Soho Farmhouse
Social club · Great Tew
Great Tew, Chipping Norton OX7 4JS, United Kingdom
Highlights
Rustic-chic country retreat with 4 restaurants, pool, spa, and activities
Rustic-chic country retreat with 4 restaurants, pool, spa, and activities
"A luxurious country retreat offering upscale accommodations and exclusive amenities in a picturesque rural setting."
"Set the scene for us: Where is this place, and what's the vibe? They say it's the country retreat for people who would never otherwise go the country. High octane at weekends particularly, it's possible they party harder here than they do at the club's city outposts. Any which way, it's fun, naughty, self-contained indulgence. Park up at the gatehouse to be driven by your farmhand—perhaps in a Range Rover, perhaps in a dinky old-fashioned van that might have been used in Cliff Richard’s Summer Holiday. Already it feels like an adventure, and then you glimpse ramshackle-cool cabins dotted about rolling countryside, a river running through them, and you’re suddenly knee-deep in a farm that might have been reimagined by Tom Ford, where the yard has fire pits and outdoor sofas rather than tractors and troughs. The cocktail truck offering ‘prinks’ (pre-dinner drinks) will mix the perfect Negroni as you get ready for the evening. We're there. So, what's the story behind this place? This is the Cotswolds outpost of the phenomenally successful private members’ club-turned-hotel-group Soho House. Given it built its reputation on the same naughty antics at its city properties, a sedate traditional Oxfordshire village was perhaps not an obvious fit. But founder Nick Jones was seduced by the time warp sweetness of these 100 acres and their location, right on the doorstep of Chipping Norton, where some of London’s most influential movers and shakers have their weekend retreats. House rules actually ask you to dress down. It’s where Harry and Meghan came to escape prying eyes after their engagement was announced and where she held her hen party. And, um, they don’t need you. Non-members have to submit a reservations form, they’ll check you out before they accept your booking. They can afford to be fussy: the farmhouse runs at 98.7% occupancy year-round. How exclusive. What can we expect from the bedrooms? Are they 'dressed down,' too? Cabins are designer distressed, paint-chipped clapperboard and corrugated iron, with Foffa bikes propped up by the steps and cow-print wellies in the rack (they’re your size). Inside it’s so Little House on the Prairie homespun you’ll wish you had freckles, a gingham pinafore, and a certificate in line-dancing. There are chicken-wire panels on the wardrobe and a hunker-down sofa in front of the fireplace. Through the floor-to-ceiling window you can look out to your deck, where a table and chairs are set over a wend in the river. There’s also a tin bath tub with a modesty curtain. The bed is beyond kingsize. There’s a row of 10 full-sized Cowshed bottles in your white-tiled shower room, while the minibar and supplies of bread and cheese are tucked away in a kitchenette that looks like grandma’s old dresser. Five have bunks for kids. From December, more hideaways will open with views out on open countryside and 40 smaller cabins will open in the wildflower meadow beyond the walled garden. A pint of milk is delivered to your door each morning. How about the food and drink? The Main Barn is a vast, glamorous, generous space where millennial creatives grab a mac ‘n’ cheese, and dressed-down model types rearrange salad on their plates. At 8 p.m., the lights are turned down low and the cocktail shakers come out. Or try Pen Yen, the Japanese restaurant, for indecently huge portions of sushi, followed by addictive black cod. Curry nights are really popular in the shack in the farmyard, too. Anything to say about the service? The ‘farmhands,’ a role that is two parts butler, one part guest relations, are possibly the most misleadingly named staff ever. They are incredibly suave young men, who all appear to be just down from Eton and having fun until they inherit. They exude Nigel Havers’ levels of nothing-is-too-much-trouble charm and are deceptively efficient. What sort of person stays here? Influencer types. Affluent thirty- to forty-something couples who are going to inherit a house in Chipping Something at some stage. Essential accessories including a toddler or two, a nanny, and a Labradoodle. They are trying to dress down so there’ll be one item from Zara, his shirt might not be ironed but her perfect hair and microbladed eyebrows and his natty tweed cap means they still look pretty dressed up. They’re talking about banning conversation on Brexit and how Killing Eve was so much better than The Bodyguard. What’s the neighborhood scene like? Soho Farmhouse is the neighborhood. Guests clamber to get in, they certainly don’t want to get out. Got it. Anything we missed, or any details you want to shout out? Nicola Joss has just created a new bespoke facial, which mixes Cowshed products and the fabulous Skinceuticals range, and acts like a steam iron on your skin. The pool is very possibly the most spectacular in the UK. It’s 135 feet long, drifts from indoors to a bucolic outdoors, and is heated to a delicious 35˚C year-round. Afterwards head over to the little island on the lake for a sauna, steam, and a stint or two in the ice room. And anything you’d change? Make the yoga studio bigger. By 6 p.m., you’re sold on a more wholesome lifestyle and sign up for the evening healing yoga class. Trouble is, so has everyone else. Noted. Is it worth it—and why? It’s all about getting the well-connected reconnected with nature. From the moment you arrive, there is a spine-tingling sense of fun and generosity, you’ll feel like Daisy Duke within minutes, sucked into the beauty and energetic warmth of the place." - Jane Walker
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