Somerset, United Kingdom

Number One Bruton

Price per night from$258.51

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP195.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Number One Bruton Photos

Style

Tastebud-tempting bolthole

Setting

Bon-vivant Bruton

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In a fittingly prime position on the town’s bijou high street, lovingly restored boutique hotel Number One Bruton delivers a Somerset sojourn as superlative as its name. Original features and colourful country interiors pair prettily in individually styled rooms. And it's all about being wined and dined: the seasonal restaurant is causing a stir and the hotel’s pub is a welcome bolthole. The best of Bruton is, quite literally, on your doorstep. 

Smith Extra

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A beer or glass of house wine each at the Blue Ball

Facilities

Photos Number One Bruton facilities

Need to know

Rooms

12, including four suites.

Check–Out

11am; check-in, 4pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.

More details

Rates at Number One Bruton include a farmhouse breakfast and Somerset-sourced care package of Westcombe cheese, crackers, local cider and apple juice, and homemade shortbread in your room on arrival.

Also

Unfortunately, this country bolthole is not suitable if you have reduced mobility.

At the hotel

Charged laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: smart TV, tea- and coffee-making kit, minibar with Somerset drinks and snacks, free bottled water, bathrobes, slippers and bespoke bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Townhouse Three is an inviting retreat, with its rolltop bath tub, centuries-old wooden beams and sumptuous super-king-size bed. Number One Bruton’s playful streak comes out in the Forge rooms: John Steinbeck spent six months living down the road from Bruton in 1959, so each room has a hidden tile with the author's face for you to find (an adult take on Where’s Wally?, if you will).

Spa

Staff can arrange restorative treatments for you at nearby spas.

Packing tips

A well-rounded appetite — not just for farm-to-table dining, but also contemporary art, local cider and boutique buys.

Also

The Penelope Hobhouse-designed courtyard garden is a serene spot for a game of backgammon, cup of tea or post-dinner debrief. Its mediaeval well was revealed during the hotel’s renovation.

Pet‐friendly

Pooches are welcome in Forge and Cottage rooms for £25 a stay. See more pet-friendly hotels in Somerset.

Children

Welcome. Cottage Two and Townhouse One each have a double sofa-bed; free baby cots or extra beds (£25 a night) can be added to some rooms, and babysitting is available on request.

Sustainability efforts

The hotel favours home-grown ingredients, bolstered by supplies from West Country producers, and prioritises organic vegetables over meat. Its courtyard garden’s native landscaping encourages local wildlife and insects; natural materials are used throughout, and plastic is swapped out for reusable alternatives.

Food and Drink

Photos Number One Bruton food and drink

Top Table

By the window for people-watching potential.

Dress Code

Bruton's more cosmopolitan than country, so swap out your Schöffel for something more soigné.

Hotel restaurant

Number One Bruton hosted the first iteration of foodie’s-favourite Osip, leaving some big shoes to fill. But honeycomb-hued Briar duly rises to the occasion: its high-street perch brings a conviviality to the cosy-but-bright space, and while its approach to service may be relaxed, the team take their food and wine seriously. Breakfast is a farmhouse-style feast — and generous introduction to their seasonal ethos — with freshly baked pastries, sourdough bread and homemade granola served alongside local hams and cheeses, zesty juices and morning brews. 

But you’ll want to save room for the rest of the day’s offerings. Chef Sam Lomas’ farm-to-fork sharing plates change often, but you can expect to find moreish bites such as Westcombe cheddar gougères with a piping of gooseberry jam or Somerset apple cake doused in a silky caramel sauce. 

Hotel bar

The Blue Ball, the hotel’s fire-warmed pub, is as traditional as it gets with board games, Somerset lagers and ales on tap, and bonhomie-bringing quiz nights. 

Last orders

Breakfast is served daily from 8am to 10am (earlier on request). Briar closes Sunday and Monday, reopening for dinner (6pm to 8.45pm) from Tuesday, with lunch also served from Wednesday to Saturday (noon to 3pm). The pub pours from 1pm to midnight.

