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Eve Press
The Sunday Times, Travel |
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| 'A guidebook yardstick – both for its pithy, first person reviews… and for the bold elegance of its design' | |
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Nights with shining armoires Around the UK are hotels made for spoiling weekends away. Offering everything from Art Deco furniture to twin baths, all ensure the winter evenings will fly by Burlington Island Hotel Bigbury-on-Sea, Devon (01548-810514; www.burghisland.com) Separated from the rugged Devon coastline by a natural sand causeway some 200m long, Burgh Island is dominated by its remarkable Art Deco hotel, built in 1929 as a playground for ‘Uncle Archie’ Nettlefold and friends. At low tide, you are transported to the island in a hi-tech Land-Rover Defender – at high tide in the less glamorous sea tractor. On entering the hotel you are transported back in time to the golden era of British Deco, when chrome mixed elegantly with mirrors and machine-age motifs. Many of the pieces are old, if not original to the hotel; big-band jazz crackles out fro the speakers and sophisticated guests sip martinis in the Palm Court lounge. The Garden Suite is the largest of the 21 bedrooms, though the word ‘large’ can’t begin to describe it: the bedroom is vast, the lounge titanic and it has two bathrooms. The draw of this flagship room is its floor-to-ceiling French windows, which provide a spectacular view of the Devonshire coastline and open on to a grassy garden where, in warm weather, you can dine in private. Instructions are quite specific about dinner explain that black tie and ‘proper’ evening dresses are quite normal. Set against such a background of grandeur, the food might easily be secondary but it is perfect down to the last detail. Rates: £260-£360, including breakfast and dinner. Recommended rooms: The Artist Studio, Noel Coward or Avon, the Garden Suite. Didsbury House Didsbury Village, Manchester (0161-448 2200; www.didsburyhouse.co.uk) The younger sister of townhouse hotel Eleven Didsbury Park, Didsbury House is a £2 million refurbishment of astounding proportions. It’s a Victorian villa and coach house knocked into one, with twisty-turny staircases, imposing stained-glass over the main stairway and unexpected dead ends that give the feeling you’re having fun in a grown-up playhouse. Because of the house’s unconventional layout, each room has a character of its own; the repeat visitor should aim to sample them all. Room 52, up in the rafters, feels more like a New York loft – and has twin side-by-side roll-top baths. Room 12 is a split-level condo, whose Victorian-style shower functions with Niagara-force vigour. The hotel’s zinc-plated elliptical bar oozes unforced urban cool and the lounge is crowned by a monumental Phillippe Starck lamp. The hotel is a mix of traditional and modern and the lower-ground breakfast room opens out on to a white-walled garden. A stand-out feature is the hotel’s extra-late breakfast service, which runs until the last guest arrives, so you can have a lie in and not miss out. And if physical pleasure is your thing, all manner of treatments are available in the subterranean spa and gym. Two days here feels like a week on holiday. Rates: £99.50-£300. Recommended rooms: The King Suite has his and hers freestanding cast-iron roll-top baths and a combination shower and steam room. Or take Room 52 or one of the split-level rooms (11, 12, 32 or 35). Barnsley House Barnsley, Cirencester (012850740000; www.barnsleyhouse.com) Visitors used to flock from all over the world to the gardens at Barnsley House, designed by the late Rosemary Verey, the legendary gardener and writer, but these days they are reserved for the exclusive pleasure of the house’s overnight guests. Garden fans or not, this one will blow you away. The house is an imposing 17th-century manor house, yet somehow the ultra-modern manor house, yet somehow the ultra-modern furniture doesn’t seem remotely out of place. Old and new are blended effortlessly. The muted tones of the traditional paints make a perfect backdrop to the B&B Italia square-back swivel armchairs, and in the lounge you may well find yourself flicking through an antique edition of The Pickwick Papers by the light of a funky chrome table lamp. The atmosphere is distinctly chilled, as is the bottle of complimentary champagne. Siesta time is whole new realm of pleasure: a seven-foot bed with Egyptian cotton sheets; lilies from the garden; plasma-screen TV; CD; DVD. Room 3 is a bathroom with an en-suite bedroom. The showerhead’s the size of a plate and there’s a double-ended roll-top bath, so no fights about who get the tap end. The hotel restaurant offers and Italian menu devised by Franco Taruschio (formerly of The Walnut Tree Inn), based on what is available in the veg patch. Weather permitting, you can dine alfresco in the Gothic Summer House or at the Temple overlooking the lily pond. Rates: £250-£450. Recommended rooms: Room 1 has two baths in the bathroom; room 2 has a Jacuzzi; room 5 its own sitting room; room 7 its own conservatory and garden. Hurst House East Marsh, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire (01994-427417; www.hurst-house.co.uk) Deep in the Welsh countryside, Hurst House appears, on the face of it, to follow the tried-and-trusted model of boho modern, but one look at the rooms will change that opinion. Room 106, for example, is a spacious split-level bedroom and living area in one of the converted outhouses (Hurst House is an old farm estate). The living area has a wood-burning open fire, a chic, leather sofa and an impressive showing of Bang & Olufsen kit: TV, stereo and DVD. The bathroom is huge, with a freestanding bath, an enormous shower in the centre of the room and fabulous black-and-white tiles. The bar has leather sofas to sink into, stacks of newspapers, a roaring fire and a good selection of wines, cocktails and faultless food – something you’ll also find in the restaurant. The countryside around Hurst House is breathtaking and there are a number of Dylan Thomas-related attractions nearby – such as the boathouse where the celebrated soak wrote. Five minutes away, a great selection of ales and remarkably good pork pies are to be found at the New Three Mariners, the latest venture by Hurst House’s owners, Matt Roberts and actor Neil Morrissey. Rates: £125-£175, including breakfast. Recommended rooms: Room 106 is on two levels, with an open fire for winter evenings. Seaham Hall and Serenity Spa Lord Byron’s Walk, Seaham, County Durham (0191-516-1400; www.seaham-hall.com) Seaham Hall is swathed in history: Lord Byron married Annabella Milbanke here in 1815. However, this is one hotel that faces resolutely towards the future. As the William Pye water sculpture in front of the clifftop house declares, Seaham and its facilities are as 21st century as they can be. A (necessary) guided tour of your suite shows you how to use the intelligent lighting, surround-sound ceiling speakers, CD banks, Internet access, controls for adjustable mood lighting and pinpoint reading lights, complete with sleep mode. Traditional comforts include open fireplaces, private terraces off the ground-floor suites and sea views from many of the rooms. The spa is built into the hillside and combines exotic therapies with modern perfectionism. Entering through the underground tunnel from the hotel, you feel you’re wandering into a world that revolves around pleasure and comfort. Treatments include Japanese facials and Chinese massages; there’s a 20-metre ozone-cleansed pool, sauna, steam room and ice fountain. With all this on offer, one weekend at the hotel is not nearly enough. Rates: Doubles from £175, including breakfast; penthouse suite from £500. Recommended rooms: The Penthouse; room 11, intimate but south-facing; room 14, with balcony overlooking the spa; room 15, with a bath in the bedroom. Driftwood Rosevine near Portscatho, Cornwall (01872-580644; www.driftwoodhotel.co.uk) Striking the perfect balance between accessible and remote, the main house has an incredible setting, high on a cliff with views over the bay and Driftwood’s private beach. From the outside, the hotel doesn’t look out of the ordinary, but the interior has been given a great deal of thought: the furnishings are comfortable and homey, in blues, creams and natural woods. The prize bedroom is the Cabin, a proper little Tom Sawyer house a short walk from the main property. Perched halfway down the cliffs, it’s nicely secluded, with its own sitting room and two bedrooms. People travel from far and wide to eat the seafood and locally reared meat on the menu in the restaurant. The owners are perfectly understanding of those after a romantic escape – they orgainse an early supper for kids, and with the children’s games room away from the main house there is always a calm, relaxed atmosphere. The service is unobtrusive – whether you’d like a massage booked or a picnic packed, it will be seen to. They will even lend you their dog, Buffy, for walks. Rates: £140-£190 including breakfast and, in low season, dinner. Recommended rooms: The Cabin has two bedrooms and offers perfect seclusion. Room 10 is the largest and has a fantastic view of Gerrans Bay. The Onion Store Wellow Mead, Sherfield English, Romsey, Hampshire (01794-323227; www.theonionstore.co.uk) ‘The most intensely private, totally peaceful, romantic hideaway,’ this hotel’s brochure proudly declares. The Onion Store is certainly secluded, six miles out of Romsey, down a series of New Forest country