If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP102.50), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Country crashpad the Beacon watches over Royal Tunbridge Wells’ Happy Valley (the one that’s more tranquil than the show of the same name). Twinkling bulbs and lavender line the pathway up to this former family home, where you’ll be out like a light in the devilishly handsome bedrooms, and some in-room tubs for two await. And consider its green lake-dotted grounds, country-air-kissed terrace and Kent-centric restaurant, and you’ll be drawn in like a moth to a flame.
10am; earliest check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability and an extra charge.
Prices
Double rooms from £123.00, including tax at 20 per cent.
More details
Rates don’t usually include breakfast; à la carte options are available to order.
Also
Unfortunately, this bucolic bolthole is not suitable for guests with reduced mobility.
At the hotel
Rose garden, three lakes and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, Roberts radio, minibar, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit and Noble Isle bath products.
Our favourite rooms
You’re either a bath person or you’re not, and we’d guess that the designers at the Beacon are – five of the seven individually styled rooms feature a statement soaking tub. Catchpole & Rye standalone bath tubs in magpie-attracting metals shine in the Blackthorn, Spindle Berry and Beechnut rooms; the round tub in Yarrow’s window-wrapped turret has the makings of a fairytale; and – if you have an exhibitionist streak – you might prefer Summer House’s hot tub on the terrace, where a glass barrier can be frosted as much (or as little) as you like.
Packing tips
You’ll want your Barbour jacket and Dubarry boots for country mile-long walks.
Children
Little Smiths are welcome, though there are no extra beds or baby cots, nor any specific kit for them. There’s a dedicated children’s menu at the restaurant.
Sustainability efforts
The Beacon shines a light on sustainability by reducing plastic use, recycling, adopting an energy-efficient heating system and sourcing local and seasonal produce for the restaurant.
Slide into the stained-glass-window-framed banquette, or sink into an armchair by the roaring fireplace.
Dress Code
Gastropub get-up – don your cashmere and cords.
Hotel restaurant
Chef Scott Goss and his team have curated an impressive list of all-Kent suppliers (including dairies, truffle-hunters, fishmongers and farmers), which shows in the seasonal menus. The dining space is decked out with pub-like elements: wooden furniture, soft armchairs, fireplaces. But the delicately arranged dishes take cues from modern European cuisine. Romney lamb with smoked aubergine and Skrei cod with crab and sake are standouts; afternoon-tea-themed tasting menus put a playful spin on the locally sourced produce, and weekends conclude with succulent Sunday roasts.
Hotel bar
The Garden Bar delights year-round – in warmer months, the sun streams in, casting lemon light over the modern-rustic space; and in winter it’s cosy with sheepskin throws and a crackling log fire. Valley views stretch beyond the decked terrace – camp out under one of the floral umbrellas with a biodynamic wine or seasonal cocktail, such as the High Tea (Earl Grey-infused gin and marmalade syrup, topped with hot water).
Last orders
Breakfast is 8.30am–11am; lunch is from noon until 2.30pm every day; dinner is 6pm until 10.30pm, Wednesday to Saturday. The bar is open from noon until 10.30pm, Thursday to Saturday; until 6pm, on Sundays.
The Beacon perches on the edge of the wooded Happy Valley, just outside of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Planes
London’s Gatwick Airport is a 45-minute drive; transfers can be arranged on request from £70 each way.
Trains
Southeastern runs routes from London Charing Cross and Hastings to Tunbridge Wells station, which is 10 minutes away from the hotel by car.
Automobiles
You’ll want a set of wheels for exploring Kent’s verdant pastures and East Sussex’s windswept beaches – Rye, Eastbourne and Hastings are an hour’s drive. Plus, Royal Tunbridge Wells is a five-minute drive; London is just over two hours away by car.
Other
Chopper in during the winter months – there’s a helipad a 15-minute drive away.
Worth getting out of bed for
We hope your boots are made for walking, because that’s just what you’ll do – the Beacon rests in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; its vast landscape is contoured by rolling hills, woodland and meadows. The marathon-long Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk takes ramblers past churches, historic pubs and vineyards. Moated, 14th-century Scotney Castle is wrapped by a wooded estate; Ashdown Forest's thriving wildlife were the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh and for less muddy romps, the Pantiles in Royal Tunbridge Wells showcases Georgian grandeur and modern eateries, or slightly further afield is cute-as-pie citadel Rye.
Local restaurants
Head to laidback Framptons Tunbridge Wells for best-of-British brunches, hefty Sunday roasts and mean burgers. Thackeray’s Restaurant, set in the Vanity Fair author’s former home, is more upscale with French fare served à la carte or in a seven-course tasting menu. Indian cuisine with a British twist impresses at Essence by Atul Kochhar; its Pantiles-facing terrace comes alive during the summer months.
Local cafés
Melbourne-inspired St Kilda delivers Aussie-style breakfasts, all-day dining and strong coffees. Juliets is your girl for saccharine treats; more blood-sugar-stabilising offerings come in the form of vegan plates and open sandwiches.
Local bars
Spirits are high at cocktail bar the Glasshouse, thanks to a creative list of on-the-rocks, highball and fizzy concoctions. Things are scaled back at Allkin Tap and Bottle – sip craft beers and natural wines at the stone counter or on a wooden bench.
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 charming hotel in Kent and unpacked their wellies and walking sticks, a full account of their country break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside the Beacon…
The Beacon has lived a colourful life already, as a public bath house, private home, hostel for refugees… But we’re most interested in its latest iteration. Now residing in this historic house are seven individually styled suites, which are dressed in name-drop-worthy brands: House of Hackney cushions; Alice Temperley-designed wallpaper; Andrew Martin leather, linen and leopard-print headboards; Fired Earth-tiled bathrooms; and Catchpole & Rye freestanding bath tubs in chrome and brass. The country chic restaurant and private dining rooms are decked out in similarly soigné style, and the Garden Bar charms with its view-blessed terrace and sun-dappled tables. At both, post-ramble refuelling comes in the form of seasonal cocktails and cuisine, which celebrate Kent’s fine produce.