Location

Photos Number One Bruton location
Address
Number One Bruton
1 High Street Bruton
Somerset
BA10 0AB
United Kingdom

You’ll find Number One Bruton on the high street of its namesake Somerset town, close to the River Brue, independent boutiques and Hauser & Wirth.

Planes

Bristol Airport is a 45-minute drive from Bruton; Bournemouth Airport is 75 minutes away by car. Staff can arrange taxis from either airport, as well as those further afield.

Trains

Regional rail routes call at Bruton station, which is a five-minute walk from the hotel. Direct services from London arrive at Castle Cary; it’s a 10-minute drive away and staff can arrange taxi pick-ups (around £20 each way).

Automobiles

You won’t need wheels to take in Bruton, unless you plan on exploring beyond the town. Your hosts encourage you to arrive by train, but should you choose to drive, the hotel has dedicated parking spots at The Godminster Shop, a three-minute walk away. There’s also a free public carpark behind the hotel, which has its own electric-vehicle charging point.

Worth getting out of bed for

After a pootle along Bruton’s well-heeled high street, continue past your base at Number One Bruton, over the River Brue, and wander 10 minutes out of town to Hauser & Wirth Somerset, where artist residencies, landscaped gardens and locally sourced eateries come together on one creatively minded farmstead. 

Work up an appetite for Somerset’s top restaurants by scaling forest-swathed Alfred’s Tower or roaming the 1,000-acre estate of National Trust stalwart Stourhead. Potter about in Frome, or head to Pilton, where the surrounding fields transform annually for Glastonbury Festival; ascending Glastonbury Tor is a year-round pilgrimage. Further afield, family-friendly safaris tempt at Longleat, as do scenic hiking trails through Cheddar Gorge.

Local restaurants

Formerly located in Number One Bruton, farm-to-table Osip now resides amid rolling countryside, showcasing its organic, seasonal yields in daily changing Michelin-starred menus that are creatively executed and plated with precision. Bright-and-airy At the Chapel is a firm favourite for farm-fresh brunches, to-go coffees, wood-fired pizzas and hearty Sunday roasts. Despite its oh-so-Somerset location (within Hauser & Wirth) and produce, Da Costa expertly emulates the cosy feel of an Italian trattoria, with its warmly lit interiors, antipasti and aperitivi, and soul-warming dishes. 

Local cafés

For decadent pastries, breakfast classics and very good coffee, make a beeline for Burnt Honey in Castle Cary. 

Local bars

Once an apothecary, candlelit-and-intimate The Old Pharmacy now delivers modern-day remedies in the form of natural wines, local pints and Italian-inspired dining. Between catching an exhibition and dinner at Da Costa, hole up with a milk-wash margarita or herby spritz at Roth Bar, an arty watering hole with weekly jazz.

Reviews

Photos Number One Bruton reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this country-cool hotel in Bruton and unpacked their farm-shop finds and local ciders, a full account of their gourmet break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Number One Bruton in Somerset… 

In 1959, John Steinbeck said of his months-long residence in Bruton that ‘the peace I have dreamed about is here’. Decades later, we're seeking out a similar sense of calm at Number One Bruton, a boutique hotel and stalwart of the town’s hospitality scene. 

Carefully curated by husband-and-wife duo Aled and Claudia, with help from her mother, the interiors nod to the lore-inspiring locale — bedrooms in the forge each flaunt centuries-old beams and a hidden, hand-painted tile with the American author on it. 

Flop in the photograph-adorned living room, play games at the pub or pen prose in the courtyard garden, before coming together for top-tier dining at Briar, the hotel’s new-kid-on-the-block restaurant, which wows with seasonal sharing plates and hyper-local produce.  

Beyond Bruton, Steinbeck described Glastonbury Tor and Alfred’s Tower as ‘mystic’ and ‘wonderful’ — you might also feel so moved by your spell in Somerset.

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Price per night from $258.51

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