Gravetye Manor

England
Europe

The Experience

Built in 1598 by Richard Infield for his wife Katharine, Gravetye Manor is an Elizabethan country home surrounded by 1,000 acres of woodland and one of England's most influential landscapes. Take a short stroll, and you're quickly surrounded by the legacy of William Robinson, Gravetye's most famous owner and the father of modern English cottage gardening. Entering from the formal garden, you might even spot Richard and Katharine's initials, still carved in the stone over the doorway. And as your host lights a fire amid vintage, comfortable furnishings, you might wonder if you'd accidentally slipped into a different century—even though you're just 30 minutes from the bright lights of Piccadilly.

The Rooms

The manor's 18 rooms are large, warm and calming, with a few (but only a few) of the quirks you might expect in a building of this age. Despite Grade I listed status (the highest level of protection), you'll find the same A/C, valet, room service and even wifi. Best of all, every room has a view of the gardens outside.

The Service

There's no pool or spa, but the oak-paneled dining room more than makes up for it, thanks to the chef de cuisine, Mark Raffan, formerly the personal chef to King Hussein of Jordan. Focusing on local fish and game, and with many of his fruits and vegetables plucked just steps from the kitchen door, Raffan excels in what he calls "eclectic modern English" cooking--honoring traditional local dishes with creative flair. The hotel's wine list is exceptional, too—500 bins strong—and the menu's recommendations are unerring.

The Highlights

The grounds at Gravetye were more than William Robinson's home from 1884 to 1935. They were his masterwork, and his garden is still a destination unto itself. Robinson eschewed the ornate, manicured, landscaped fashion of the Victorian era as artificial and needlessly dependent on imported, greenhouse-grown species. Instead, he advocated a style of gardening designed to highlight native English species, sown simply but knowledgably to complement each other in their wild beauty. Many of his ideas are now considered common wisdom, but at the time, they were revolutionary—and the gardens at Gravetye, still carefully tended according to Robinson's tenets, are the original.

 

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