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Luxury country house hotels reviewed on travel reviews website ALadyofLeisure.com by travel journalist Sarah Bridge

A luxurious foodie stay at Gravetye Manor, a West Sussex gem

by Sarah Bridge
added June 27, 2020

When I first arrived at Gravetye Manor, the Michelin-starred country house hotel with award-winning gardens, I soon decided that this was one of the best hotels in West Sussex and when I was fortunate to revisit recently, there was nothing to make me...

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A West Sussex spa hotel stay come rain or shine at South Lodge, Horsham

by Sarah Bridge
added February 28, 2020

Staying at a luxury country house hotel when the weather is terrible might seem like a bit of a waste – you can forget cocktails on the terrace, long country walks, or stunning photos to make your friends envious - so our trip to West Sussex spa hote...

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New Hall historic hotel in Birmingham with a spa, pool and its very own moat

by Sarah Bridge
added February 12, 2020

There are probably many historic hotels in Birmingham with a spa and swimming pool but I can't imagine that many of them come with a moat. In fact, I was trying to think of any hotels with a moat which I've reviewed for ALadyofLeisure.com and I'm not...

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Luxury in the Cotswolds at The Lygon Arms hotel, Broadway

by Sarah Bridge
added November 21, 2019

If you're looking for luxury hotels in the Cotswolds The Lygon Arms will be high on your wish-list, and in fact it was on mine for ages. This historic hotel has been a main fixture in the beautiful Cotswolds village of Broadway since its days as a ...

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A relaxing stay at Stapleford Park hotel, golf and spa in Leicestershire

by Sarah Bridge
added November 3, 2019

It was only when I heard the receptionist answer the phone at Stapleford Park hotel in Leicestershire that I realised I'd been saying its name all wrong and it was actually pronounced Stappleford, rather than Stapleford - but the friendly staff at th...

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The best luxury hotels for Christmas 2019 – my epic festive round-up

by Sarah Bridge
added September 5, 2019

Luxury country house hotels get booked up early for Christmas and with good reason: luxury hotels could be made for Christmas. Think of the best luxury country house hotels for Christmas and instantly you can picture the festive scene: comfy sofas, ...

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Trying out Park House hotel’s new Germaine de Capuccini spa treatments

by Sarah Bridge
added July 9, 2019

Fans of Germaine de Capuccini who are wondering where to get Germaine de Capuccini spa treatments in the UK, will be delighted to hear that award-winning hotel Park House hotel and spa in West Sussex is the latest hotel to offer the skin care special...

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My stay at Cliveden House luxury hotel (favourite of poets, players and princesses)

by Sarah Bridge
added June 29, 2019

Throughout my own stay at Cliveden House luxury hotel, there was one question which I found almost impossible to answer. Would Cliveden still be as fabulous if it wasn't, well, Cliveden? Would it seem as special if it were just a very nice luxury cou...

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Bond, Bridget and me: my stay at Stoke Park luxury hotel

by Sarah Bridge
added June 21, 2019

It's where James Bond beat Goldfinger in possibly the most famous golf match in cinema history, where Bridget Jones ditched singleton life for a weekend away with boss Daniel Cleaver and where Teri Hatcher and Pierce Brosnan (as another Bond) danced ...

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Drama and country house charm during a stay at Kilworth House hotel

by Sarah Bridge
added June 19, 2019

You don't often hear the cast of a West End musical warming up when going for a walk in the grounds of a country house, but that's what you're likely to get during a stay at Kilworth House hotel. The unique outdoor theatre in the grounds of this L...

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Relaxing in the slow lane at Brandshatch Place hotel and spa

by Sarah Bridge
added March 13, 2019

It shares its name with a famous motor racing circuit but guests at the Brandshatch Place hotel and spa will enjoy a relaxing stay away from the fast lane. As befits a hotel named after a racing circuit, guests to the Brandshatch Pla...

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A charming luxury stay in Brockencote Hall hotel Worcestershire

by Sarah Bridge
added February 27, 2019

Brockencote Hall, set in several acres of lush green Worcestershire countryside, turned out to be an almost perfect stay, with the comforts and treats of a luxury country house hotel, from immaculate rooms, impeccable service and great food. Brock...

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A relaxing stay at Mallory Court luxury hotel Warwickshire

by Sarah Bridge
added February 27, 2019

It isn't often I embrace a hotel gym so wholeheartedly but there was something about the brand spanking new spa Mallory Court luxury hotel Warwickshire which made it irresistible. As we'd just come from feasting at sister hotel Brockencote Hall in...

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Kesgrave Hall hotel Suffolk: a friendly, lively, fun, quirky hotel stay

by Sarah Bridge
added February 8, 2019

There was far more to Kesgrave Hall than I’d expected. Having just come from its sister hotel, Maison Talbooth, a luxurious, refined, relaxed country house with outdoor pool and 12 beautifully designed rooms, I wasn’t sure whether the 23-room Grade I...

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Maison Talbooth: an almost perfect stay at a lovely Essex country house hotel

by Sarah Bridge
added February 8, 2019

The key to a memorable hotel stay is a great welcome and such was my arrival at the excellent Maison Talbooth hotel on the Essex/Suffolk border was that within ten minutes I felt utterly at home. The signs were good from the star...

