Swell Apartments, Bath

Pull up to the limestone walls of this house on the Circus, and breathe in the sun-faded, honey-coloured stone gorgeousness: you won’t believe your enviable position within Bath’s most esteemed postcode. Situated on the city’s architectural icon, the Circus, the views from this enormous Georgian townhouse are spectacular – you’re staying in a gem that the tourists passing by will wish they’d been lucky enough to discover for themselves.

This imposing residence spanning five floors contains two very private and individual apartments that can be rented separately or together. The courtyard apartment with its own entrance sleeps two, while the larger, top floor Beau Nash apartment sleeps four. Both are perfect for couples seeking style and seclusion in this most elegant of cities.

A vat-sized Jo Malone candle scents your first few steps inside this Georgian property and, as you walk over Italian marble floors, you find yourself looking up at a grand staircase punctuated with fabulous, six-foot-deep, Swarovski crystal chandeliers. A whole host of period features await: wallpaper that’s been hand-painted to an 18th-century design; atmospheric working fireplaces; and views of the Circus through shuttered sash windows.

Yet despite their Georgian grandeur, this house and its two apartments have boutique-style soul in their heart. Ruby-red Fifties glamour twirls around sumptuous Noughties luxury, while a streak of Deco deliciousness wends its way firmly through the rich fabric of the house.

The courtyard apartment, a spacious and romantic retreat for two, boasts a double bedroom that gracefully blends pale-pink silk with delicate green walls. Polished parquet flooring stretches out beneath shuttered windows and tasselled flower-print blinds, while cool white steps lead up to your very own private courtyard.

Next door, hand-painted wallpaper provides the backdrop to a high-spec kitchen medley of scarlet cupboards, limestone flooring and a window seat scattered with red-and-white chequered and stripy cushions. The living room blends burnt umber tones with Fifties style furniture. Oversized wine glasses tempt you to pour an extra large helping of red, lie back on the plump, orange-splattered sofas and think of Jane Austen. Continuing the hideaway theme, a spa-like bathroom bubble of glass, candles and iridescent tiles is not the sort of space you’ll want to leave in a hurry.

Meanwhile, four levels up – past the flock wallpaper on staircase walls so high that indoor scaffolding was required to hang it (Lord help them when a lightbulb needs changing) – the Beau Nash apartment enjoys an altogether different disposition. A master double boudoir with the most comfortable bed in Bath (cancel all appointments; you will not be able to get up), mirrored Deco bedside tables and dusky blue hand-painted wallpaper, this bedroom is the finest in the house.

In a house of this scale, it’s handy to get your historical bearings. The Circus, built between 1754 and 1769, was the brainwave of John Wood, a man fascinated with ancient stone circles. He based the Circus structure on the curve and measurements of Stonehenge – and, with a nod to masonry of a whole different kind, he implanted a mysterious triangle symbol at the centre of the Circus circle. Acorn finials top the structure – a nod to Wood’s inner druid (the oak tree is a symbol of power for the beardy ones) – and all views from the top-floor apartment bedroom are framed by these large stone nuts. It’s hard not to feel a little mystical during your stay at this landmark address.

Along the corridor, Beau Nash apartment’s twin bedroom benefits from the best views across the Circus. And, despite its mirrored Deco furniture and jewel-tasselled blinds, it still retains a sense of its maids’ quarters origins. Next door, flock-inspired tiling, Jo Malone and the White Company toiletries, and a free-standing bath jostle for attention in the bathroom – while a fully equipped kitchen stands by for all your self-catering needs.

But it’s the living room of the Beau Nash apartment that will really scupper any plans you have to go out. An enormous sink-in-and-you’re-history red sofa and glamorous thrones in the bay window are just perfect for watching Bath sunsets, and looking down over the gravel drive, where crinoline-clad ladies once milled and kept a tight hold of their jewels.

Owner Amanda, a lawyer with a serious interior design habit, is a stickler for detail. Over-spec’d kitchens with Villeroy & Boch fine bone china and bathrooms stocked with Jo Malone products take the frustration out of self-catering, while rich velvets and elegant silks are in keeping with the position and grandeur of a property once owned by a bishop. But Amanda has also injected a sense of Hollywood glamour into the place; call it ‘boutique-Georgian’, if you like.

Your neighbours in the Circus include Nicolas Cage (three doors down) and Johnny Depp (we’ve yet to stalk down his exact apartment), so it’s advisable to perfect your ‘Oh, are you famous? I had no idea’ poker face if you want to keep your cool. You never know who you might bump into at this star-studded end of town.

As perfect for a romantic never-leave-the-apartment escape as it is for a stylish shopping break with friends, this is the kind of house you’d walk past and whistle at. So get ready to wake up in a whirlwind of glamour, because this really is something very special.

Reviewed by Charlotte Crisp