Luxury lounging at Lucknam Park

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  Lucknam Park, Wiltshire

  © April Hutchinson

From the minute the gates swept open to reveal a mile-long drive lined with beautiful lime and beech trees, it was obvious Lucknam Park was going to be a perfect place for a real retreat from the London rat race.

Whether you choose to drop into this Relais & Chateaux property by helicopter to try out the Michelin-star cuisine of Hywel Jones in The Park restaurant, or head there to try your skills on one of the estate’s 35 horses at the excellent equestrian centre, Lucknam is a textbook country-house hotel - but a very modern spa brings it bang up to date too.


Found six miles outside of Bath in 500 acres of parkland, the Wiltshire countryside provides an idyllic backdrop for the hotel’s equestrian centre and the house which was first built in 1720, a fact that’s recorded in the hotel’s pretty logo.

Lucknam was a private residence until as recently as 1988 and it maintains the feel of a cosy home, with plenty of antiques and portraits staring down, fresh flowers throughout, living rooms full of comfy sofas, books and games and divine gardens and grounds. One of the lounges, the Drawing Room, is specified as a no-work zone which is a nice touch for those who want to escape the constant buzz of mobiles, Blackberrys and click-clack of laptops. There's also an honesty bar for those late-night/early-morning chit chats.

You can take your pick from the 13 suites and 29 bedrooms at Lucknam and my home for the weekend was the Lilac Suite, which was not lilac; but reflects the strong floral theme throughout the hotel and wonderful gardens anyway. The lounge and bedroom were definitely on the traditional side, with heavy drapes, fuddy-duddy antique TV cabinet, sofas and standard lamps and dresser, but perfectly in keeping with the country-house theme. Nods to modernity of course included super-fast free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs and DVD player, as well as a Bose bedside radio.

The large white marble bathroom was bright and light but three windows sadly had to have blinds pulled in case passers by got too interested, given the windows face onto the hotel's courtyard. The upside of the Lilac Suite's ground-floor position however, was the French doors leading out to the park, perfect for throwing a rug next to the lavender circle or sitting and having a spot of afternoon tea in the sun, as we did on the tables outside the suite.

The pretty lavender circle is just one example of the hotel's lovely landscaping and the formal gardens are a real haven, with heavy-headed roses, irises framing manicured lawn walkways and statues perfectly placed. It's worth half an hour in here, or more, to sit and read in peace. The hotel also offers guests the use of bikes to explore the rest of the grounds.

The stunning new spa is a complete contrast to the old-world hotel, linked by a shady walkway off the courtyard and set among the hotel gardens. The £15-million spa project is built from Bath stone and is the flagship in the UK for the Anne Semonin brand and also features treatments by Carita among its nine therapy rooms - many of the treatments also use herbs from the hotel's garden.

The spa building is quite spectacular – at night the swimming pool has a fire that lights up alongside it making it very warm and cosy and there's a glass division which allows for indoor and outdoor bathing from the same pool, as well as a glass-sided jacuzzi which makes for some interesting viewing if you are lounging on the outside deck. The spa also includes a new informal brasserie restaurant with dishes prepared by Hywel Jones, but I found it a little over fussy. In the main restaurant however in an atmospheric dining atmosphere, Jones' indulgent and decadent food seemed more at home and the tasting menu with wine pairings was a two-hour extravaganza.

The people also helped to make the stay stand out, and the young team were all very smartly turned out - a credit to the hotel and to the fatherly steer of managing director Harry Murray MBE, highly regarded amongst hoteliers. While I cannot say I encountered all 120 staff, the handful I met over a weekend were courteous and helpful to a one, with nothing too much trouble.

With so many fabulous country house hotels in the UK, it's difficult to discern one from another sometimes, but Lucknam's charming staff, equestrian centre and spa made it shine out in my eyes.

The hotel even runs Equestrian Clinics with the likes of Stephen Hadley and Richard Waygood, legends from the equestrian world; and anyone who feels saddlesore will soon find themselves soothed by the spa.  

Rooms from £295 per night.

Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Bath
Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 8AZ
Tel: +44 (0) 1225 742777
www.lucknampark.co.uk

By April Hutchinson


 

Location: England