Historic heritage and a variety of countryside
England, predominant constituent unit of the United Kingdom, occupying more than half of the island of Great Britain. England is also rich with the beautiful countryside landscapes and historic monuments, hence we have chosen the very best options for your stay in this beautiful country.
Bovey Castle
Bovey Castle’s location overlooking hills on the western side of Dartmoor National Park is excellent. On the doorstep is 368 square miles of wilderness, dotted with Stone Age stone-hut circles, heather-covered moorland roamed by wild horses, ancient glades and villages lost in time.
Inside, there’s a heated swimming pool and whirlpool with deckchairs overlooking the grounds, plus steam room, sauna and gym, while the ESPA Spa offers an extensive range of treatments. Outside, in the 275-acre grounds, there’s an 18-hole championship golf course, a croquet pitch, tennis courts, putting green, archery and rifle range, helipad and beautiful lakeside walks to be had. Every morning there’s a free falconry display on the balustraded garden terrace. Pay-for activities include sloe gin making, fishing, horse riding and hot air ballooning.
The Goring Hotel
Across the road from Buckingham Palace. The hotel has the great advantage of a large private garden, surrounded by flower borders and shrubbery, with a central lawn on which croquet is played in the summer time.
The bedrooms have been redesigned over the past couple of years, many by Russell Sage, who was responsible for the Royal Suite that as long as the building itself. His bedrooms are homely yet glamorous, decorated with Gainsborough silks on the walls. All the rooms have very comfortable marble bathrooms.
The Dining Room at The Goring was awarded its first Michelin star in September 2015. The accolade, the first star in the hotel’s history, was awarded in recognition of head chef Shay Cooper’s imaginative cooking, based on the best seasonal British produce.
Salcombe Harbour Hotel & Spa
Surrounded by sun-soaked beaches and sparkling seas, this stylish waterside hotel in yachtie Salcombe is the place to come if you wish to feel the sand between your toes.
Bedrooms are restful, calm spaces, with décor in crisp whites, soft greys and oatmeals, mood lighting, wooden writing desks, wicker chairs, sea life-themed artwork and marine-striped wool blankets. A lot of rooms have private terraces and balconies looking onto the water, and all come with decanters of sherry and gin, collections of hardback books, coffee and tea, minibar, a television, safe and ‘balcony box’ of slippers, binoculars and rugs.
Menu is strong on seafood. In summer, you can pick out your own seafood from the restaurant’s sunken Crustacean bar. Meat-lovers are catered for with locally-reared steaks, but vegetarians may be left hungry.
Beaverbrook
Charming waiters are happy to recommend cocktails and dishes and chat. Walking maps, bicycles, iPads and iPod touches with Netflix accounts are available and there’s a choice of films to watch in the cinema and buggies to take you around the place. There are two tennis courts, outdoor pool and children’s pool as well as a spa with an indoor pool.
The house’s 18 rooms are individually designed by Susie Atkinson, and named after former guests. Winston Churchill’s favourite suite retains a private door he used to escape discreetly during war time and a huge James Bond photograph hangs over the bath in the Fleming studio suite.
Great Fosters
Boldly-colored chairs and sofas, trendy grey patterned wallpaper, elegant chrome lamps provide a light, airy feel to bedrooms in the main house. Historical features are retained in the fireplaces. For a special occasion, opt for one of the five lavish historic rooms bedecked in jewels such as early 17th-century Flemish tapestries (Tapestry room) and elaborate Italian Rococo furniture and Quattrocento doors (Italian room).
Expect complex flavours and precision cooking from chef Tony Parkin in the intimate one-Michelin-star Tudor restaurant. Scallop served in a tomato, watermelon and kafir lime tea bursts with complexity and intensity – the star of the elaborate show. Jersey royal, Artistic twists on cauliflower cheese and monkfish with horseradish foam are as appetizing as they are presented. Meadowsweet and citrusy kalamansi provide a touch of wow.
Star Castle Hotel
Star Castle is located on St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly. It offers a great position for exploring the archipelago of over 140 islands – set within the warm Gulf Stream waters – and known for its temperate climate and diverse natural beauty.
Expect the warmest welcome from hotels’s employees, who are all happy to offer recommendations and tips during your stay. There are two award-winning restaurants, a heated indoor pool, a bar and a tennis court. The hotel even has its own boatman who visits daily, inviting guests aboard his Calypso boat for day trips to the off-islands.
There are 38 rooms, including single guardrooms, castle rooms, and suites and garden rooms, with either a harbour or sea view, verandah or garden.
The Newt in Somerset
The hotel has salt steam room, a spa with sauna and amazing pool leading to a heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool, as well a glass walled gym tucked away in the garden. As for the staff, they are superb: bright, delightful yet professional and noticeably excited about the future of the benign realm in which they find themselves.
There are two restaurants: the elevated, glass-walled Garden Café overlooking the walled Parabola and surrounding countryside and gardens, and the Botanical Rooms in the hotel, with its fabulous, homely open kitchen. In the Garden Café you can enjoy excellent home-grown vegetables accompanied by barbecued beef and pork, cheeses and charcuterie served with delicious sourdough apple bread, honey and homemade pickles. Steamed new potatoes from the garden were cooked to perfection and ice creams and the estate’s apple juices could not be resisted.
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