now and, in the interim, the city has become a culinary mecca. At least, that’s my perception. In reality, my ready meal and baked beans-based university diet makes me an unreliable witness, so perhaps it was a culinary mecca back then too? Regardless, head chef of The Curious Kitchen Marc Payne has assembled a menu that showcases some of the region’s best food producers.
For our evening meal, my starter was a colourful salt baked heritage beetroot, followed by a delightfully aromatic Sri Lankan style curry. It was rounded off with a mountainous knickerbocker glory, meaning I was very grateful our room wasn’t far from the restaurant.
Naturally, come breakfast, the previous night’s excesses were forgotten as I tucked into a verdant dish of avocado on toast and poached egg. Breakfast buffets can blend into one but we were all struck by the extensive range of fresh fruit, pastries and juices on show at the Aztec.
Bristol beckons
I’ve already given away my past attachment to Bristol so I am slightly biased, but I think that it is the best city in the UK bar London. It is a melting pot of creativity, gastronomic delights, museums, history, students, artisans and architecture. You get the picture. It’s been gentrified yet remains intriguingly unreconstructed. If you haven’t been, then you are missing out, and the Aztec Hotel provides an excellent basecamp for any exploration.
Given the hotel is located slightly away from the city’s throbbing pulse, it also allows for other regional attractions to be easily explored. I have mentioned Bath but the hotel is within striking distance of the Cotswolds too. With its mass of rolling hills and chocolate box villages, it’s not hard to see why the likes of the Beckhams and Liz Hurley are big enough fans to call it "one of their homes".
Final thoughts
The Aztec Hotel truly belies its surroundings. Not only does it do all the basics very well, it frequently goes above and beyond them. It is also perfectly set up for families. A small thing but this was best demonstrated by the cold milk stations dotted around the hotel's corridors – a lifesaver for parents of very young children!
Book the One Night Spa Break, from £158 per person, for a rejuvenating overnight stay at Aztec Hotel & Spa, which includes a 25-minute taster spa treatment of choice, dinner and breakfast. To find out more, visit the hotel's website.
FYI, our travel journalism is written and edited by our expert writers to inspire readers. Hotel reviews have been independently reviewed by our expert writers who are usually hosted on a complimentary basis, but this never affects our review process.