Bath Priory Hotel
Bath
by Sarah Shuckburgh
The Bath Priory is the only hotel in Bath with a
Michelin-starred restaurant - an award it has held since
1999. The hotel is situated in a residential area within
walking distance of Bath city centre, near Royal Victoria
Park and Royal Crescent, but it feels more like a country
house. There are log fires and fresh flowers, and the
downstairs rooms are full of antiques, comfortable sofas,
and owner Andrew Brownsword's personal collection of
Edwardian and modern paintings. Everyone is friendly,
including the chef, Robert Clayton, who welcomes visitors to
his kitchen for cookery master classes, or "In With The
Chef" all-day observation. I really enjoyed watching Rob
Clayton and his chefs work - and then eating the results.
It's said that the Prior of Bath Abbey once owned the site
where the hotel now stands, though almost the only hint of a
priory today is a pulpit which is used as the reception
desk. The hotel spreads across two Cotswold stone houses -
one, built in Gothic style, dating from 1835, the other,
Linden's Villa, from 1905. In 1997, links were made between
the two houses, adding 10 rooms and a basement spa area,
which offers a range of beauty treatments, with pool, sauna,
steam room and gym.
The houses still retain distinctive atmospheres, and their
south-facing gardens, separated by a listed wall, are
different too - one more 'Capability Brown', with lawns,
huge trees, and areas of wild flowers and long grass (and
interesting sculptures of a conker and a peapod); the other
side, more 'Gertrude Jekyll', with shrubs and borders of
perennials creating outdoor 'rooms', one of which conceals a
heated swimming pool. The enthusiastic Head Gardener, Jane
Moore - who won a silver medal at the Chelsea Flower Show
2003, and who presents her own gardening programmes on HTV -
runs one-day gardening workshops and longer residential
gardening courses at the hotel.
First published by the Telegraph
©SarahShuckburgh |
