A Totally Tropical Christmas

We were invited to road test Treetop Adventure Golf‘s festive party package this week. Next to Tamatanga at Highcross Leicester, the subterranean venue transports you away to a choice of a tropical rainforest or Aztec jungle crazy golf course. Admittedly this probably isn’t the first thing you think of when it comes to a festive celebration, but I have to confess, they do a pretty mean Christmas party package!

Treetop Adventure Golf Leicester Christmas party

There is a private room that can be hired if you want to entertain up to 50 guests privately, as well as plenty of seating at the bar and pizza cabana to keep parties of all sizes comfortable. The Boy and I were just two but we were still made to feel very welcome and comfortable in a booth of our own.

Christmas Party Cocktails

The festive decoration in the venue is subtle, yet colourful. It fits comfortably in with the vibrant, immersive environment and I’m all over it. Bright colours are my thing and this is great for big kids as well as little ones! Speaking of big kids, the Espresso Snowtini is sure to delight. Yes, it is essentially a regular Espresso Martini with a miniature candy cane on the side. But that gets two thumbs up from me – don’t mess with the classics! I really liked the way this was put together too – a nice rounded mouthfeel from the vanilla and enough bitterness from the coffee to stop it from feeling overly sweet. Careful they don’t slip down too fast!

Mocktails

The mocktails were genuinely something of a revelation for me. I’ve been pretty quick to point the finger in the past where customers are charged the earth for an alcohol free cocktail which is basically just two fruit juices or sodas mixed together. The two festive options on offer could certainly not be accused of that. The Naughty or Nice Mocktini (vegan) is a lovely nod to the apple pie – with a dash of lemon moderating the apple and vanilla and cinnamon replicating that pie sensation.

Meanwhile the Mince Pie-Napple I wasn’t really looking forward to as I’m not a big pineapple fan, but actually it tasted like liquid mince pies!! The pineapple hardly came through at all, although the acid was helpful. Like the Mocktini this was a very sweet drink so did need moderating, but I adored the combination of sweet spice that made it feel incredibly festive, despite being an iced drink. At that half mini mince pie garnish was my first mince pie of the season! Hooray!

Christmas Party Pizza

The final element of your Christmas party is of course the food. The Pizza Cabana is ready to welcome you with some festive specials. Our host explained that the dough is made from scratch each day on the premises. Except for being a touch over salted it was lovely – much better than a pre-made base of course! Our server was also very enthusiastic in telling us that the stuffing was also made on site. From water and stuffing mix no less. This goes down as one of the most bizarre menu notes I have ever been given. So moving swiftly on…

There are basically two festive specials. The Pigs ‘N’ Blankets pizza has mozzarella, sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and of course, sausage and bacon on top. The Berry Veggie Xmas pizza is the same thing, minus the meat. Oddly, the rosemary is a big ole sprig of the stuff. You will immediately discard it, so it adds nothing to the flavour. And cranberry sauce with mozzarella and tomato sauce actually offended me to the point where I scraped the cranberry off my slices. But it may be The Next Big Thing for someone, so I will leave the judgement to you.

It’s pizza with a Christmas twist, so we are where we are. As per my last review, I’d probably recommend eating somewhere else. Then head to Treetop for drinks and golf to swerve the issue (!)

Let the Games Begin!

Of course, once the festive comestibles are out the way, it’s time to hit the green. This time we tried the Tropical Trail course. We found it a little easier than the other one, so perhaps a little more family friendly. However, there were still plenty of challenges, and the occasional surprise where you triggered sound or light with your shot.

It’s crazy golf, it’s fun. It’s beautifully put together and play runs really smoothly. We played in between a young family in front of us and a teenage couple behind us. Everyone seemed to be having an equally good time as we were. So all in, I would put this as a very strong option for something a little different for your Christmas party this year – whether that be with your colleagues or with your friends. This week Treetop Adventure Golf was also Highly Commended for Best Activity at the Leicestershire Tourism and Hospitality Awards so you can see it’s not just me who thinks they are fun. Now how do I get on the judging panel for that next year?!!