Set on a 470-acre estate in the Surrey Hills, Beaverbrook offers a bucolic
escape for the modern bon vivant. With a history as beguiling as
its spa is impressive, this luxurious country house hotel makes us wish
walls could talk…

We love a good story. Especially when it involves power,
politics, pomp and parties, set against the backdrop of a gorgeous
country estate in the English
countryside.

Standing proud amid the Surrey Hills just 20 miles from London,
Beaverbrook could tell tales for days thanks to its most famous
former resident, Lord Beaverbrook, a politician, publicist and
close confidante of Winston Churchill, who famously said of his
controversial ally, “Some people take drugs, I take Max”.

Hosting a little black book of high society throughout the 20th
century – the wartime PM, Rudyard Kipling and Ian Fleming among
them – Beaverbook has today been reimagined as a sumptuous country
house hotel which continues to attract the beautiful (but probably
fewer damned) for a weekend of bucolic luxury.

Throw in striking contemporary artwork, a Japanese restaurant
and an impressive spa, and there is little reason not to recommend
Beaverbrook for a quintessential out-of-town escape. It’s no
surprise that it’s become a go-to getaway among aspirational
southerners.

Rooms

We slept in the main building, where 18 classically decorated
rooms – think floral headboards with sweeping curtains to match,
oak dressing tables, Narnia-esque wardrobes, large fireplaces,
chintz lampshades and standalone bathtubs – are each named after
esteemed guests.

Families should head to the suites in the Coach House for
interconnecting rooms and a pet-friendly stay, while the 11 rooms
in the Garden House are the place for a homely weekend enjoying
England’s pastures green.

What’s for breakfast?

Taken in the pretty ground-floor dining room with seemingly
endless views over the rolling hills, the breakfast menu offers
spruced up versions of the usual suspects such as poached duck egg
with avocado or Dorset porridge with berry compote, alongside a
selection of cold-pressed juices.

How about lunch and dinner?

The Japanese restaurant in the main house is a nod to
Beaverbrook becoming a definitively 21st-century stay. It may sound
incongruous having an Asian restaurant in an English country hotel,
but it is undeniably good.

Let staff guide you through a menu featuring tacos, seafood
tempura and sushi before turning your attention to the robata and
Josper grill for black cod or wagyu beef, followed by yuzu meringue
pie.

There is also an Anglo-Italian restaurant at the Garden House,
offering seasonal plates of pasta, risotto and fish of the day as
well as a glorious afternoon tea.

If you’re after a light bite, head to the deli in the Coach
House.

Is there a bar?

Yes, the Parrot Bar must’ve been one of the most Instagrammed
drinking parlours of the past year. This 1920s darling is all
dusky-pink walls, topaz-blue velvet bar stools, ornamental bird
cages, jewel-toned cushions and an impressive art-deco bar, at
which you should make like Gatsby et al. and order a mint
julep.

Amenities

The spa
is exceptional, featuring indoor and outdoor
swimming pools, a gym, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, as well
as various rooms offering conventional treatments and those more
unusual (we had a rather eye-opening naturotherapy consultation).
There are also plenty of snug enclaves, should you wish to relax
with a book.

Things I should know

The hotel offers a range of entertainment and activities such as
croquet, petanque, fishing, clay-pigeon shooting and cookery
classes.

Within a short walk I can find…

It’s a 470-acre estate… pack a picnic and get exploring.