Shakespeare, Staycations and Seasonal Sparkle at the Stratford-upon-Avon Double Tree
Published On Saturday 13 Dec 2025 by Sticky Beak
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Have you ever had a year that was simply running away with you? Welcome to 2025 for The Man, Mummy Bird and me! We had been yapping all year about having a short break/staycation in the UK, with Stratford-upon-Avon being our hot favourite; would you believe me if I said that we were finally standing in The Bard’s (William Shakespeare) home town in November? Better late than never, as they say.
Now, Mummy Bird is one heck of a spring chicken in her mind, but the corporeal state is a little less reliable in the mobility stakes; with that in mind, we scouted around for suitable accommodation. It was Double Tree by Hilton that came through for us, winning on account of having on-site parking (at £8 per night) and a walk-in shower, mobility accessible [ground floor] room available.
Mummy was more than happy when she clapped eyes on the sizeable twin bed, table and chairs, writing desk, and huge shower/wet room with all the toiletries provided. His Nibs and I were a floor up, in a similar sized room, although ours was ‘thinner and longer’; we had a king-sized bed, table and chairs, writing desk, and shower-over-bath – again with all toiletries provided. Both rooms had an amply stocked hostess tray, kettle, hairdryer, and safe in them, too. Prices for two nights including breakfast were £304.95 and £369.55 respectively (we had our Hilton Honors discount included in this).
The welcome we received from the reception team was marvellous, so our first impression was that this was going to be a great couple of days. All of us unpacked and then met down in the hotel bar for some drinkypoos; well, it had been a long journey (ok, 2 hours, but we were on staycation!). I won’t pretend that the drinks were cheap – no hotel ever is – but they weren’t London or Brighton prices either: my Raspberry Daquiri was £12.
When we’d slaked our thirsts, we headed back to our respective rooms to freshen up and change for dinner. Having previously visited a Giggling Squid venue elsewhere, The Man and I knew that Mummy would enjoy the dishes on offer, and we’d checked with the Stratford site that a wheelchair would be accommodated. Well, the food was tasty and plentiful, service just as fab, and the restaurant beautifully decorated. If you want to grab more detail on the meal, read the review here
Stratford town was gorgeously decorated for the festive season: several trees were adorned with lights and baubles, each street had lights either at the sides or providing central decoration, and the numerous shop fronts were kitted out in splendid style. All this beauty made walking around the town super-pleasurable, both at night and during daylight hours, and we took a slow pace back to the Double Tree by Hilton. Before retiring for the night, we had another drink in the hotel bar and arranged to call for Mummy in the morning and head down to the breakfast room together.
One of the team members got us seated for breakfast and sorted out some Poached and Scrambled Eggs for us (you need to order these: only fried eggs are standard on the hot buffet counter), whilst His Nibs went to grab coffees for himself and Mummy and a pot of tea for me 😊. I scooted off to get us all some fresh orange juice and bowls of Natural Yoghurt with fresh fruit and Berry Compote.
We had all just finished the cold breakfast when our eggs arrived, so then it was over to the hot counter to load up plates with scrummy Bacon, Sausage, Hash Browns, Baked Beans, Grilled Fresh Tomatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms, and Fried Bread. You won’t go hungry at a Hilton Hotel, that is for sure! As well as the hot counter, there was a cereal and seed station, and a selection of Pastries, Breads and Cakes to enjoy. I can confirm that the mini Croissants and Pain-au-Chocolates are moreish. On the second morning, I succumbed to the temptation of a mini Custard Danish Pastry, too; thankfully my flock believe in doing things together, so Mummy and The Man Bird also indulged: Raspberry Danish and Cinnamon Swirls incoming 😊!
Fully fuelled up, it was time to head over to the Royal Shakespeare Company for our pre-booked [wheelchair accessible] Theatre Tour (£15 per person). In peak season, each tour can accommodate up to 20 guests but there was only ourselves and a lovely lady from New Zealand on this particular tour. Josh was our guide, and what a phenomenal job he did to really bring the theatre life alive for us.
We happened to drop very lucky; Cyrano de Bergerac had literally finished the day before and BFG wasn’t due to start until a week later so we got to see the thrum of a theatre set being taken down and a new stage set-up installed – absolutely fascinating. Josh took us into the technical control room, so we got to see where the lighting, audio-describers and subtitling happens. In this room the lighting is controlled and the deputy stage manager ensures that everyone - and everything - is in the right place at the right time; Josh showed us a video of this happening in real-time, and all I’m going to say is that it’s mind-boggling.
It was fascinating listening to Josh as he wound us through the historical features (Art Deco box office, and seemingly suspended-in-air old seating that really was ‘up in the gods’) of this iconic theatre, and then we went to the Swan theatre which is in the same ‘complex’. We got to see the machinations of the costume department (including the jolly snazzy Ozone cleaning machine that rids costumes of sweat and odours in less than an hour) and even saw up close the fake blood used on stage. Lady Luck was clearly on our side, as there was an exhibition of costumes, ‘The Play’s The Thing’, on at The Swan theatre too, so we ‘ooh’d and aaah’d’ at the intricate costumes, including ones worn by Vivien Leigh and Dame Helen Mirren. The detail on some of the exhibits was incredible; up close, you really appreciate why costume design and making is such an art.
Our tour tickets entitled us to a discount in the café and the gift shop, so we went off in search of a hot drink before indulging in a bit of retail therapy: this is guilt-free shopping though, as all the proceeds go back into the Theatre itself. A beautiful bauble of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the snow will soon be having pride-of-place in Mummy’s sitting-room. Full of beans, and chattering away excitedly, we made our way into the heart of the town, eager to see more beautiful buildings, especially Shakespeare’s House itself.
As with all old, historical buildings there were wonky roofs and windows galore, and I’d bet that some wouldn’t have a straight wall or level floor between them! In the main, the pavements were lovely and even, making wheelchair pushing a doddle, and we made several purchases in independent shops. For those who don’t channel their inner Grinch (unlike His Maj, who definitely WAS Grinchy!), you can lose yourselves in the Nutcracker Christmas Shop, a veritable emporium of things festive and glittery. There are baubles, plaques, votives, ornaments in every theme and colour imaginable, and you can even have an occasion written on to some of them; a newly-wed couple were having ‘… and …’s First Christmas’ written onto a winter-scene Stratford bauble. Life is for living and making memories, don’t you agree?
With our shopping complete, we tootled back to our hotel and got changed for our second evenings’ dinner, a Meze feast at local Greek restaurant, El Greco. As with Giggling Squid, we’d called ahead to make sure the venue was accessible for Mummy, and there was certainly plenty of space between the tables – the problem turned out to be the size of the table when a trio of the Meze Feasts is ordered!! Luckily, we’re deft enough to portion out the dishes and combine plates to free up space. To find out just what we gobbled down, read the review here.
I’m not quite sure how we made it back to the Double Tree by Hilton; we could’ve wobbled, we could’ve rolled, but we most certainly didn’t walk ‘normally’! The effort of eating all that tasty food necessitated another pit-stop at the bar, though we all winced when bar snacks were placed in front of us – even our gluttony (we discovered) has limits. Thankfully, the beds and pillows are tremendously comfy at this hotel and we all got a sound nights’ slumber, waking up bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed for our last breakfast before heading home.
Every interaction we’d had with the hotel team had been superb; nothing had been too much trouble, and everything was done with a smile and a little chat. Both check-in and check-out were seamless and speedy, and I can heartily recommend this particular Stratford-upon-Avon hotel to you if ever you find yourselves down that way – Hot Wings very happily given.
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