Hotel review: Soho Farmhouse

A couple of weekends ago, I headed to Soho Farmhouse for a belated birthday weekender with Oliver, my sister, and my parents. My mum and I both have our birthdays in January, so we treated this as a little birthday celebration out of the city.

Soho Farmhouse is one of my favourite countryside escapes in the UK. Located on the Great Tew estate in Oxfordshire (and part of the idyllic Cotswolds), it really is a luxe hideaway set amidst a beautiful landscape. It’s part of the Soho House members-only group, so you can imagine that everything has the same chic and tasteful atmosphere as any one of their properties, and rooms are usually booked up months in advance. Each Soho House property tends to have it own unique feel, and Farmhouse has a rustic air of countryside class about it.

The entire estate features multiple cabins (ranging from Small to Large, to Family-sized), a Cowshed spa and gym, several different restaurants, an Electric Cinema, and much more. From the mint-green bikes parked outside your bedroom, to the homemade cookies you’ll find stashed in the tea and coffee drawer, oh, and the most fluffy dressing gowns imaginable, you’re guaranteed to feel pretty spoilt when staying here.

Oliver and I have stayed a couple of times before, but this was the first time that my parents were visiting. As we’d stayed in a Studio Cabin previously, we recommended this option for them: these rooms are individual wooden cabins dotted around the estate, furnished with a roomy double bed, armchairs, and a beautiful view over your private balcony terrace; in the colder months, there’s nowhere you’d rather be than cosying up by the wood-burning stove with a cup of tea. The finishing touch? The incredible outdoor bathtub…last time I was here I spent more than my fair share of hours soaking outside.

Meanwhile, Oliver and I opted to stay in a Piglet room; these are slightly more affordable and smaller bedrooms in a different part of the estate, which recently opened in December. These rooms are shaped like little pigsties, and feature a comfy double bed, sofa, and a slightly smaller bathroom than you’d get in a Studio Cabin, but with all the same comforts you’d expect from Soho House.

We arrived after work on the Friday evening, and our weekend consisted mostly of relaxing, eating, and enjoying the estate: although there are several restaurants across the Farm, we preferred the Main Barn for all our meals. Here you’ll find a classic British menu, and a buzzy atmosphere throughout the day: lounge on the sofas by the fire, or grab a larger table for group seatings. Over the weekend, we enjoyed brunch, an incredible Sunday roast (featuring ALL of the trimmings), and dinner with Oliver’s parents here on Saturday night.

The rest of our time was spent detoxing from everything online, and enjoying one another’s company. My sister had a treatment in the spa, Oliver and I watched ‘The Mortal Engines’ at the Electric Cinema (the cosiet cinema featuring plush individual armchairs and blankets), and my parents spent time at the pool and gym.

If you’re looking for a place to experience the quintessential British countryside, in a place where you expect all the home comforts you could possibly want (and more), then I can’t recommend Soho Farmhouse and the Cotswolds enough.