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A festive round-up of the best luxury country house hotels for Christmas 2018

by Sarah Bridge
added November 13, 2018

Luxury hotels could be made for Christmas. Think of the best luxury country house hotels for Christmas and instantly you can picture the festive scene: comfy sofas, roaring fires, beautiful decorations and acres of grounds for the Boxing Day walk (o...

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Rowhill Grange luxury hotel and spa: a relaxing stay in the Kent countryside

by Sarah Bridge
added May 21, 2018

It goes without saying that anyone doing battle with the traffic on either the M25, A2 or A20 routes is probably in need of some serious relaxation, but they might be surprised to learn that there is an oasis of calm just moments away. Thankfully due...

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Make yourself at home at the grand but friendly Lewtrenchard Manor, Devon

by Sarah Bridge
added March 4, 2018

Lewtrenchard Manor is one of those classic country house hotels which actually feels like someone's home (a rather impressive stately home, that's true) rather than a hotel. Tucked away in the Dartmoor hills between Tavistock and Okehampton, Lewtrenc...

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Burley Manor hotel New Forest: relaxing country charm

by Sarah Bridge
added February 12, 2018

The first time I visited Burley Manor Hotel in the New Forest I had absolutely no expectations - not because I thought it was going to be terrible, but because it had never even crossed my radar before. It turned out there was a reason for this: whil...

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Bovey Castle: a friendly, historic, luxury Dartmoor hotel stay

by Sarah Bridge
added February 9, 2018

If you're going to spend the night in a castle, then it's appropriate to look the part, which is why it felt very fitting arriving at the luxury hotel Bovey Castle in the heart of Dartmoor in a £150,000 Aston Martin DB11. A trio of valets clad...

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The Pig near Bath: a heavenly, foodie, country retreat

by Sarah Bridge
added January 29, 2018

It is always nice to be greeted on arriving at a hotel by someone saying enthusiastically: 'You're just in time for lunch!' and even better when you are promptly whisked off to sit in the sun with a large G&T while you dither happily over a mouth...

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Chewton Glen hotel, New Forest – luxury from spa to treehouse

by Sarah Bridge
added January 16, 2018

It isn't often you plan on spending the night at a rather grand country house hotel and find yourself sleeping in a treehouse on stilts in the middle of a forest. But the treehouses at Chewton Glen, the five-star hotel and spa located deep in the hea...

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A relaxing stay at the historic Spread Eagle hotel, Midhurst

by Sarah Bridge
added January 15, 2018

Just one night at the Spread Eagle Hotel Midhurst felt like a really long stay - but in a good way. I arrived there on Sunday afternoon, and by the time I left 24 hours later I'd had a 90 minute massage, swam, sauna'd, steamed and lounged in the spa,...

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Time for some serious pampering at Ockenden Manor hotel and spa

by Sarah Bridge
added January 13, 2018

Walking into a really gorgeous hotel room can be such a bittersweet moment. There is the initial reaction of 'Wow! This is really, really nice....!' and delight that this is actually all yours for the next 20 hours or so. Then there is the sudden rea...

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A luxurious country escape at Bailiffscourt hotel and spa, West Sussex

by Sarah Bridge
added January 12, 2018

If the holiday season left you feeling in serious need of a relaxing break with country walks, a first-class spa and restaurant and cosy rooms to hide away in, then Bailiffscourt hotel and spa is the place for you. Tucked away down a little countr...

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Langshott Manor, Surrey: regal luxury in an Elizabethan manor house

by Sarah Bridge
added December 15, 2017

To arrive at Langshott Manor hotel is to jump back in time. One moment you are in urban Surrey, passing through towns like Redhill and Horley and driving though a modern housing estate, and then all of a sudden you arrive at a building unlike no othe...

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The Bell Inn: a cosy New Forest coaching inn perfect for country walks

by Sarah Bridge
added December 13, 2017

There's a warm glow which comes when reading a newspaper article called 'Cosiest pubs to stay in this winter' and realising you are heading off to stay in one of those featured that very day. This happened to me recently when about to head off to Th...

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Park House hotel and spa: a West Sussex secret (but not for much longer)

by Sarah Bridge
added October 17, 2017

It's been receiving guests for more than 60 years but Park House hotel and spa is only now making the transition from well-kept local secret to firm fixture on the British country house hotel scene. With a new general manager - Mark Yates, formerly o...

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Whatley Manor review: a Cotswolds gem revisited (with added oxygen)

by Sarah Bridge
added September 27, 2017

There is always a worry when it comes to revisiting a hotel which you totally adored on the first visit - what if it's not going to be as good as you remembered it? I know people who won't go to the same place twice for that very reason, and others w...

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A classically English estate at Bowood hotel, spa and golf

by Sarah Bridge
added September 25, 2017

If you like visiting beautiful English stately homes but hate the queues, the drive, the parking and the general hassle which usually goes with such visits, then Bowood hotel, spa and golf in Wiltshire has the perfect solution: its own fleet of golf ...

