Old meets new at Pennyhill Park

Like an ivy-covered Downton Abbey, Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa is a grand English country house that oozes history. It’s got sweeping staircases, tapestries, magnificent chandeliers and four-poster beds that conspire to make the indoors as eye-catching as the house’s vine-clad exterior. Just inside there’s a cute ‘welly room,’ hung with weatherproof boots that ensure guests are well prepared when they explore its 120-acre grounds – expect topiary, stone walls and gardens pretty enough to make wanderers feel like they’ve stepped into a Jane Austen novel. It’s a destination offering a wealth of old-school opulence. 

But Pennyhill’s attractions only begin with all this traditional English luxury. It’s a place where the historic and contemporary sit side by side – the hotel’s plush old-school offerings are more than matched by its decadent modern spa, an extensive complex full of opportunities for relaxation that will satisfy the most avid of pleasure-seekers. 

The main house is a pleasing Victorian pile set in verdant woodland and located at the end of a tree-lined drive near Bagshot, Surrey. The spacious reception area yields to corridors that lead to two of the hotel’s restaurants, Hillfield and the Michelin-starred Latymer, run by chef Steve Smith. The main house is also home to 26 of the hotel’s 124 rooms, while the remainder of the accommodation is in a maze of red-brick buildings opposite that suggest a converted convent. 

What sets Pennyhill apart is that its rooms aren’t done out in identikit corporate fashion but decorated individually, with many exuding serious wow factor. For example, The Violet Junior Suite, set over two floors, is a lush space with a spectacular bath surrounded by pillars, offering a decadent soak before you lay your head in a four-poster bed. The Buttercup Suite offers side-by-side bathtubs front of a TV for serious indulgence while taking in your favourite shows. Rooms feature vintage furniture, bright tiles, and luxe fabrics. 

I’d come to Pennyhill with my daughter for a few days of spa action to escape the daily nine-to-five. Our room matched our needs perfectly, presenting us with a restful mix of plush neutrals in its patterned wallpaper, tweed winged armchairs and heavy drapes. Contrasting with all this classic decor was an uber-modern piece de resistance, a stunning mosaic walk-in shower in a range of browns and burnt-orange tiles. It was like a shimmering cave with rainfall shower and cool side sprays that made bathing a kind of 360-degree adventure, complemented by a range of Molton Brown bath products.  

As soon as we could plonk down our suitcases, we headed to the spa, an impressive building with the largest and most luxurious spa changing rooms I’ve ever seen. Over two levels, it had showers and changing rooms, oodles of lockers and plump armchairs – there was even an upholstered bench swing – as well as dressing tables with hairdryers. In contrast to the many cramped and steamy spa changing rooms I’ve visited, Pennyhill’s was an oasis, a calming introduction to our stay. We dawdled over changing into swimsuits and robes because it was almost too nice to leave, until we remembered there were eight pools and numerous hot rooms to discover. 

Just outside, the spa grounds, still being warmed by the late summer sun, were too inviting to ignore, so we commandeered to sun loungers on the vast terraces surrounding the 18m heated open air pool. After a morning coffee from the poolside bar (others were having fizz), we got down to serious hydrotherapy –the underwater music and cool fibre optic lighting in the Ballroom pool was an unusual and calming experience. The spa’s hydrotherapy pool with its soothing bubbles offered an array of recliners; my favourite was the Canadian Hot Tubs, a jacuzzi split into three sections – two loungers were situated around the main jacuzzi in dark slate. 

Indoors we got up a sweat by hopping between the ten saunas that include a herbal steam rooms, saunas and my personal favourite, the tepidarium, a pleasant counterpoint to the fierce heat and humidity of the others. Around noon we flung on our bathrobes for lunch in the spa restaurant, which was bustling with other spa-goers in equally relaxed garb. My daughter then headed to the well-appointed treatment rooms for a massage that she deemed blissfully relaxing, while I headed back to the Canadian Hot Tub and enjoyed a hour’s quiet, just gazing up at the trees that surround the property. The spa is designed for maximum relaxation and we revelled in it.  

Dinner was in Hillfield, Pennyhill’s lively bistro restaurant, which has a casual-but-elegant vibe in softs blues and greens with nature-themed décor, including painted green vines snaking up the pillars. With walls of windows overlooking the grounds, it marries out- with indoors as well as commendably serving up as much local Surrey food as possible to cut down on travel miles and support local farmers. At our midweek dinner the wait staff were charming and helpful – I’m very glad I followed our waiter’s recommendation of the British plaice with burnt butter and caper sauce, a dish so richly indulgent it made me glad I swerved a starter. My daughter was equally pleased with her vegetarian potato dumplings, but the best came last – we demolished a knickerbocker glory – a layered sundae of mint ice cream and dollops of chocolate – that lived up to its name. 

Forking out for dinner at The Latymer will bring a splashy gloss to your stay – the Michelin-starred restaurant offers a six-course tasting menu for £130, featuring an adventurous take on locally sourced food. Located in the original house, it’s got an intimate feel, with dark panelling and a beamed ceiling matched by bold floral fabrics. 

We checked out thoroughly destressed and feeling zen, thanks to the magic combination of spa time and good food. Given the competition for weekending Londoners seeking a rural bolthole in which to unwind, Pennyhill Park ticks all the boxes. 

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