My lovely friends are getting married at the end of the year and I'm wondering what to give them. I know they've always fancied doing some kind of "retreat" one day, by which they mean somewhere peaceful, rural, maybe with pampering options like a spa. So I've been thinking of treating them to a couple of nights away (longer if possible, obvs, but max budget is about £500 total).
My eyes are out on stalks after hours on TripAdvisor and I still seem no closer to finding the perfect place. It would need to be:
Pet friendly (they have a tiny dog)
Gay friendly (they are both female)
Friendly, kind hosts with a good sense of humour
Unpretentious
Not wildly expensive to do things in the area (e.g. pub meals)
Not too far from the south coast
I really want to make sure they are in the right environment as they are the sweetest people in the whole world and also rather shy. It would be awful to send them somewhere to be tortured with frosty politeness or where they'd be expected to join in chanting sessions or something. I want them to completely relax, not feel intimidated by the experience.
I wondered if anyone had any recommendations?