Heckfield

The Best New Hotels in the World: 2019 Hot List

"You’d be forgiven for thinking that Heckfield Place is your typically grand country-house hotel. There’s certainly enough of the usual elements to throw you off the scent: the sprawling grounds and manicured gardens, the impressive stately exterior, the sweeping staircase, and walls adorned with oil paintings. But all is not what it seems. For starters, there isn’t a hint of stuffiness or pomp. The team greet guests with a calmness that’s contagious, guiding you about the place with the kind of ease that never feels imposing. Even the uniforms, designed by cult clothing company Egg—all corduroy, linens, and flouncy blouses—are refreshingly unexpected. Bedrooms are stripped back and country comfy without leaning too heavily into the more ubiquitous country-pile aesthetic—creamy oatmeals, subdued greens and pinks and yellows, not a sniff of chintz. And then there’s the food. Both Marle and Hearth, the two restaurants, are overseen by starry chef Skye Gyngell. There’s a farm-to-fork ethos, drawing heavily on the estate farm and kitchen garden for the menus. The latest addition is The Bothy by Wildsmith, a serene, two-floor oasis enveloped in the hotel’s gardens. Years in the making, it’s a deeply soothing space with a gorgeous pool and treatment rooms for hours-long sessions that might include diagnostic kinesiology or abdomen massages. The hot tubs on the deck overlook the grounds, where, in the summer months, you can take a walk around the estate with a picnic or enjoy a dip in the misty lake. In the winter, follow up a session in the waters with a cosy afternoon curled up by the fire in the living room—aim for 4:00 p.m. and wait for a homemade cake to magically appear on a platter before staff dutifully place fat slices on plates to enjoy as a piano tinkles in the corner. From $695. —Sarah Allard" - CNT Editors