The British country house hotel was born in 1948, brought to us in the pink and frilly shape of Sharrow Bay, overlooking Ullswater in the Lake District. Presided over by a splendid couple, Francis Coulson and his partner Brian Sack, it came complete with a gargantuan afternoon tea, and Sack’s famous Icky Sticky Toffee Pudding and Coulson’s bedtime poems on the pillow. People adored it. There had been leisure hotels in the countryside before, of course, but this was the first where you could be assured of being personally pampered in beautiful rural surroundings, with a committed owner at the helm offering a warm welcome, decent food, peace and quiet.
Hundreds of characterful country estate hotels have followed, and today there’s a bewildering amount from which to choose. Here we present the cream of the crop. While some continue to offer no more than the pleasures of a beautiful old house, a roaring fire and a cup of tea, many others now cater to our increased demands for spas and activities – everything from wellbeing retreats, forest bathing and bee-keeping to foraging, wine tasting, cookery courses and crafting. And while country house hotels were once strictly for adults only, nowadays children are warmly embraced and royally entertained almost everywhere. These are the best country house hotels in Britain, sharing in common comfort, excellent food and the joys of the countryside.
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/the-best-country-house-hotels-in-britain/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-01-04 03:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.