HOTEL REVIEW


LEFT: Bedooms have natural textures such as hand knotted rugs, stitched leatherwork and silk curtains BELOW: The central courtyard, with stone columns and arches in English Palladian style, is fully covered with a glass retractable roof


open fires. In fact the hotel has no fewer than fifty hearths.


With its subtle palette of blues and lilacs, the general mood is one of discreet opulence. Furniture is a mix of antique and bespoke, and the artwork – hand-picked by the owner’s partner, Alessia Maresca – varies from traditional oils to sketches by Jean Cocteau and more challenging modern works. Outside on the terrace, with its Gloster


woven wicker furniture, there are skateboards and trikes for kids, while the Boot Room boasts a selection of Hunter wellies, waterproofs and mountain bikes for guests who fancy venturing outside. The bar, which could easily have been transported lock stock and barrel from Mayfair, is slick and buzzy, not just thanks to the Londoners down for the weekend – the journey can take less than two hours – but well-heeled locals from nearby Poole and Winchester. One of the few areas of the hotel that does feel rather formal and grand is The Dining Room, with its timber panelling (including an unusual braided detail taken from the original building). For those who


092 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2011 WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM


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