Elite Hotels appoints Travel PR

Travel PR is delighted to announce that it is now representing Elite Hotels, a privately-owned collection of four luxury hotels in prime locations across the South of England.

Located in Bedfordshire, Hampshire and East Sussex, each hotel provides high-quality service and distinct experiences for guests of all ages to enjoy; families are welcome, and the hotels’ history and British heritage have been sensitively preserved.

Here are details of the four very individual hotels:

Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa, Bedfordshire

Less than an hour north of London, Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa in Bedfordshire is a grand, Grade I listed mansion house hotel which dates from 1601. The Queen and Prince Philip spent part of their honeymoon at Luton Hoo in 1947, and Winston Churchill famously addressed 110,000 people in a major speech at the hotel after World War II.

Luton Hoo sits in the midst of over 1,000 acres of countryside, including Capability Brown-designed grounds; the estate was reputedly his second largest project after Blenheim Palace. There are formal gardens, a 50-acre lake, tennis courts (including a circular grass Victorian tennis court), one of the longest 18-hole championship golf courses in the UK and a spa housed in a carefully restored stable block. Such is the size of the estate that guests are ferried around in the hotel’s own fleet of dark-green vintage London taxis.

Inside the opulent mansion there are 144 beautifully-furnished bedrooms and suites, some with four-poster beds.  Lavish drapes and fabrics, grand pieces of furniture and magnificent chandeliers delight throughout the building. Some of the hotel’s striking public rooms were designed by 18^th century society architect Robert Adam; they provide the perfect setting for Afternoon Tea (from £32 pp) or a pre-dinner drink. Luton Hoo is home to some of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in the world, with the Oval Staircase Hall being a notable example.

Overseen by Executive Head Chef Christopher Mouyiassi, there are two restaurants; the award-winning 2-AA Rosette Wernher Restaurant, which is reminiscent of the Palace of Versailles and serves seasonal British cuisine.  Dishes include delights such as Dressed Cornish Crab, Roast Loin of Woburn Venison and Vanilla and Elderflower Panna Cotta. Guests also have the option of dining in Adam’s Brasserie, which features an all-day menu of salads, burgers, steak and pasta dishes, or to enjoy casual fare and drinks at The 19^th.

The hotel offers a variety of wedding venues of all sizes, including options perfect for intimate ceremonies and Covid-compliant guest lists.

Stay overnight from £199* per room (two sharing), including a wide range of breakfast options. Call Luton Hoo on 01582 734437 (www.lutonhoo.co.uk).

Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club, East Sussex

Set in 186 acres of lakes, secret gardens and woodland trails, Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club is located in the heart of Ashdown Forest, the inspiration for A. A. Milne’s delightful Winnie The Pooh stories.  Pooh Bear will be celebrating his 100^th anniversary in 2021

The forest mansion was first built in 1815 and was once a convalescent home for First World War Army Officers, followed by incarnations as a convent and then as a school, before opening as a hotel in 1993.

Boasting the tallest Wellingtonia tree in Sussex, Ashdown Park’s grounds include 40 acres of grazing land where wild deer roam free, plus a lake with fountains and a jetty from which to view both the forest and the grounds sloping down from the hotel’s wide flag stoned terrace. There is also a peaceful walled garden with herbaceous borders, a grand old greenhouse, apple trees and mature shrubs. Inside are 106 bedrooms and suites, with each room named after a tree species found in the grounds or the forest.

The hotel’s Country Club has recently been refurbished, with new changing rooms and a Fitness Studio, an updated indoor pool, six treatment rooms and a nail salon. Ashdown Park’s new Forest Brasserie provides an informal dining experience for guests with a menu of burgers, salads, pizzas and sharing boards, inspired by local produce and suppliers. The Forest Brasserie has views over the 18-hole par 3 golf course and gardens beyond.

For more formal dining, Executive Head Chef Andrew Wilson oversees the award-winning menus at the Anderida Restaurant, which holds 2 AA Rosettes. The spacious restaurant features seasonal à la carte options such as market fish of the day, eight-course tasting menus and innovative vegetarian and vegan options such as Beetroot Tartar and Woodland Risotto.

Afternoon Tea (from £26 pp) is served in the cosy lounges, on the terrace or as a picnic in summer months, and children can enjoy a Winnie-the-Pooh Afternoon Tea (£10.95 per child) with delights such as Tigger’s sponge and ‘hunny’ sandwiches.

Guests also enjoy use of the two tennis courts, a putting green, jogging trails and cycling routes, not to mention a wide variety of walks in the extensive woodland forming part of the hotel grounds and beyond, into Ashdown Forest itself. Dogs are very welcome at the hotel, with dog-friendly bedrooms. There is a converted chapel immediately adjacent to the hotel for small and, when once again allowed, larger-scale weddings, complete with stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings.  Several meeting rooms are also available.

