By Michael Pearlman

The Celtic Manor has launched a new Signature Collection, to offer guests an extra touch of pampering for 2016.

With a special birthday to celebrate, my partner and I went to see what's on offer.

A frequent destination for this reporter - I've covered at least 50 media events at the Manor over the years - the myriad quality restaurants, excellent golf and fantastic facilities has meant we've generally always gravitated back to Sir Terry Matthew's five star resort.

And with the creation of the Celtic Manor's new Signature Collection at the award-winning hotel, it has now just became that little bit more fun for guests to part with a few quid at the former Ryder Cup resort.

The pressure was most certainly on and expectations were high with my partner celebrating a landmark birthday. Let's just say the age ends with a zero.

So it was exciting to be among the first guests to experience the new Signature Collection, which launched in December 2015, a stay with an extra touch of decadence.

We checked in to our own private reception on the sixth floor, before being given a tour of the Signature Lounge, an 'adult environment' setting where the tea and coffee is free and the newspapers and peace and quiet are complimentary.

Our room was spacious and spotless, with the handmade chocolates and bottle of wine that greeted us another delightful and unexpected touch.

We returned to the bar for a pre-dinner drink - also included in the package - and my partner's raspberry champagne cocktail was spectacular, to the eye, the taste-buds and in the fact it was the size of a toddler's head.

Our dinner was at their Steak on Six restaurant and as a pair of carnivores, we were excited to try a restaurant we hadn't been to before. Vegetarians will be well catered for at the Celtic Manor, but they should swerve Steak on Six.

Expectations weren't just met, they were exceeded, at this meat lovers paradise. I thought I knew my steak, yet know now that I am merely a culinary cub scout. The guys at Steak on Six are the park rangers.

Our shared starter of whole jamón cerdos de campo ham, carved at your table and served with roasted peaches was a delight, as was the Welsh smoked salmon and traditional condiments, both light and packed with flavours that worked. The starters whetted your appetite, rather than obliterating it.

The steak is of course the main event, they know it as well, which is why you select your steak knife from a presentation box full of fancy options. It took my partner so long to pick you'd have thought she was a young Harry in Ollivanders. If you don't get the reference, I'm not explaining it to you. It's a cultural phenomenon. Muggle.

Leave plenty of room for your main course, especially, if, like me, you order a 20oz Scottish T-bone, which was sublime, every bite melting in your mouth, as was the case with my partner's 8oz Irish fillet.

We shared steak fries, potato gratin, carrots with butter and broccoli with chilli, with only the broccoli failing to elicit rave reviews.

We had a dessert, for Birthday's sake, my partner enjoying her bourbon vanilla crème brulée but not as much as I enjoyed their take on key lime pie, served with meringue and red berries.

A quick coffee in the lounge before we waddled back to our room and got ready to do it all again, with a Signature breakfast in the morning, served in the same restaurant.

We love the large Celtic Manor buffet breakfast and this is merely a smart variation on the theme, the same delicious breakfast with continental and full Welsh (cooked) options, only in a far more intimate setting. It's nice to enjoy your black pudding and mushrooms without a cavalcade of screaming children, an occupational hazard around the festive period.

After breakfast my partner enjoyed a Signature massage at the Celtic Manor's award winning spa, returning relaxed and revived and ready to celebrate her birthday. Though we had checked out, we were still able to use the pool and spa facilities and even spotted a celebrity or two. They can't put that in the brochure.

All factored together and we found the entire experience a joy from start to finish, everything as it should be, considering you are sampling five star luxury.

And for a special occasion, The Signature Collection at the Celtic Manor is a tremendous treat.