Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere

The 116 rooms and suites at Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere are well finished and practical without feeling corporate. Contemporary in style, warm in feel, and put together with the details that actually matter on a golf break: Nespresso machines, artisan tea facilities, deep soaking tubs in selected rooms and 58-inch televisions as standard. The bathrooms are a proper size, with walk-in showers featuring both rain and handheld heads, and there is enough space throughout to feel genuinely comfortable rather than just somewhere to sleep between rounds.

Room categories run from Fairmont Classic rooms through to Deluxe Lake View options that look directly out over The Mere, and on to Junior Suites with open-plan layouts and balconies. Terrace rooms open onto private seating areas, which come into their own in the warmer months. Lake View Suites offer that combination of space and outlook that makes a weekend away feel like a proper occasion rather than just an extended overnight. At the top end, the Presidential Suite takes in views across both the golf course and the lake, with a separate kitchen and dining area, a 65-inch television in both the lounge and bedroom and a deep soak bath that makes a compelling case for an extra night.

For golf breaks, the room setup works well. Twin options help simplify group bookings, while lake-view upgrades add a bit more occasion for couples or longer stays. The step up through the room categories is easy to follow, which makes package planning straightforward. If your group wants to mix room types to suit different budgets or preferences, there is enough range here to make that work without anyone feeling short-changed.

Useful extras like on-site parking, easy access to the golf facilities and generous room proportions all add to the overall convenience. It is the kind of resort where you can get back from the course, freshen up properly and still feel like the evening is a proper part of the trip rather than an afterthought. The proximity of the rooms to the spa, restaurant and Club Lounge means the whole stay flows well, with no need to jump in a car or plan around transfers. Everything you need is within the resort, which is exactly what you want from a stay-and-play base.

Food & Drink

The headline act is Gordon Ramsay at The Mere, where refined British cuisine is served in a setting that looks directly out over the lake. The menu is built around seasonal ingredients, handled with the precision you would expect from a kitchen bearing that name. It is the kind of restaurant that makes dinner feel like a proper event, without the stiff formality that can make fine dining feel like a performance. The lake view helps. On a clear evening, with the light fading over the water, it is a genuinely good place to eat.

For something more relaxed, the Club Lounge serves as the resort's pre and post-golf destination, with panoramic views over the 18th green and The Mere Lake. Breakfast here before a round sets the tone well. Afternoon tea is served in The Orangery, and the resort's bar rounds out the options for those who want a drink without committing to a full dining experience.

The range of options means there is something that fits every moment of a stay, from a hearty breakfast before an early tee time through to a long, unhurried dinner with the lake catching the evening light outside.

Leisure Facilities

Fairmont Spa is a serious operation. Three pools, including a 20-metre indoor pool, an indoor vitality pool and a heated outdoor hydropool, sit alongside seven thermal experiences: Finnish barrel sauna, hammam, salt inhalation chamber, tepidarium, steam room and three cold plunge pools. The layout encourages long, unhurried visits, moving between heat and cold at your own pace rather than rushing through a list.

Twenty treatments are drawn from three distinct traditions. Clinical 111SKIN facials, developed on Harley Street and a brand known for results-led skincare. Botanical Wildsmith massage, rooted in the English countryside and formulated with plant-based ingredients. And Kama Ayurveda rituals, adapted for contemporary wellness. Three experiences are exclusive to The Mere, including Performance Recovery, a bespoke deep tissue massage ideal after a long day on the course, and Stillness, an evening ritual designed to prepare the body for genuinely restorative sleep.