Babington House
Style Relaxed retro country club
Setting Home from Frome
The launch of the country cousin of media hangout Soho House kick-started the march of metropolitan cool into the countryside. At this impressive manor house in the rolling Somerset countryside, hip staff greet you at the door, not a uniform in sight. The truly relaxing do-what-you-want atmosphere is Babington House's real feat; others can imitate, but it's the service that makes the difference.
Need to know
- Rooms 32 rooms: 11 in the main house, three by the spa, five family rooms in the stable block, and the Lodge, a three-bedroom cottage at the top of the drive.
- Rates Double rooms from $367.11 (£233), excluding tax at 20 per cent.
- More details Breakfast is extra.
- Facilities Gardens, Cowshed Spa with indoor and outdoor pools, gym, sauna and steam room, library, pool room (with a stash of cigars), 45-seat cinema, croquet lawn, tennis courts, cricket pitch and DVD selection. In rooms: LCD TV, DVD player, free WiFi and Cowshed bath products.
- Check-out Midday, but once you’ve checked out you can hang around.
- Children Very welcome, especially in the Stable Block rooms. There’s the free Little House crèche for kids aged one and up, and there are designated children’s hours at the pool during the week. Babysitting can be arranged, and there’s a menu for wee ones. More...
- Also There’s a minimum two-night stay on Friday and Saturday nights. Family rooms and the Lodge are normally booked up a year in advance. Weddings are held most Thursdays.
Food and drink at Babington House
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Hotel restaurant
There are three dining areas: the gastropubby House Kitchen, the banquetty Log Room, and airy and elegant main restaurant area, the Orangery. All serve a self-assured menu of tasty brasserie fare. -
Dress code
Barefoot or ballgown. -
Top table
By day, sit at the edge of the Orangery overlooking the lawn; at night, ask for a restaurant view. -
Last orders
The restaurant closes when last guest leaves. Bar open until 2am, later for residents. -
Room service
Anything, any time. -
Hotel bar
On the ground floor, the House Bar is a curvaceous, high-ceilinged, French-windowed picture of country elegance, where guests hunker down on turtle-green Chesterfields and velvety lilac armchairs.
Also worth knowing
- Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...
Babington House Babington House, Nr Frome Somerset, Northeast Somerset, BA11 3RW
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Smith extra at Babington House
A bottle of Cowshed's Horny Cow Seductive Bath & Massage Oil
In the know
Our favourite rooms
We loved seductive Room 5, with a freestanding bath by the bed; Room 6, with its tub on a private terrace; and Room 12 for its eight-foot bed and big bathroom with views to the lake.
Packing tips
Don't forget your swimsuit (though there's a shop if you do), goggles, and suitable attire to walk from bedroom to spa.
Also
Wellies provided.
From the Guestbook…
There had been so much hype around Babington House that we were worried that it wouldn't live up to our expectations. However, the minute we walked in, we could tell that it would ...
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