I’m not saying Pennyhill Park has everything you could ever need from a weekend getaway but my word a lot of boxes are ticked. Formerly a country home dating back to the 19th century, Pennyhill is now a 124-bedroom luxury hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant and an absolute beauty of a spa. Oh and it’s situated in Bagshot, Surrey so the journey from London is a breeze.
The main house is a beautiful building, its exterior covered with ivy, its vibe giving strong PG Wodehouse: you half expect to see Bertie Wooster escaping from an upstairs window. There’s a beautiful garden, an orchard and a hefty 120 acres of surrounding parkland: hitting the daily step count will not be an issue should you desire. Unsurprisingly the matrimony comes thick and fast here: our weekend coincided with a wedding and a proposal (separate groups, I should stress, rather than a best man with no shame) and I don’t think it was a particularly busy one.
There’s plenty to keep you diverted if you don’t wish to liven up dinner by popping the question. Like what? Well, a games room for starters – featuring a pool table, an arcade machine, a chess board and plenty of board games. A screening room complete with popcorn. Tennis courts if you’re feeling energetic: hand your partner a bagel instead of a ring.
Of course the hard part is tearing yourself away from the spa; there’s a lot of spa to be torn away from. You have an outdoor swimming pool – and a pool bar. You have an indoor swimming pool – one of those where music plays underwater, a trick that will never cease to make me feel as though I’m in Harry Potter. You have a swimming pool that starts inside and goes outside and features lots of jets to stand beneath.
Pennyhill Park Spa
Dare you brave the plunge pool? Deep slow breathing is the secret, followed by a swift relocation to one of the multiple saunas and steam rooms. There’s also an ice room that does a wondrous job of clearing the remnants of the night before. And a relaxation room that will likely see you half asleep after a few minutes. Outdoor hot tubs? But of course. Naturally, all manner of treatments are available (anyone for mudding?) as well as spa days and spa breaks for those seeking premium pampering.
Bedrooms are delightful. We stayed in a Luxe Junior Suite complete with a four-poster bed, a ginormous circular sofa, a working desk (ha!) and a TV in the bathroom. Sipping a glass of bubbly in a free-standing tub while taking in Escape to the Country – that, my friends, is the good life. You’ll also encounter a cuddly toy reindeer called Donut who can be left outside if you don’t need any housekeeping. Resist the urge to slip Donut in your suitcase but if you really bond, he can be purchased at reception.
Pennyhill Park Junior Suite
Latymer
First thing first: Latymer is a beautiful restaurant to spend an evening. There's thick green carpet and wooden beams and a mahogany table covered with booze in the middle. At no point does Henry VIII come marching into the room demanding vittles but you feel he just might if you hung around long enough. It's a lovely timeless place that makes you feel warm and secure.
This is especially important as you’re likely to spend around three hours here: the only option is the tasting menu, supposedly six courses but with so many extras it feels closer to ten. Before the menu proper begins you're treated to a succession of hot d'oeuvres, like trailers before a movie. All are great, the carrot tart is superb and the crab meat with tomato is so good that it forced me to write a paragraph about the appetisers. You make it into a kind of puree and lick the bowl clean.
Halfway through jotting down the first course, an absolute banger that involves Jersey Royals prepared in four different ways, and mushrooms in a mere three, realisation hits – this is meant to be the Discovery menu, right? Surely the discovery will be marred by some chancer journo spilling all the details in a review? I check with George, the restaurant manager and he tells me to go ahead, they change the menu frequently. The Jersey Royal dish has been live all of two hours.
Pigeon
Still l won't get too spoilery. The second course involves sweetbread and some of the freshest peas you could hope to taste. My pescatarian mushroom-hating girlfriend was served mushroom and finished the whole thing with aplomb. Then come the biggest, fattest scallops I've ever seen; these are Orkney scallops where the water is especially deep and cold and they need to work harder to eat. The Latymer is one of only three restaurants in the UK to offer these scallops, the other two being The Ledbury and Core by Clare Smith.
There's pigeon for main. I love eating pigeon: anything that thins out the little bastards. I particularly like eating this pigeon which is rich and succulent and very red. Fill out your card with a lovely light strawberry compote and a peach tart with the most exquisite crumbly pastry. As for booze, you can order from the wine list – but there’s also the option of wine pairings that I would heartily recommend.
In short, you have a meal that old Henry VIII would relish. And when you're finished, stagger up to bed and cuddle Donut the reindeer to sleep.
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London Rd, Bagshot GU19 5EU; Pennyhill Park
