Birthday weekend at Beaverbrook Townhouse and Beaverbrook
I celebrated my birthday earlier this week, and while I won’t be sharing details of how old I am now, I will definitely recap how I managed to extend my birthday celebrations across the entire weekend. After a night at Beaverbrook Townhouse on my birthday itself, Oliver and I headed to the Surrey hills for a stay at sister hotel Beaverbrook, which is one of my favourite properties featured in ‘British Boutique Hotels’. We’d actually visited Beaverbrook before a couple of years ago and loved our visit, so were very excited to be heading back for the weekend - and also to see how it would compare after a night at the townhouse! Read on for more details of our stay at each hotel…
Beaverbrook Townhouse is very much the younger, naughtier little sister of the pair. Having only opened in September last year, it’s relatively new on the scene - located in the heart of Chelsea on bustling Sloane Street, you’ll be well within walking distance to some of London’s best attractions while staying here. If you’re in town to do some shopping, Harrods is only a stone’s throw away, and the King’s Road is a few minutes in the opposite direction. If you’re based in the city already, escaping here is a great excuse to spend a night in one of London’s most exclusive postcodes.
With interiors by Nicola Harding (who designed the Garden House at Beaverbrook), you can expect a riot of colour, texture, and print across all 14 of the hotel’s suites, each named after a historic London theatre - we stayed in the ‘Old Vic’, a studio suite on the first floor that enjoys some of Georgian townhouse’s best features, such as soaring ceilings and lots of natural light. Up in the eaves, rooms are a little cosier, but just as beautifully designed: expect bespoke bedsteads, hues of pink, green, and blue, as well as bold artworks and prints inspired by London’s vibrant theatre scene. Each room has a little seating area as well, with plush velvet sofa, bar cart, and most excitingly, a TV that pops out from the end of the bed and swivels around in 360 degrees, so you can watch from whatever angle you’d like. Bathrooms are tiled in vivid blue and green and have generous bathtubs and walk-in showers (purposefully designed this way so guests enjoy the best of both), as well as luxurious toiletries from Bamford. Don’t forget to check out the complimentary minibar too, which is restocked with caramel popcorn and chocolate every day.
Slip downstairs and you’ll find hotel guests and members cosying up in the leather-lined booths and sipping drinks at Sir Frank’s Bar, named after Beaverbrook’s creative director, who curates the art collections across both hotels. The Fuji Grill is also located here, where you can enjoy delicious Japanese cuisine every day - we were treated to an incredible 20-course omakase experience with head chef Jan Horak at the slick little sushi bar. From monkfish tempura, to tuna nigiri seared on the spot in front of us and topped with truffle shavings, Jan has put his own unique twist on each of the dishes - every mouthful was delicious, and we ended with an incredible dessert inspired by Ferrero Rocher (literally a ball of praline mousse and salted caramel enrobed in chocolate). We went to bed feeling very satisfied that night, but still managed to make it downstairs for breakfast to enjoy beautifully presented avocado toast topped with fresh flowers. All of the staff at Beaverbrook Townhouse looked after us very well, from keeping us topped up with cocktails during dinner, to making sure there were a few birthday surprises included throughout the stay, which was such a lovely and personal touch. The hotel is boutique enough for staff to know each guest by name and make them feel at home - and as every bedoom is so individual, this provides the perfect reason to come back and stay again to experience an entirely different room.
After checking out, it was straight onto sister hotel Beaverbrook, which is just an hour outside London. The older sister of the two properties, Beaverbrook is very much a grand and glamorous country house hotel as opposed to a city bolthole. The former pad of Lord Beaverbrook, the luxurious estate encompasses more than 400 acres in the Surrey hills, and while there are definitely a few similarities between the two Beaverbrook properties (a Japanese restaurant and glitzy Sir Frank’s Bar in both), there are more than enough differences to provide a completely individual experience when staying at each hotel.
Arriving at the main house, you’ll find glamorous and effortlessly elegant interiors by Susie Atkinson, with various communal spaces gathered around a grand, sweeping staircase. There’s the Morning Room, decked out in pale pinks and floral furnishings, where squishy sofas cluster around a crackling fire, The Library where you can play a hand of chess and curl up with a book, and the glitzy Sir Frank’s Bar, where walls are lined with hundreds of prints and a distinctly Old Hollywood feel hangs around the velvet stools and glittering bar - plus there’s the hotel cinema, and beautifully pruned gardens to roam. Until the end of January, an impressive ice skating rink has also been erected in front of the main house, which guests are all invited to take a whirl on - it’s a pretty magical experience skating here with a scenic view of the hills (especially in the evening when the fairy lights are twinkling), and you can warm up with a hot drink at the outdoor bar afterwards. If you’re visiting with kids, there’s more than enough to keep you occupied between the cinema, ice rink and gardens - and that’s before you try your hand at any of the other activities available (cycling, fishing, and croquet to name a few).
Our bedroom was in the main house, where each room is named after a famous guest of Lord Beaverbrook. We were lucky enough to be staying in the incredible Elizabeth Taylor Suite, which is one of the most impressive and spacious rooms in the house and features a stunning four-poster bed, furnishings in a variety of soft pink hues, and a little balcony overlooking the gardens. Our bathroom was just as impressive, boasting a deep bathtub, him and her sinks, and marble-clad shower big enough for two. In comparison, rooms in the Garden House (which is a short buggy ride from the main house) are designed by Nicola Harding and have a similar feel to the bedrooms at Beaverbrook Townhouse, featuring a slightly more contemporary design and bolder colour schemes. Guests throughout the entire hotel can enjoy complimentary minibars and Bamford toiletries in all of the rooms.
After checking in, we headed straight to the Coach House spa, which is one of my favourite spas in the UK and features indoor and outdoor pools, private treatment rooms under a colourful stained glass ceiling, and a spa deli which offers nutritious meals and healthy snacks. We worked up an appetite in the impressive gym before heading to the pool for a dip - after which it was back to the main house in time for afternoon tea and cake, which is complimentary to all hotel guests and served every day. Meanwhile, dinner that evening was at the Garden House’s Anglo-Italian restaurant, which has a more laidback feel to the Japanese restaurant in the main house, and is where you can feast on fresh fish and pasta in a greenhouse-like space filled with plants.
Breakfast the next morning is also a generous affair - fresh croissants, eggs however you like them, and homemade waffles are all on the menu. You can have breakfast ordered straight to your room, or as we did, enjoy eating in the elegant main house dining room with a view onto the gardens, before it was time to check out.
After a very spoiling birthday weekend, we were very sad to head back to London. It’s the little touches at Beaverbrook that really made the difference to our stay, such as the cosy slippers that appeared at turndown service, and the fresh brownies in the hallway that guests can help themselves to throughout the day - there’s also no shortage of friendly staff around the hotel to help with any request, and chat to guests (something that we were really struck by, having noticed a shortage of staff in other hotels post-pandemic). With more than 400 staff members across the entire estate, you can only imagine the level of attention given to each guest throughout their stay. Luckily, the same level of service is replicated across both Beaverbrook properties, so whether you’re looking for a night in the city or an escape to the country, you can be assured that you will be well looked after. I will definitely be heading back to both properties as soon as I can - if you’re looking for an exciting night in the city, Beaverbrook Townhouse is definitely my favourite new hotel in London; for an entirely different experience, and a restorative, luxurious escape to the countryside, Beaverbrook remains one of the UK’s most elegant hotels.
