Hotel Review: The Retreat at Elcot Park
Last weekend I escaped for a night to the Berkshire countryside. It’s been a while since I went on a countryside staycation to review a new hotel opening, so I was very excited to scope this property out. The hotel in question? The recently opened Retreat at Elcot Park, sister hotel of The Mitre Hampton Court, which just so happens to be one of my favourite boutique boltholes in the UK, and features in my book. As the second property in the Signet Collection (a hotel group making its name for itself by buying slightly tired and worn properties around the UK and breathing new life into them), The Retreat certainly had a lot of expectations to live up to based on the precedent set by its wonderful sister property…read on for my full review below.
First impressions: 3.5/5
A stately red brick country manor built in the 18th century (once the home of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s mother) and set within 16 acres of wilderness, the hotel makes a rather pleasant first impression as guests pull up the drive, greeted by the sight of neatly cropped croquet lawns and pruned flower beds. Step inside and you’ll find colourful and elegant interiors by design duo Taylor & Turner: expect plush furnishings, and printed cushions in every corner, complimenting panelled walls painted in pale blues and pinks. There’s definitely a similarly playful atmosphere here that can be found at The Mitre, although interiors at The Retreat feel slightly less experimental: the character at its sister hotel is definitely more unique thanks to the historic building’s winding corridors and sloping ceilings. Designer Nicola Harding’s meticulous attention to detail can also be felt throughout The Mitre, whether that’s unique four poster bed frames found in the bedrooms, eye-popping colours or intricate de Gournay wallpapers - and not an ugly plug socket or air ventilator in sight (a greater number of bedrooms at The Retreat equates to less personality in each room).
We were staying in a Culture Room, the largest category of bedroom, minus the hotel’s three signature suites. Situated in a newer wing of the hotel, our bedroom was panelled in a rich burgundy hue, with pistachio green bedstead, and elegant bathroom in pale pink panelling. Although the room boasted a king-size bed, there wasn’t lots of room to spread out and relax, and the TV was rather small - as it was on the ground floor, we did have an outdoor terrace, although this was rather sad looking, with a concrete floor, and view onto a construction site and makeshift car park (the view from our other window was onto a balcony filled with shards of broken glass, which didn’t make for the greatest first impression). At night time, we could hear guests returning to their bedrooms nearby and making a fair amount of noise in the corridors - the lack of an interior door within our bedroom prevented the sound from being muffled. In contrast, suites in the main house are more grandiose, featuring deep freestanding bathtubs and four poster beds, so I would recommend splashing out on one of these for the best experience.
To do: 3.5/5
A highlight of the hotel is definitely the spa set within the newer wing of the hotel, which you’ll find by navigating along a long corridor tiled in sage green and white (you’ll find a TV room and wellies for walking also situated along this corridor). Other than a rather unfortunate-looking staircase that looks like it was built in the 70s, the spa is an elegant and contemporary space, with calming relaxation rooms and chic changing rooms. I was treated to a signature massage here, which was definitely a highlight of my stay, as the therapist buffed and worked every corner of my body to perfection. I followed this with a soak in the spa’s hydropool, which had an impressive number of jacuzzi options and was surrounded by comfy loungers to spread out on. There is an outdoor pool too, but this wasn’t fully completed yet on our visit.
The hotel also has a courtyard where guests can sit outside, and access the hotel’s nail bar, hair salon, and coffee shop, although none of these appeared to be open throughout the duration of our stay. A member of staff mentioned plans for farmers’ markets to be held here on weekends in the not-so-distant future, which would certainly create a bit more of a buzz.
Food and drink: 4/5
The hotel has two restaurants, the first being the 1772 Brasserie, which acts as the beating hub of the hotel and also extends into an elegant Orangery, with additional diners curling up in the hotel’s cosy main lounge. The brasserie itself is all plush velvet booths, marble-topped tables, and and artsy table lamps, including a swish bar for guests to enjoy an evening tipple. You’ll find lots of families gathered here over the weekend, which is why tables spill into the Orangery, which by contrast is an airy, light-filled space with chic hanging rattan lamps, green banquette seating, and a lovely terrace area outside.
The menu here offers comfort cooking with a few twists: you’ll find classics such fish and chips alongside Asian-inspired dishes, including cauliflower popcorn and sticky chicken rice - dishes are a delicate yet flavourful. The desserts were definitely the highlight of our meal: we ordered a whole apple tarte tartin to share between the two of us, with juicy apples dripping in sticky caramel served with vanilla bean ice cream, alongside homemade Nutella bombolini dusted in raspberry sugar (they have these on the menu at The Mitre too, and I’ve raved about them ever since - you simply have to try them if you visit either property!). A second restaurant called Yu serves an Asian-inspired menu in an elegant space, featuring hanging lanterns, and mustard yellow banqueting against rich burgundy walls.
Guests are also welcome to sit in the lounge area (where the brasserie menu is available) and choose one of the many nooks to curl up in; there’s plenty of space to spread out here, and it’s a great spot to curl up if you fancy a nibble while playing cards. However, if you do fancy an afternoon snack of some kind, the kitchen closes pretty early at 3pm, meaning that you won’t be able to order anything until dinnertime (which was slightly baffling, as we saw guests eating afternoon tea at midday, and we felt that it would make sense to offer this throughout the afternoon). However, homemade cookies are available in the hotel’s pantries, which are accessible to all guests and located in the corridors. Breakfast is a little on the disappointing side too: alongside a select continental spread, there are only three choices on the menu - ten minutes after we’d put through our breakfast order on Sunday morning, we were then informed that the avocado toast had run out, and this was the only option that was really appealing to either of us.
Comfort and service: 3.5/5
Overall we enjoyed our stay at The Retreat and felt that the hotel had the makings of a great hotel: there is a lot of potential for it to become a destination spa escape, but there were certainly a few things that would need to be tweaked before I would consider returning. Staff throughout the property are friendly and willing to please, but the restaurant is simply understaffed, and at all mealtimes, we felt overlooked. During our evening meal, we both had to get up a number of times throughout the sitting to flag down a member of staff, whether that was to ask for menus or to put through orders - and while dishes themselves arrived rapidly, there simply weren’t enough waiters on the ground to serve them quickly and also attend to the number of diners, meaning that mealtimes felt drawn out.
The same happened at breakfast the next morning, where we waited for about 15 minutes before any member of staff even acknowledged our presence and invited us to take a seat. We could hear surrounding tables getting very frustrated with delayed breakfast orders, and the lack of available staff to even put an order through.
The property has so much promise given its recently restored interiors and its location less than an hour’s train ride from London: the 1772 Brasserie is already a hub of activity, and the spaces are gorgeous to gather in - along with the spa, The Retreat has the potential to be a fantastic countryside getaway. The hotel simply needs refining in a few areas: primarily, the lack of staff across the restaurants needs to be addressed (a problem that many hotels are encountering across the country post-Covid/Brexit) and secondly, attention to detail across parts of the property that don’t quite feel ‘done.’ For instance, views onto the construction site from our bedroom, along with gardens fenced off with neon tape gave us the impression that the property was still partly under construction and not quite ready to welcome guests - add to that the fact that certain parts of the hotel (such as Yu restaurant, and the coffee shop were closed throughout the duration of our stay). Overall, a perfectly enjoyable weekend away, but not quite the exceptional experience that would warrant a return visit just yet.
This was a press stay - all opinions are my own.
