The perfect place to escape the city smog for 48 hours
Believe it or not, you can find a Mediterranean retreat just the other side of the M25
Words: Holly Butler
When someone tells you they’re spending their weekend away at a hotel just outside of London, the mind can wander to images of GroupOn vouchers and dodgy half price back-rubs. But it’s not all hen weekends and hidden-catch deals. You can find a Mediterranean retreat just the other side of the M25. Enter Sopwell House, St Albans, a grand, whitewashed Georgian country house set in 12 acres of gardens away from the city’s bright lights.
Arriving at the gates in the glaring sun and it could be mistaken for Jay Gatsby’s Italian country house. Suited men with crossed legs lounge outside with broadsheets in front of stark white façades. Sopwell House houses over 100 bedrooms, spa, restaurant, informal brasserie, cocktail terrace and secluded VIP Mews accommodation and it is the latter I had the fortune of escaping to.
The VIP mews, separate from the original building, come complete with ego-massaging, slow opening, not-for-the-likes-of-you gates. Walking into the communal courtyard (with it’s own hydrotherapy pool) feels more like a luxury resort than local hotel. Suddenly it becomes clear why this is a favourite haunt for premier league football players. We’re lucky enough to snag a suite with its own private terrace and hot tub and the room inside oozes elegance, as we glanced through (yes, through) the central transparent fireplace to the freestanding bath-tub and four-poster bed.
Once brave enough to stray from the great pillowy bed stretching away from me and feeling fully recharged ready for the weekend we headed to try the food on offer. Luckily the food is wonderfully relaxed and avoids the overt richness of the gout-enraging ‘modern European brasserie’ clones that plague much of London currently. The table cloths may be starched and white, but the room is spacious and the attentive service is far from intrusive. The standout dish of our evening is the Norfolk Black Chicken with Chanterelles; buttery tenderness met with a discernible sweetness of maple syrup. It’s comforting gravy-drenched poultry with finesse.
Practically horizontal by this point, we then retired to the cocktail terrace to test out the bar’s mixology skills and a hefty Whisky Sour proves, wholeheartedly, that they can nail the classics.
Day Two consisted of an exhaustive assessment of the wellness facilities, a hard day’s work for the discerning gentleman. Sopwell’s facilities already carry quite a rep with the well-heeled ladies-that-spa types however the incredibly well-equipped gym ensured that all wellness needs were well looked after. The expansive indoor pool features a mirrored roof for zen-like roof reflection and the sleek and polished finish is not only impressive, but serves it’s purpose to transport you far away from your daily routine. With a suggested expansion in the pipeline and a re-design of the gym it is incredibly clear that investment is not in this retreat’s past. The location looks to keep up its luxurious reputation for future generations to come.
Escape the smog for 48 hours, gentlemen, and luxuriate in the Mews Suites at Sopwell House. You won’t regret it.
For more information on rooms and rates for the Mews Suites at Sopwell House please visit here or call 01727 864477.
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