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BlackBook The Smart Guide the capital in cosmopolitan style. Herewith, a shortlist of the latest openings and reopenings. LOUD AND PROUD Under the ownership of Swiss art dealers Manuela and Iwan Wirth, The Fife Arms (thefifearms.com) in Scotland has undergone a herculean transformation from a down-onits-heels Victorian coaching inn to one of the UK’s hottest hotels. Led by eclectic designer Russell Sage, the refit features a mélange of tartan, brocade and William Morris wallpaper alongside art by Picasso, Bourgeois and Freud, all accented with whimsical touches like a stuffed stag sporting a set of ptarmigan wings. Down in the southwest, meanwhile, are a pair of properties that aren’t quite as ambitious but bring a welcome dollop of contemporary chic: Gara Rock (gararock.com) has singlehandedly addressed South Devon’s dearth of hip boltholes. Originally a cluster of Admiralty cottages perched on the clifftop of a secluded peninsula, it now features loft rooms, suites, apartments and cottages, all with a stylish, crafty vibe, as well as an Elemis spa, tenseat cinema and surf school. A charmingly different atmosphere awaits at Beaverbrook (beaverbrook.co.uk), once the home of press baron Lord Beaverbrook, which takes guests back to a bygone era of country cottages. Set in 162 hectares of Surrey Hills, the echoes of the past are everywhere: Victoriana lampshades, vast swathes of chintz, fourposter beds, roll-top tubs. Even the staff are kitted out in 1920s waistcoats and braces – though not everything is backwards-looking: there’s an indulgent spa in the Coach House, an adults-only Japanese restaurant by Nobu’s Taiji Maruyama and a weekend kids’ club complete with a treehouse and slides. BASKING IN BLISS The weathered exterior of South Lodge (exclusive.co.uk), a 19th-century neo- Jacobean pile in West Sussex, is nothing to write home about; however, crossing the historic threshold takes you into what may be Britain’s best country house spa. The £14m space, sprawling across more than 4,000 square metres, features three pools, waterbedstyle massage tables and a dedicated mud room to go along with individually styled rooms and a diminutive restaurant helmed by Fäviken and Hedone alum Tom Kemble. PHOTOS FROM TOP: © TEMPLETON HOUSE, SIM CANETTY-CLARKE 20 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
Gastronomes are increasingly spoilt for choice with many of Britain’s leading chefs now working their magic in country kitchens treatments incorporate natural peat, moss and home-cured oils, as well as the Elixir Bar serving ancient, monk-brewed tonics. Once a royal retreat, the 2.8ha island is home to 41 bedrooms and six individual residences – plus, it’s only a stone’s throw from Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck and the Roux’s Waterside Inn in the historic village of Bray. PHOTOS FROM TOP: MARK WATTS, © GARA ROCK For a more vigorous challenge, head to Yorkshire’s Grantley Hall (grantleyhall. co.uk), a Palladian beauty with 47 suites and a delightful Japanese garden that has just had a multimillion-pound refit to include a wellness space with a cryotherapy chamber, underwater treadmill and altitude-enabled training. Farther north, Islay is best known for whisky, and distinguished Scottish hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray adds to the Hebridean isle’s mystique with his first property on his home turf. The Machrie (campbellgrayhotels. com) may be a tartan-free zone (with cool contemporary pastel interior) but it upholds Scottish tradition with a world-class links golf course, and the Aromatherapy Associates spa is the perfect place to wind down after a windblown round. Back down south, on the banks of the Thames, The Floating Spa at Monkey Island Estate (monkeyislandestate. co.uk) is an intoxicating one-off. Aboard a handcrafted barge, you’ll find three treatment rooms, where floating massages and EPICUREAN DELIGHTS Gastronomes are increasingly spoilt for choice with many of Britain’s leading chefs now working their magic in country kitchens. At Heckfield Place (heckfieldplace. com), in Hampshire, culinary high priestess Skye Gyngell is at the helm, serving seasonal delights like chickpea pancake with pickled aubergine, baby leeks and almond yogurt; or turbot with girolles, datterini and marjoram. In Scotland, Michelin-starred toque Tom Kitchin and his designer wife Michaela have transformed the 14-bedroom pub The Bonnie Badger (bonniebadger.com) into a Scandichic destination. Given the chef’s culinary prowess, his steak pie and bone marrow brings a new definition to the term “pub grub”. Meanwhile, over in Perthshire, Gleneagles ( gleneagles.com) has relaunched its famous restaurant, the Strathearn, under the leadership of head chef, Jason Hardcastle. Except the same lavish gueridon service from bespoke dining trollies but served in an even more decadent setting. Over in the Cotswolds, the talented Sam and Georgie Pearman are the new proprietors of the eight-bedroom Swan at Ascott (swanascott. com). Expect their signature stamp of cool country with tried-and-tested favourites, like their standout cheese soufflé. In Kent, The Pig-at Bridge Place (thepighotel.com) is the height of comfortably casual. The › Above from top: old and new mix in a room at The Riddle; lunch platter at Gara Rock Left page, from top: Georgian mansion Templeton House; afternoon tea in the art haven Fife Arms CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 21
