Leamington Spa is a Georgian town, recently voted one of the country’s premier shopping locations and it most certainly is a shopper’s paradise, from The Parade, to the Royal Priors Centre (where Fabulous is located), to new Regents Grove, full of independent shops, beautiful boutiques and high street names - it has an amazingly diverse selection for all tastes.
We love the boutiques on Park Street, selling stylish pieces by Nougat, Jackpot and more. Every Fabulous lady needs a fabulous outfit to match her jewellery and Park Street is the perfect place to visit. Look out for new season collections, as they sell out fast!
Or why not try the fantastically girlie boutique ‘Lilac Rose’, on Regent Street, just off the Parade? Selling lingerie, clothing, perfume, chandeliers; in fact, anything that you could possibly think of to perfect your country cottage or city pad! With William Morris’s famous line as their philosophy - “Own nothing that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” - Lilac Rose is a true favourite of ours, perfect for gifts, personal treats and above all, filled with wonderful items to treat yourself.Park Street, parallel to The Parade, is an exclusive street filled with a delightful selection of boutiques, and another Fabulous recommendation is ‘Buckle & Hyde’, an inspiring handbag boutique home to some amazing collections, each season bringing “something new to savour”. Whether it’s that perfect wedding outfit handbag that you are looking for, or beautifully soft leather, purses or travelling bags for all that stylish jet-setting, then Buckle & Hyde will have your perfect match.
After all that shopping, every girl needs some pampering to keep her looking fabulous! We Fabulous ladies love ‘Esqué’ on Bedford Street. At the 2005 British Beauty Awards, it won Salon of the Year, making it one of the top 4 salons in the country and a simply fabulous place to go and be pampered. They only use 100% environmentally friendly products and with their specialised treatments for men, pregnant women, and those with sensitive skin, it really is perfect for all ages and requirements. If you buy your engagement ring from Fabulous, you’ll be lucky enough to receive a complimentary manicure from Esqué, on us!
To maintain every Fabulous girl’s beauty, ‘Must Have’ at the bottom of The Parade by the Town Hall will serve you well. Must Have listens to what its customers want and then delivers exactly that. With a range of leading brands on sale including Cowshed, Paul and Joe, and Burt’s Bees, as well as products for men and babies AND a juice bar, we say that you MUST visit Must Have right now!
A breathtakingly fabulous place to visit is Mallory Court situated in the picturesque Leamington Spa countryside – a Relais et Chateaux Hotel we often use for our Designer Jewellery evenings. The country house hotel and award-winning restaurant has been a holder of a coveted Michelin star for the last four years - the only restaurant in Warwickshire to hold a Michelin star. We can highly recommend the wonderful food – with lobster, fillet of beef and soufflés appearing regularly on the menu. As a hotel, it’s a great romantic getaway for you and your man to indulge in and be spoiled rotten, with fluffy white towels in your suite complete with magnificent décor and sumptuous furnishings. For a more casual treat, dine in the stunning new ‘Brasserie at Mallory’. From a slowly braised spiced shank of Lighthorne lamb, to a warm apple tart with cinnamon ice cream and calvados crème Anglaise, and a sleek cocktail bar for an after dinner cognac, it truly is the height of sophistication.
If you are a worshiper of Italian cuisine, then Prezzo on Regent Grove is ideal. An extremely attractive layout, menu and décor, Prezzo has a wide range of meals from pasta to pizza and salads. Perfect for meals out with the girls, families or partners, we at Fabulous adore dining out Italian-style and with scrumptious food, friendly staff and value for money Prezzo is a firm Fabulous favourite.
And if it’s culture you’re after, the Pump Rooms and Art Gallery at the bottom of The Parade are full of beautiful paintings and fascinating history. The mineral springs of Leamington Spa were known in the middle ages, but it was not until 1784 that the inhabitants of the then-named village Leamington Priors started rediscovering its saline bubbles and began to build springs around some of them. In July 1814 ‘The Royal Pump Rooms and Baths’ designed and built by C.S Smith of Warwick were officially opened. The Spa treatment was said to cure and relieve a great number of disorders and ailments including the relief of the effects of gout and rheumatism and various paralytic conditions. The spa water is also a mild laxative! These are close to the recently restored Jephson Gardens – a truly lovely park with a tranquil lake to stroll beside. Or if you would prefer to sit and enjoy the sunshine, have a picnic or attend one of the frequent events held there, then there is also The Pump Room Gardens which did not become public until 1875, before then it was solely for the exclusive use of the patrons of the Pump Room. Today, the Pump Room gardens are free for all to walk around, a popular place for picnickers, sunbathers, strollers and visitors to the many events, including bands in the bandstand and other summer events.
Or further afield, the magnificent Compton Verney – beautifully restored by Sir Peter Moores, home to the two Canellettos saved by Sir Peter for the nation, as well as home to ever-changing and always fascinating exhibitions. A grade 1 listed mansion housed designed by Robert Adam in the 1970s Compton Verney is set in more than 120 acres of classical parkland landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. Compton Verney was opened to the public in March 2004, with gallery spaces on three floors, a shop, a café and a purpose-built learning centre; it is a truly spectacular visit with some breathtaking sights of the building, its grounds and art work.
So why not make the trip to Royal Leamington Spa, if you haven’t already, and make a day of it - come and visit some of our favourite places, as well as coming into Fabulous to try on some of our wonderful and frequently-changing collections of contemporary jewellery?
