Ellenborough Park
Style Fifteenth-century thoroughbred
Setting Racy Prestbury
We’re backing Ellenborough Park as our next Gold Cup winner. This is an educated bet – the sports-loving hotel has thoroughbred good looks, 90 gorgeous green acres, and a herd of indulgent extras, from fine dining to fine wine-ing.
Need to know
- Rooms 62, including three suites.
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Rates
Double rooms from $274.01 (£175), excluding tax at 20 per cent.
Prices have been converted from the hotel's local currency (£175), via XE.com, using today's exchange rate.
- More details Rates include breakfast (buffet and Full English) and use of the spa.
- Facilities Spa with seven treatment rooms, sauna and a juice bar; gardens, gun room, gym, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: flatscreen TV, iPod dock, minibar and Penhaligon's bath products.
- Poolside The outdoor pool, flanked by white-cushioned wooden sun loungers, is kept at a deliciously warm 30-degrees all-year round. The pool is positioned near the hotel’s newest block of rooms, Woodland Court.
- Children Cots are free, extra beds are £30 (this charge includes your nipper’s breakfast), and babysitting with a local nanny can be arranged. The hotel reckons that when it comes to young uns, it’s best suited to babies. More...
- Also Bring your dog too, for £25 a night. Canine companions aren’t allowed in the Main House, though, and not all rooms are pet-friendly.
Food and drink at Ellenborough Park
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Hotel restaurant
There are two: Beaufort Dining Room is the bigger, and more formal, with original Tudor fireplaces, stained glass Oriel windows, and fine dining to match; the Tudor Club serves burgers and British classics in a cosy, sports-themed setting.
- Dress code An equine equation: white shirts + cashmere + tan leather accents. Spruce up for the Beaufort; T-shirts and chinos are fine for the Tudor Club.
- Top table Cold? Snuggle up by the fire. Hot? Sit outside and enjoy the breeze. Ardent sports fans should sit closest to the TV in the Tudor Club bar, which screens all the big sporting events.
- Last orders Enjoy breakfast between 7am and 10am in the week (half an hour later at weekends); lunch between 12 noon and 2.30pm (Tuesday–Saturday), or from 12.30pm until 4.30pm on Sundays. Dinner is dished up Monday–Saturday, 7pm–10pm.
- Room service The room service menu is thorough (soups, salads, sandwiches and mains), and available 24-hours a day.
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Hotel bar
Fans of whisky and cigars will love the bar area (where both are on tap), tucked away in the Tudor Club. The barmen mix up a mean Mantis Kiss: vodka, guava, lime and Tanqueray gin.
Also worth knowing
- Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...
Ellenborough Park Southam Road, Cheltenham Spa, GL52 3NH
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Smith extra at Ellenborough Park
An Ellenborough cocktail on arrival, and 10 per cent off any 55-minute spa treatment
Offers at Ellenborough Park
- Beaufort dinner, bed and break...
- 'Ultimate Luxury Weekend' pack...
- Relax and revitalise: two-nigh...
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In the know
Our favourite rooms
The Arkle suite is surprisingly light and airy, considering that it’s kitted out from top-to-toe in oak panelling. It has a lucky streak, too: named after Arkle the racehorse (who notched up 14 big wins in just two years), and is a favourite with visiting jockeys. They probably love it for its princely four-poster. Or its striking original fireplace. Or its vast bathroom with a roll-top tub and shower. The Istabraq suite, set in the eaves of the Great Hall, doesn’t skimp on drama, with its soaring dark Tudor beams and glittering split-level bathroom with under-floor heating, twin basins, roll-top bath and palatial shower.
Packing tips
Don’t weigh your case down with binoculars for spying on the horses/race-goers, the hotel has telescopes for this purpose. Ladies/gents yearning for a smooth mane can request hair straighteners from reception; phone chargers and dental kits are also available. Prestbury is supposedly Britain’s most haunted village: bring your preferred method of protection against the undead – garlic, black salt or holy water, perhaps?
Also
The original entrance has been converted into the ‘Cove’, a little business centre with a computer, printer and fax. Look out for the first owner’s initials, TG (Thomas Goodman), carved into the stone around the arch. After a relaxing treatment at the spa (we’d plump for an algae wrap or Nemaste of India: body brush, scalp, hair and full-body massage), get all your five dailies in one go, with a trip to the spa’s juice bar.
From the Guestbook…
Wow, this hotel is absolutely brilliant. The service is professional, slick, warm and friendly – at odds with the formality of the building and a great asset to the managemen...
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