Stay overnight from £162* per room (two sharing), including a wide range of breakfast options. Call Ashdown Park on 01342 824988 (www.ashdownpark.com)

Tylney Hall Hotel & Gardens, Hampshire

Sitting in 66 acres of countryside near Hook, Hampshire, Tylney Hall Hotel & Gardens is a grand Victorian Grade II listed house with the longest uninterrupted view in Hampshire, lined by giant Redwoods. Tylney Hall served as a hospital for soldiers in the first World War and eventually became a school before opening as a hotel in 1985.

The Gertrude Jekyll-designed gardens are a real highlight, with striking water features and lakes, an Italian Garden and a wild orchid meadow plus azalea and rose gardens. There are walking and jogging trails, and garden tours in the summer months with Head Gardener Paul Tattersdill.

Guests enter the hotel via Tylney Hall’s Great Hall, panelled in exquisite Italian walnut. The hotel has 112 individually-designed bedrooms and suites – all decorated in traditional style, in keeping with the hotel’s heritage – with some dog-friendly rooms available. Afternoon Tea (from £29 pp) is served in front of a roaring log fire in the elegant lounge, which features an ornate ceiling that was originally designed for The Grimation Palace in Florence and which was carefully relocated, piece by piece, at Tylney Hall.

Dinner is a grand affair in the 2 AA-Rosette The Oak Room Restaurant. Overseen by Executive Head Chef Mike Lloyd, feast on signature lunch and dinner dishes with a British twist plus seasonal specialities such as Cornish Scallops or Châteaubriand. A carefully-chosen wine list complements each menu; expert pastry chefs enjoy creating celebration cakes such as White Chocolate & Raspberry Ripple gateau (advance booking required).

The hotel’s Health Suite features an indoor pool, five treatment rooms with a Manicure & Pedicure studio plus a gym. There is a superb outdoor heated pool (May-September) set within a private walled garden, plus croquet, a hard tennis court and a snooker room. Archery, clay pigeon shooting, and even hot air ballooning can all be arranged and there is a nearby golf course too.

Stay overnight from £165* per room (two sharing), including a wide range of breakfast options. Call Tylney Hall on 01256 764881 (www.tylneyhall.co.uk).

The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

The only five-star seafront hotel in the UK, The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne is affectionately known by locals as ‘The White Palace’. The hotel has hosted many famous names over the years, including Sir Ernest Shackleton, Charlie Chaplin, classical composers Debussy and Elgar and, more recently, Dame Helen Mirren.

The hotel has 152 bedrooms and suites, all luxuriously furnished, many with sweeping sea views, balconies, or private patios.  Others have adjoining rooms which work well for family stays.

The Grand Afternoon Tea is served daily (from £26 pp) in various cosy nooks, lounges and also in the Great Hall – a grand space beyond the hotel lobby with wonderful acoustics, from where the BBC used to broadcast its weekly ‘Grand Hotel’ show before the Second World War.

There are two restaurants – The Mirabelle Restaurant has gained an exceptional reputation for its fine dining menus. Led by new Head Chef Michael Sutherland, the lunch and dinner menus are bursting with flavour and creativity and may include Cornish Crab, Pig Cheek Fritters or Sussex Beef Fillet.

The Grand Hotel’s Executive Head Chef Hrvoje Loncarevic oversees The Garden Restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner with flavoursome menus amidst a backdrop of cornices and chandeliers. Dishes range from Classic Lobster Thermidor and Roast Rump of South Downs Lamb to Truffle Courgettes and Smoked Tofu.

The recently refurbished cocktail bar is a wonderful spot to enjoy a Signature Cocktail or a G&T and, on a summer’s evening, drinks can be enjoyed on the Chatsworth Terrace, with views towards the sea.

The Grand’s Health Club has an indoor swimming pool with whirlpool spa, an outdoor heated pool (open during the summer months), plus a gym, health spa and snooker room. A range of beauty treatments is offered.

The hotel is superbly located just moments from the start of the South Downs Way and close to Beachy Head and Birling Gap for day trips. In Eastbourne itself, Devonshire Park holds international tennis tournaments each summer and the town hosts annual events such as Eastbourne Airbourne – the largest free seaside air show in the world.

Stay overnight from £150* per room (two sharing), including a wide range of breakfast options. Call The Grand Hotel on 01323 412345 (www.grandeastbourne.com).

ENDS – 13 October 2020

Notes to Editors

*Rates may fluctuate and are correct as of 13^th October 2020

A small, independent UK-based hotel group, Elite Hotels has been investing in some of the UK’s most beautiful historic houses since 1986. The first of these was Tylney Hall Hotel, Hampshire, followed by Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club, East Sussex, The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne and Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa, Bedfordshire. Each of the four Elite Hotels is a member of Small Luxury Hotels, a prestigious consortium representing over 500 of the best independent hotels in 70 countries.

Press:

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