Caravanserai - A taste of the Middle East in Leeds

I have no idea how I've been working in Leeds City Centre for the last 5 years and I've only just come across this gem of a place recently. Especially given my love for Middle Eastern/Lebanese food. Thanks to Trinity Kitchen I was introduced to Caravanserai. The owner had a temporary food stall there and when I enquired about rice dishes he told me they had them at their permanent location near the Corn Exchange.

Fast forward a couple of weeks later and I finally managed to find someone to check the place out with. Tucked away just behind the Corn Exchange, Caravanserai looks pretty unassuming but a closer look finds a magical corner food stall with tempting, exotic dishes displayed behind the window. It all looked so good and I knew then I'd be making a few trips here to make my way through the menu...

We had planned to sit inside. I heard from a friend that there's a small space to eat upstairs and I was surprised to find it to be like an Aladdin's cave filled with Persian rugs, shabby chic furniture and a long communal wooden table. Who would have thought a place like this exists in Leeds?!

As for the food, for next to nothing we got a feast of succulent chicken wings, tasty Persian rice, baba ganoush, hummus, olives, spicy potatoes and warm Lebanese bread to mop up what was left of all the dips and sauces. We were even treated to fresh mint tea and my absolute favourite, Baklava.

This is a perfect place for meeting up with friends for inexpensive, delicious food. The kind of food where you're so full but you just need to keep eating! I highly recommend it if you've never been before, you'll be glad you went.

Just love

Rina xoxo

Norton House Hotel & Spa Review



As I'm getting closer to 30, I've noticed that my love of a good night out is slowly being replaced by more love for a good spa break. You can't beat them really. You get to lounge about in a fluffy robe and slippers, you can have a nice nap, you can even take a nap in a hot tub if you wanted to (I don't recommend this). So given that my visit to Norton House Hotel & Spa was my third spa break in less than 6 months I kinda feel like I've been to enough to know what a good spa break should look like.

The hotel is part of the Handpicked Hotels group and is located in Edinburgh by the airport. My friend and I booked a spa break which included a one night stay at the hotel, a three-course meal, breakfast and £75 towards a spa treatment plus full access to the spa facilities.

Hotel

The hotel itself was lovely. It's surrounded by beautiful, spacious gardens and fields which really does make it feel like a proper getaway. The old Georgian building sits in the middle and looks pretty impressive amongst the scenic backdrop. The exterior was like a postcard picture and was one of my favourite features of the hotel. This is definitely the kind of place to go to if you like the outdoors, so if you're a fan of running or long walks, I highly recommend it.

Spa

The spa was good but not the best spa I've been to. It had a large pool, steam room, sauna, experience shower, hydro therapy pool, gym facilities, treatment rooms and a relaxation area. It had some great facilities but I just didn't get the same kind of relaxing ambiance that I've experienced in other spas before. Perhaps this is because it's quite a large spa and maybe it takes away from the cosy, peaceful feeling you get in smaller spas. There were also families who were staying in the hotel so the pool did get a bit noisy at times. My main dislike was the fact that the spa was in a separate building to the rest of the hotel, which meant that you either had to get dressed or you had to walk outside in your robe and slippers to get to your room. I prefer the kind of spas where you can stroll out of your treatment room and glide straight to your room...

Food/Service

This was probably the best part of my stay. I've been to hotel/spa breaks before and food options have always been limited with small portions. At Norton House they had a good slection of starters, mains and desserts at the The Brasserie restaurant. The main dish was the most stand out part of my meal. I ordered the Roast Chicken Breast with Leek Dauphinoise Potato, Fondant Carrot and Sherry Wild Mushroom Sauce and it was absolutely delicious. The chicken was succulent and tender and it was complimented by the sauce perfectly. The carrot had just enough bite and the mushrooms added an earthy depth to round off the dish. I would definitely eat here again. The service was fab, all the staff were polite, friendly and were always on hand to help if we needed anything, like an emergency beans on toast!

So, the overall verdict - I'd give it a 7 out of 10. It was really good value for money and would be a nice relaxing excursion if you're in Edinburgh for a few nights.

Click here to go through to the hotel website.

I'm always on the lookout for new spa's to visit. Can you recommend any good ones?

Just love

Rina xoxo