Dramatic Irony

It continues to be surprising that some of the most eclectic and irreverent hotel designs can be found in small towns and villages all over England.

Compared to the hotels in countryside that surrounds it, London is a quirk desert. So are most major cities, for that matter, where hotels have too many rooms and perhaps too much on the line. For true idiosyncrasy, what you need is the homespun charm and centuries of grassroots hospitality tradition found at the old country house hotels and coaching inns of England.

As evidenced by the hotel selection below, it’s in small towns and villages all over England where playfulness and eccentricity are allowed to shine. Individually conceived rooms, ironic decor, intensely personal flourishes — it’s risky, it’s dramatic, and it can all go horribly awry in the wrong hands. These hotels are not in the wrong hands.
 

Foresters Hall

Cowes, England

The Georgian townhouse that’s now home to Foresters Hall has long been a fixture in Cowes — it’s named for its original use as a meeting place for the Ancient Order of Foresters — but its most recent chapter began in 2022, when Sarah Curran and Peter Sussman, a couple of film-industry professionals, sought to parlay their years of experience as travelers into their first hospitality venture.

The Collective at Woolsery

Bideford, England

The Collective is no ordinary hotel, but something more like a southern Italian “albergo diffuso” in the North Devon village of Woolsery. It encompasses the Farmers Arms pub, the neighboring chip shop, the J. Andrew Shop & Post Office, the nearby Birch Farm, plus 7 overnight cottages, rooms, and suites divided amongst the property, each one with its own distinct personality.

Antonia’s Pearls

Cornwall, England

The seaside village of Charlestown is one of Cornwall’s most picturesque destinations, and sees its fair share of tourism, especially in the summer months. One way to avoid any hint of a crowd is to duck into one of Antonia’s Pearls, a collection of cottages, a cabin, a studio, and a Georgian townhouse restored by owners and operators Antonia and David in a style that’s chic, unpretentious, and memorably eclectic.

Hare and Hounds

Newbury, England

England’s old coaching inns are perfect material for regional boutique hotels, and the Hare and Hounds, in the Berkshire market town of Newbury, is a fine example. This 17th-century Georgian inn has historical character to spare, but it wears it lightly, updating the experience for well-traveled and sophisticated visitors. The 30 rooms are spread between the original coach house and a handful of outbuildings; all are charming and full of personality.

Titchwell Manor Hotel

Titchwell, England

Not a country house hotel, but a country retreat; the former implies some aristocratic formality, while the latter, at least in the case of Titchwell Manor, simply means a luxurious yet unpretentious escape by the Norfolk coast, in a Victorian farmhouse and its renovated outbuildings, all updated in a playful and eclectic style, mixing period details with vintage and modern furniture.

The Swan Southwold

Southwold, England

Among the chief attractions of the Suffolk seaside town of Southwold is the Adnams brewery and distillery, and the Swan is the Adnams extension into the world of hospitality. This is a very thorough renovation of a classic hotel, leaving its Georgian façade in its original form and updating the interiors in a vibrant, playful style reminiscent of some of England’s finer country-house hotels.

The Wheatsheaf Inn

Northleach, England

England’s venerable coaching inns are the ancestors of today’s pubs, and the Wheatsheaf Inn, in the Cotswolds town of Northleach, is as true as can be to the classic, slightly utopian ideal of a public house as a welcoming place for a drink, a delicious bite to eat, and an attractive, comfortable room for the night. And if that’s a description the modern pub typically fails by some distance to live up to, well, so much the better for the Wheatsheaf.

Strattons Hotel

Swaffham, England

The Norfolk market town of Swaffham is home to Strattons Hotel, an unusual Palladian/Victorian hybrid of a house that’s been transformed into the region’s only proper luxury boutique hotel. This means 14 unique rooms and suites, each one full of eclectic character as well as upscale comforts. Rooms in the old house are naturally more historical in style than the more contemporary outbuildings, but neither is objectively superior.

Wild Thyme & Honey

Cirencester, England

Just outside of Cirencester in the Gloucestershire countryside is Wild Thyme & Honey, a boutique country inn in a setting that’s perfectly suited to its idyllic name. The village of Ampney Crucis is a charming one, and so is the inn itself, a 16th-century pub that’s been updated with 24 stylish rooms, where old stone walls stand alongside sleek modern furniture.

Artist Residence Brighton

Brighton and Hove, England

England’s Artist Residence hotels present an alternative view of what a boutique hotel can be: unpretentious, fun, and not a bit more luxurious than they need to be. Artist Residence Brighton was the first, its rooms decorated by local artists in exchange for lodging, a scheme that lends them an individuality no designer could possibly have planned.

Artist Residence Oxfordshire

Oxford, England

Right between Oxford and the Cotswolds, in the village of South Leigh, stands a 16th-century farmhouse that’s slowly evolved into a classic country pub. Under the Artist Residence banner, it’s a one-of-a-kind boutique inn that combines high-end comforts and a visual style that incorporates antique architecture and objects and modern furniture and contemporary art.

The Crown Amersham

Amersham, England

Because you haven’t always got time to nip off to the Lake District, or Scotland, or Spain, it’s good to know you’ve got options just outside the M25. The Crown, in Amersham, is probably best known for its cameo in Four Weddings and a Funeral, but a combination of convenience, fine hospitality and thoughtful cuisine has kept it relevant even as the early-period Hugh Grant films have become film history.

The Old Rectory

Hastings, England

The seaside resort town of Hastings sees enough traffic to support some biggish hotels, but none are as stylish as the Old Rectory, an eight-room bed and breakfast owned by a fashion designer whose fine taste is evident in every detail. Thanks to its small size (and its 10-and-up policy) it’s refreshingly quiet, and while every room is different they’re connected by a unified aesthetic that combines period atmosphere and contemporary visual impact.

The Gallivant

Camber, England

This former motel is now the Gallivant, a remarkably swanky, beachy-chic boutique hotel. And while it’s inspired by an idealized vision of the Hamptons, its interpretation is a unique one, studiously avoiding transatlantic clichés in favor of a look that’s roughly equal parts casual surf shack and stylish country inn.