lanes, and has no telephones, radios or televisions. The garden path leads up The Grain Store, one of only three buildings set within eight acres of grounds. A glimpse at the rustic décor, canopied bed and French cast-iron bath should dispel any withdrawal symptoms. Draped muslin, a tree-trunk balustrade and a pot-pourri heart are enough to put even the most hardened cynic in the mood for romance. Cupid touches are everywhere: attached to a 17th-century thatched house is the secluded swimming pool, which is candlelit for late-night swims; a rose is left on the pillows of the turned-down bed. The surrounding New Forest is wonderful for walking and cycling, and not far away is Lyminton, where the gently sloping high street leads down to a cobbled quayside and the Ship Inn, the perfect place to stop for a pint and to raise a toast to the Onion Store. Rates: £110-£120 including breakfast. Recommended rooms: Each is superb, with private garden or sundeck. The Apple Store has its own outdoor hot tub. Star Inn Harome, Helmsley, New Yorkshire (01439-770397; www.thestaratharome.co.uk) A thatched roof, low beams, candlelit nooks, padded pews and a faint whiff of woodsmoke and beeswax conjure up 600 years of hospitality at this inn. Andrew, one half of the Jacquie and Andrew Pern partnership, is the head chef, and his northern roots have inspired his brilliant Michelin-starred menu. The converted guesthouse, Cross House Lodge, is just across the road, where, in the residents’ lunge, enormous beams, open fires and an incredible dining table provide a look that is Out of Africa meets Yorkshire barn. Andrew’s robust taste in food is matched by Jacquie’s taste in décor. The incredible breakfast (figs, prosciutto, warm breads, smoked salmon, brioches, muesli and cheeses) is set up in the Wheelhouse, or delivered to your room. After this, visit the Star Inn’s ‘corner shop’ – a traiteur packed with wonderful local and British produce, and an abundance of delicacies from the Star Inn kitchen. Rates: £120-195. Recommended rooms: Room 1 has a bath at the foot of the bed. Room 5 is large, with its own snooker table. Room 7 has a spa bath. Pool House Hotel Poolewe, Ross-shire (01445-781272; www.poolhousehotel.com) The rooms at Pool House are more like apartments. Each has a nautical theme: the Diadem, for example, is in the style of a first-class cabin on the Titanic. Wine, food and décor have become a vocation for the family that owns Pool House. It’s run by sisters Elizabeth and Mhairi (her husband, John Moir, is the chef), while father, Peter Harrison, is there to advise on which whisky will suit your mood. Meanwhile mother, Margaret, makes sure you are as comfortable as can be. In the dining room, murals, over-sized candelabra and a seven-foot compass in gold leaf provide the backdrop for a six-course gastronomic extravaganza made from local produce. There are more than 400 malt whiskies in the cellar, 60 of which are sold by the glass. During the day, go whale-watching or porpoise-spotting, or stand and watch the sunset: just feet from the house, the river meets the ocean and a pool forms. Here salmon gather before swimming out to sea. Rates: £190-£350. Recommended rooms: All suites have fantastic water views. Favourite: the Diadem. The Royal Oak Pool Lane, East Lavant, Chichester, West Sussex (01243-527434) The warm glow of light from the Royal Oak’s windows is just the beacon you need on a dark winter’s night. From the outside, it’s the very image of a quaint old pub, complete with thatched roof; venturing in, the atmosphere is cosy but also with a modern feel you don’t come across in the average countryside local. There are rooms in the main building but at the back of the pus is an entire cottage, complete with its own sitting room, furnished with leather sofas and a plasma-screen TV. Stairs lead to the bedroom plus bathroom with a surprisingly slick walk-in shower. Back in the pub for dinner, the furniture is a mixture: a few big oak tables but also dishes of a contemporary flavour – beetroot risotto, monkfish and scallop kebabs and a divine crème brulee. The village of East Lavant is tiny, with more footpaths than road, and no shops. But who needs them when you’ve got a pretty church and a cricket green? A walk up Chalkpit Lane takes you to a viewpoint looking out over Goodwood and Chichester. Bosham harbour – full of sailing boats – is a 20-minute drive. Rates: £70-£90 for a double in the main house; £90-£150 for the cottage. Recommended rooms: The cottage has a 32-inch plasma-screen with DVD. Room 5 is the largest in the main house. Taken from Mr & Mrs Smith, The Hotel Collection photographed by Adrian Houston, published in October 2003 by Spy Publishing (£19.95; to buy online visit www.mrandmrssmith.com). |
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