West Sussex’s South Lodge hotel offers sumptuous bedrooms, manicured grounds, and culinary adventures just an hour from London.
South Lodge is part of the group that run Pennyhill Park, the Manor House, and Lainston House amongst various other ventures. The Manor House’s restaurant has a Michelin star, and so did South Lodge’s restaurant The Pass until a few weeks ago (it lost it on a technicality when the head chef relocated, but no doubt they will be seeking to regain it next year). Pennyhill Park is famous as the place to spa in Surrey. Clearly the group knows a thing or two about luxury hospitality.
Stay
Set in West Sussex – one of the greener and less developed Home Counties – and bordering the South Downs, the location is idyllic. The grounds of the hotel are immaculately maintained from the driveway through to the landscaped gardens. The main house was built in the 19th century in the Jacobean style, and has been tastefully expanded with two modern stone extensions. They will be gorgeous in a few years time once the wind and rain has weathered them.
The main house is full of original decorative flourishes. Carved wall covings, and oil paintings of aristocrats are scattered throughout. Large fireplaces and William Morris print sofas in the lobby are fantastic for stylishly perching on for post-dinner conversation.
Do
There is no spa at South Lodge, but the grounds make up for this by offering plenty to do; 93 acres of rolling countryside, ponds, swings, and ornamental gardens provide ample space to frolic. In the summer croquet opportunities abound, and the smart stone terraces are a perfect spot for a glass of champagne. The hotel has a strong foodie emphasis, with options to appease all palates.
Sleep
The better bedrooms are located in the older part of the house (ask for these), but all are lovely. Ours had a freestanding bathtub in the bedroom with exquisite views over the gardens. Most rooms have been modernised and feature boldly patterned wallpapers and fabrics in subdued colours. Bathrooms are marble perfection and spotlessly clean.
Eat
For a hotel in the countryside, South Lodge holds its own in the culinary stakes.
The headline restaurant is The Pass, which held a Michelin star for five years from its opening in 2011. The restaurant’s menu was obviously designed to impress and it does. Tasting menus feature inventive dishes that promise textures and flavours you won’t have encountered before. The eight exciting courses presented excellent cooking several times; highlights included black cuttlefish paella and a very chef-y truffle pasta dish that did not feature any pasta at all. It offered all the indulgent heavenly flavour of your favourite truffle butter tagliatelle, but was light as air. This is a restaurant for the hardcore foodies amongst you – the decor takes the “open kitchen” theme to its limit, and ends up resembling something between an Essex night club and a fried chicken takeaway. It’s a destination restaurant (and given the cooking, rightly so), but for googly-eyed date-night evenings you’d be better off heading to…
The Camellia Restaurant. Richard Mann’s 2 AA rosette restaurant offers “contemporary interpretations of traditional dishes” using ingredients from the hotel’s kitchen garden. Food is less adventurous than at The Pass, but the wood-panelled, candle-lit, plush-carpeted dining room is charming and romantic.
Breakfast is a full continental buffet with cooked options a la carte. Afternoon tea is served daily in The Drawing Room, and the hotel’s sophisticated Billiard Bar serves the usual cocktails, wines, and spirits in another attractive wood-panelled room. In the summer months the terraces serve an al fresco food menu, making the most of the glorious views.
There’s plenty to entertain foodies with on a weekend at South Lodge. One night at The Pass, the other at Camellia, days spent exploring acres of green before retiring to big fluffy beds in a charming old mansion.
South Lodge Hotel, Brighton Road, Horsham. RH13 6PS