Homewood Hotel and Spa

Homewood, in ten bucolic acres of lawns and soaring trees, brings relaxed but stylish Mediterranean living to the rural village of Freshford: palms, olive trees in deep terracotta planters, Goddess sculptures, and modernist art. It’s a taste of the Côte d’Azur slotted between the rivers Avon and Frome. The Mediterranean theme is apt, given that Bath, with its rich Roman heritage, is just five miles north.

Portions of the Cotswold honey-colored house possibly date back to a 13th-century Carthusian monastery, with Georgian and Victorian extensions added through the ages. Homewood is a bold contemporary celebration of eclectic style, particularly in a dining room of a dozen different chandeliers.

Reception is a veritable museum of clocks, over 40 of them drifting seamlessly into a gallery of 1940s Picture Post covers featuring icons of style: Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Sophia Loren, and a young Princess Elizabeth.

The room

Manuka is a suite with an enclosed sun-trap garden featuring a hot-tub lit by a crystal chandelier, sheltered by a rustic pagoda. Bay-tree topiary, rocking chairs, and padded patio furniture complete a restful garden.

Vibrant pop-art, including a thought-provoking State of Religion collage, adorns a laterally-timbered wall. A vast post-impressionistic canvas is the centerpiece of an exposed Cotswold brick wall.

Throw in Art Deco bedside lamps, a regally-sized bed, and SMEG coffee-maker, and you have homely accommodation that is more like a cottage than a suite.

Facilities

Days begin with breakfast in your room, in the restaurant, or out on the terrace. Although guests order their Somerset full English, full vegetarian English, Shakshuka baked eggs, smashed avocado, or smoked salmon with scrambled eggs the evening before. There is a breakfast board that comes as standard: yogurt, fruit, juice, muesli, and delicate mini-pastries.

Spa treatments include a harmonizing back massage, a Tibetan-inspired body treatment to relieve fatigue and aching muscles plus an energizing and detoxifying scrub that uses the ionizing properties of Himalayan salt crystals.

Location

Early morning there are romantic misty views over the soft Somerset landscape of the Avon Valley. Ancient woodlands, green pastures, quiet pastures, and the banks of the River Frome are all within walking distance as are a medieval hall, Palladian homes, and simple weavers’ cottages. There are great views of the landscape from the hot tub.

Five miles to the north, there is Bath. Prior Park Landscape Garden gives the best view for photographs of the Palladian Bridge. Down in the city, there are the Roman Baths, the Fashion Museum, and independent shops.

To the south, a 30 minutes drive away, lies Stourhead’s National Trust gardens: including a mile walk around a lake with classical follies and poetic quotations from Homer and Milton.

Other nice touches

Flip-flops and warm Bown robes are supplied for the short walk to the outdoor pool, heated to 28 Centigrade throughout the year.

Soon an adventure playground will be ready to keep the kids occupied. You can’t miss it. It’s next to a full-size topiary giraffe.

Dogs are welcome with Woof boxes filled with Lily’s Kitchen food and treats. Of course, dogs have their beds.

Cost

Rooms begin at around £185 per night with suites reaching up to £650.

The best bit

The newly opened Olio terrace is a slice of Mediterranean living with sunflower colored parasols, Coco and Wolf pastel-shade patio furniture with fireplace and patio-heaters if required.

Throughout the day, there is a tapas theme to the menus: small plates such as chili squid, griddled prawns, chorizo scotch egg. Salmon, chicken, and steaks can either be cooked robata, plancha or skillet.

Complex Ottolenghi style salads – such as caponata, pine nuts, red wine vinegar, and bulgur wheat – are also intended for sharing.

The final verdict

Homewood’s collection of bold art is fascinating, always a conversation starter. Soon, the hotel will open another ten rooms in The Lodge, four of them with hot-tub gardens. Two of those with idyllic views over the Avon Valley.

Currently, the owner Ian Taylor is collecting grandfather-clock faces, and he hopes that they will feature as a piece of art in one of the new rooms. Then again, he has also acquired 60 hot-water bottles, and they may appear soon. Taylor believes in moving pieces around, creating new collections, drawing guests back to view the latest creative changes.

By Michael Edwards from aluxurytravelblog.com