Food and drink at Champneys Forest Mere - what is included, menus, photos and timings

UPDATED JANUARY 2025

Following a recent stay at Champneys Forest Mere, I found that I needed to update the below post, as some things have changed quite a bit. Here's what is different:

The breakfast buffet was very similar to before, but I didn't see a smoothie and there was no hot porridge on offer. Any hot food was chargeable from a separate menu.

Lunch is now just served as a buffet. There was a soup with bread, a few salads and some warm food including pasta and some meat and vegetables. There was a reasonable selection but it could get a little crowded at busy times. It was also mostly the same food every day.

We stayed for three nights so we had dinner included on three evenings. Previously there were two menus in rotation, but on this occasion there was only one menu so we had the same choices every evening. On our last evening we were upgraded to eat in the Mere Restaurant which is a little more formal and I think usually for people staying in the suites. Our dinner here included a very small glass of Prosecco and a tiny smoked salmon amuse bouche. Although a nicer setting, the service here was very slow and we spent a long time waiting around for our food. It took us over two hours to get through our dinner. 

It was a shame that the menu was the same every evening, as although there was a range of choices, based on our previous experience we were expecting a different menu on at least one evening. 

Overall I did feel that the selection of food wasn't as good as on our previous visit, and there has definitely been some cost cutting going on. Also the food portions are not huge - we appreciated the extra biscuits and snacks we had brought along!

One afternoon my Mum treated the four of us to a hot drink and a cake in the cafe one afternoon, and while this was very tasty it came to over £35 which seems excessive. 

ORIGINAL POST

Before my recent spa break at Champneys Forest Mere I was really interested to find out more about the food that would be on offer. The Champneys website wasn't very helpful, and so I thought I'd share some of my experiences with the food - what was included, timings, photographs of the food that we tried and also some photos of the menus. I hope that it is helpful if you are planning a stay at Champneys Forest Mere! Scroll to the bottom to see a few menus.

We stayed at Champneys for three nights and so our stay included three breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners. There is additional food and drink available to purchase in the café during the day and there is also a kettle along with tea and coffee in the hotel rooms, as well as plenty of drinking water stations.

For breakfast and lunch dining you are welcome to wear casual clothes, including your robes and flip flops, but for dinner the dress code is smart casual. When we visited all our meals were served in the same restaurant.

Meal times do need to be booked in advance. You can book your first meal when you arrive, then you can book a meal or two ahead each time you arrive to eat. We had no problems booking the slots that we wanted. We were given the following timings - Breakfast 7.30am - 10am, Lunch 12pm - 2pm and Dinner 6.30pm - 8.30 pm however the restaurant did in fact open at 6pm for dinner. We usually ate early so it wasn't very crowded, but later slots seemed to be busier. It's worth arriving a few minutes early to avoid a queue when you arrive to check in for a meal.

The only included drinks with meals were still or sparkling water, apart from at breakfast when there was juice available. If you want something more interesting to drink (including alcohol at both lunch and dinner) then that will cost extra at bar prices that I would say are on the expensive side. 

Breakfast

Breakfast was served as a buffet with lots of cold choices, if you want a cooked meal then that is at an extra cost. There was a selection of healthy cereals, fruit and yoghurt, a bread station with different breads, spreads and a toaster, along with juice, tea and coffee. One morning there was a smoothie available, and you could also request a generous portion of hot porridge as an included choice. 

Lunch

Lunch was served as a sit down meal with starter and a main, with a dessert station with three or four small desserts to help yourself to. Sometimes there was a bit of a wait for the desserts as they disappeared quickly - they were admittedly quite small and so lots of people were enjoying more than one! We found the lunch menu was definitely as filling as a main meal. The only dessert that wasn't a hit was the vegan chocolate mousse (bottom right) which didn't taste of chocolate at all! The other desserts were much nicer, and don't let me put you off the vegan chocolate torte on the dinner menu which was delicious! The soup of the day for a starter was always a vegetarian soup of some kind and was very good.

Dinner

Dinner was a slightly more formal meal, with larger portions than lunch. Some of the meat, the more indulgent dessert and the cheese board cost extra. It seemed that they alternated menus, so we had the same menu for the first and last night of our stay. There were also a few dishes that were repeated on both menus.

I enjoyed all of these meals. The samosas (top left) and the halloumi Caesar salad (top middle) were particularly good. The only one that I wasn't keen on was the vegan plant burger (centre) as it was too 'meaty' for my liking, I'm not keen on meat replacements that taste like meat. But everything else was delicious! All the meals had plenty of garnish and were well presented. They were large portions but not too big, and it was a good opportunity to try out some different foods that I wouldn't prepare or eat at home. I've never eaten so many pumpkin seeds in my life!

I tried to take some photos of the menus so that you can see the different choices and what is included with the cost of a stay.

Champneys Forest Mere Lunch Menu One:

Champneys Forest Mere Lunch Menu Two:

Champneys Forest Mere Dinner Menu Two:

Champneys Forest Mere Dinner Menu Three:

We were all very pleased with the range of food on offer. Admittedly we are mainly vegetarian and not big eaters. I could imagine that if you are used to eating more meat and larger portions then you might not find it as satisfying. But as part of a health conscious break then I found that it was perfect (and of course there is nothing to stop you bringing your own extra food and drink to enjoy in your room!)

We enjoyed trying out some new things and found plenty of interesting choices. Additionally the service in the restaurant was very good with plenty of helpful staff, and plates were cleared promptly. All in all we had an excellent dining experience on our spa break at Champneys Forest Mere!

Thanks to my family members for help with the photos!