Epping Forest, United Kingdom

The Royal Forest

Price per night from$132.92

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 (GBP99.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

The Royal Forest Photos

Style

Ruling retreat

Setting

Essex bower power

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Blue blood runs through The Royal Forest — a boutique pub with rooms that once played host to Queen Victoria. Regal renovations have kept the hotel’s 19th-century grandeur, contrasting original stained-glass windows with pleasing palettes and an emphasis on spoiling comforts. Downstairs, on-tap tipples hold court for their refreshing flavour and the kitchen puts a golden touch on pub grub. The ramble-inclined have Epping Forest as their nature-clad castle, and easy access to London makes for a crowning urban contrast.

Smith Extra

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A signature gin and tonic (or non-alcoholic alternative) each

Facilities

Photos The Royal Forest facilities

Need to know

Rooms

29.

Check–Out

11am, and check-in is at 3pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.

More details

Rates are room-only, but an à la carte breakfast is available at the restaurant each morning.

Also

The ground-floor Luxe Accessible room has been adapted to accommodate wheelchair users. There is a lift between the ground and first floor, accessible toilets on the ground floor, as well as entry ramps at the back entrance and into the main bar and restaurant.

At the hotel

Free WiFi throughout. In rooms: 43- or 50-inch TV with Chromecast, Roberts radio, air-conditioning, mini fridge, tea- and coffee-making kit, free bottled water and Bramley bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Each heritage-rich pick comes with its own charming oddities and vintage furnishings. When it comes to colour, most rooms are dressed in dream-inducing dark hues; but for something that beams brighter, we’re drawn to the Fancy Room for its pastel palette, and the Luxe Room’s light-welcoming, stained-glass windows that date back to the 19th century.

Packing tips

Upgrade your walking threads to something you’ll happily be seen in the bar in for post-hike pints.

Pet‐friendly

Up to two well-behaved pups are welcome at the bar and in selected rooms, where they’ll have their own bed, food and water bowls. See more pet-friendly hotels in Epping Forest.

Children

Welcome; cots can be added to all Really Comfy and Fancy Rooms, and there’s space for two pull-out beds in Luxe Rooms, or one in Really Comfy Rooms.

Sustainability efforts

The historic Royal Forest was carefully restored with the building’s original 19th-century features to limit waste, and its seasonal pub menus have been awarded a three-star Food Made Good rating for their sustainable, locally made and ethical produce.

Food and Drink

Photos The Royal Forest food and drink

Top Table

By a snuggly, fire-warmed nook during the winter, and out on the patio in the summer.

Dress Code

Whatever you’re wearing on the trails will work just fine in these forest-flanked ends.

Hotel restaurant

Senses are sufficiently tantalised at The Royal Forest, where chefs have concocted an elevated selection of plates that highlights sustainably sourced produce. Menus change seasonally, but flavourful fish fillets, cheddar soufflés and cosy Sunday roasts are perennial standouts.

Hotel bar

The hotel’s pub is the place for post-ramble refuels. Quaff artisan ales and crisp ciders by the roaring log fires, or call in at the central bar for craft cocktails that pack a spirited punch.

Last orders

Breakfast is served from 7.30am to 10am; lunch starts at noon and flows into dinner, which ends at 11pm (9.45pm on Sundays).

Location

Photos The Royal Forest location
Address
The Royal Forest
4 Ranger's Road
Epping Forest
E4 7QH
United Kingdom

You’ll find The Royal Forest on Chingford’s side of Epping Forest, teetering on the border between the suburbs of east London and Essex.

Planes

London Stansted Airport is your closest international option, around 30 minutes from the hotel by car. Luton is 45 minutes away; and if you’re touching down at Heathrow or Gatwick, it’ll be a slightly further 60- to 90-minute drive, depending on traffic. The hotel doesn’t offer private transfers, but all four airports have easy-to-find taxi ranks.

Trains

The hotel sits on the outskirts of London’s extensive rail network. Chingford Overground is a 10-minute walk away and the nearest station, where you can catch direct trains to the city’s well-connected Liverpool Street. Buckhurst and Loughton are alternative close-by stops that are both on the Underground’s Central Line.

Automobiles

A car isn’t essential for those ambling between forest and city, but if you’re hoping to explore further afield, a set of wheels will be useful. There’s free private parking at the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Your position on the edge of Epping Forest means days are filled with exploring the cycling and hiking trails that wrap around its 6,000 acres. And Connaught Water is our tip for an idyllic picnic stop if you’re visiting during the warmer months. But scenic tree-swathed settings aren’t all this park offers: Queen Elizabeth’s 16th-century Hunting Lodge is a timbered time machine with private Tudor-themed tours and panoramic views of the forest. There’s more history to heed at Waltham Abbey and Copped Hall, too, where guided visits take you around ancient interiors and flora-filled gardens. 

Independent boutiques, quaint cafés and pubs lace the streets of your nearest town, Chingford, and London’s Liverpool Street is a 30-minute direct train if you’re looking to spend a day in the city.

Local restaurants

La Baita may have an unassuming façade, but secure a seat at one of its traditional tables and you’ll be blessed with flavour-packed Italian classics and a palate-pleasing pick of wines. Award-winning pub grub and on-tap tipples draw devotees to the Woodbine; and Tandoor at the Chambers is set to satisfy curry cravings with its perfectly marinated meats and seasonal spiced sauces.

Local cafés

A few minutes from your front door, the Larder at Butler’s Retreat serves packed-to-the-crust sandwiches, freshly baked cakes, and coffees in a rustic, barn-style setting.

Reviews

Photos The Royal Forest 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 heritage hotel in Essex and unpacked their wellies and walking poles, a full account of their beside-London break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside The Royal Forest in Epping Forest…

You’ll be walking among monarchs at The Royal Forest — a historic hotel on the border of Epping’s arboreal parkland. This close-to-the-capital spot was Henry VIII’s (and Elizabeth I’s) preferred hunting place, and the royal rendezvous didn’t stop then. In 1882, Queen Victoria would pay a visit to what was then the Forest Hotel, anointing it with the regal moniker it wears today.

There are plenty of original features to revere, including a central staircase and looming stained-glass window, painted with tales of the historic Epping Hunt. But these days, residual stuffiness and formal etiquette have long been cast aside in favour of a cosseting, country feel. Rooms are ruffled with William Morris-esque textiles and soporific colour schemes; and cockles are warmed just as much downstairs, courtesy of seasonal French-leaning fare and the familiar fizz of a just-pulled pint.

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Price per night from $132.92