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Greenway hotel and spa, Cheltenham: a luxury hotel with the fizz factor

by Sarah Bridge
added August 21, 2017

I hadn't meant to embark on an impromptu Champagne cocktail-tasting session just after breakfast, but in keeping with the overall spirit of relaxation and pampering at The Greenway hotel and spa Cheltenham it seemed the right thing to do. It was m...

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A picture-perfect Cotswolds stay at The Manor House, Castle Combe

by Sarah Bridge
added May 27, 2017

If your idea of a perfect summer's day is afternoon tea (or a gin and tonic) on a beautiful lawn in the sunshine, The Manor House luxury hotel in the pretty Cotswolds village of Castle Combe, Wiltshire, is the place to be. There you can immers...

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Pennyhill Park – a luxury hotel fit for the England rugby team

by Sarah Bridge
added April 4, 2017

If the England rugby team need somewhere to recharge their batteries after this year's bruising contest in which they finished a lowly fifth, then they needn't travel very far: their training ground at Pennyhill Park luxury hotel in Surrey is just a ...

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A stay at The Old Swan and Minster Mill, a classic Cotswolds country pub

by Sarah Bridge
added January 3, 2017

A trip to the Cotswolds is always a treat and if you're in need of some bracing countryside walks, a hearty pub meal and then a nightcap in front of a roaring fire, then The Old Swan and Minster Mill in the pretty Cotswolds village of Minster Lovell ...

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Cosy Cotswolds charm at The Painswick award-winning hotel

by Sarah Bridge
added November 11, 2016

Being named The Sunday Times' Hotel of the Year, which The Painswick was just last year, can be a double-edged sword. On the upside, the phone didn't stop ringing once the news came out, bookings went through the roof and for a newly-opened hotel, i...

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A deeply relaxing day at Lime Wood hotel spa in the New Forest

by Sarah Bridge
added November 2, 2016

You have to be deeply relaxed to nod off during a massage, so falling completely asleep, not once, but twice, during my treatment at the Lime Wood hotel spa shows how totally unstressed I was. This was quite an achievement considering that on the...

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Quintessential Cotswolds retreat at Lords of the Manor, Upper Slaughter

by Sarah Bridge
added June 29, 2016

The man who described Bibury as 'the most beautiful village in England' surely never went to Lower Slaughter. I've often driven past the road signposted to The Slaughters on my way through the Cotswolds but had never taken the turning. It was only...

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The best luxury hotels in the Cotswolds – A Lady of Leisure’s favourite five

by Sarah Bridge
added May 18, 2016

Searching for luxury hotels among the beautiful rolling hills of the Cotswolds may sound like an easy task - there seems to be one round every corner. However with so many to chose from, it's easy to be overwhelmed. With most insisting on a two-night...

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Whatley Manor hotel and spa – one of the best hotels in the Cotswolds

by Sarah Bridge
added May 18, 2016

Just when you think you've stayed in the best hotels in the Cotswolds, along comes Whatley Manor luxury hotel and tops the lot. From the moment the gates opened to reveal a beautiful cobbled courtyard, the entrance garlanded by wisteria and lavender,...

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Calcot Manor luxury hotel: a family-friendly hotel in the Cotswolds

by Sarah Bridge
added December 31, 2015

For those who love the idea of staying in a luxury spa hotel in the Cotswolds (and who doesn't?) and are travelling with children in tow, its sister hotel Calcot Manor luxury hotel, just the other side of Circencester, is a great choice - a Cotwold...

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Barnsley House hotel and spa – a wonderfully cosy Cotswolds hideaway

by Sarah Bridge
added December 19, 2015

Within two minutes of arriving at Barnsley House hotel and spa in the Cotswolds I had completely fallen in love with it - and that's before I'd even tried out the private cinema, outdoor hot tub or delicious food. All these things were yet to come, b...

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Bodysgallen Hall hotel North Wales: a country house with impressive views

by Sarah Bridge
added October 14, 2015

Bodysgallen Hall hotel North Wales was the starting point for my week exploring Wales and it was a great place to begin. One of the top luxury hotels in Wales, its location just outside Llandudno on the north coast is right at the top of Wales and ye...

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Gravetye Manor West Sussex – food heaven in a luxury country house hotel

by Sarah Bridge
added September 1, 2015

There are some places that are so lovely you can't stop thinking about them after you leave, and Gravetye Manor in West Sussex is most definitely one of those. [Note: this review of Gravetye Manor in West Sussex was first published in 2015 and som...

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Ashdown Park hotel East Sussex: luxury hotel in beautiful grounds

by Sarah Bridge
added June 16, 2015

Note: my review of Ashdown Park hotel East Sussex was first published in 2015 so some of the details might now be out of date As beautiful settings go, Ashdown Park hotel East Sussex certainly has the 'wow' factor. It's easily one of the best hote...

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Luton Hoo: a classic country house hotel (with Hollywood glamour)

by Sarah Bridge
added June 13, 2015

It isn't often you get to share a sink with Hugh Grant but the sign in our bedroom at the five-star Luton Hoo hotel and spa proclaimed it to be true: the rather quirky sink-in-a-cupboard in the corner was indeed the very same cupboard from Four Weddi...

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