insideKENT Magazine Issue 80 - November 2018 | Page 169
GETAWAYS
BRANDSHATCH PLACE Hotel and Spa
IT WAS ALMOST HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE WERE A FEW SHORT MINUTES FROM
THE MOTORWAY WHEN MY GUEST AND I DROVE UP TO THE TOTALLY SECLUDED,
BEAUTIFUL GEORGIAN MANSION THAT IS HOME TO BRANDSHATCH PLACE HOTEL
AND SPA, ONE OF JUST TWO KENT-BASED PROPERTIES THAT ARE PART OF THE
EXCLUSIVE COUNTRY HOUSE AND SPA HOTEL OFFERING BY THE HAND PICKED
HOTELS GROUP. BY SAMANTHA READY
Built in 1806, the mansion house
itself is a picture-perfect image
of red brickwork and large white
sash windows; it’s a cosy,
welcoming abode and yet, while
dazzling, the facade belies the
tardis-like quality of the facilities
beyond which have been cleverly
extended and built into the hills
and grounds.
The results are the epitome of
‘small but perfectly formed’: just
38 bedrooms means the grounds
and facilities never feel
overwhelming busy, the 2AA
Rosette restaurant is intimate but
not claustrophobic, and a well-
designed layout means that
conference or wedding guests
(the whole hotel can be booked
for exclusive use) can use a
separate private entrance that
escorts them straight to the large
banqueting suite and conference
rooms. The spa, again with its
own private entrance as well as
access from the hotel, means that
guests such as myself can arrive
direct from the hotel in their
robes and slippers with as much
ease as a health club member
arriving for an evidently popular
personal training session.
Not content resting on its
Georgian laurels, the hotel has
recently undergone a total
refurbishment programme and
the result is a warm palette of
neutral colours, luxurious drapes,
cosy armchair seating and sleek
finishes, which extend into the
lovely Dining Room Restaurant,
characterised by high ceilings,
original fireplaces and beautiful
windows.
For dinner, there are two menus:
a changing table d'hôte and an à
la carte offering. My guest, who
is vegetarian, and I (mainly just
fussy with a side order of allergic)
were both impressed by the
range of options across both
menus and chose our dishes
from the very reasonably priced
daily menu. Whipped goats’
cheese with granola and red-
wine poached figs followed by
smoked haddock, pea risotto and
buttered samphire; and duck
galantine with poppy seed tuile
and a zingy chilli apricot jam, and
glazed pork belly with pea purée
and baby gem were all well
balanced and beautifully
presented. Of course we couldn’t
refuse dessert, plumping for the
fragrant coconut and lemongrass
bavarois with passion fruit coulis and the decadent salted caramel
delice with toffee sauce and chocolate soil, which we justified with a
few quick lengths in the beautiful basement spa pool.
In fact, we happily whiled away a good few hours in the spa (pool,
sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi) with its calming natural stone and
soft purple lighting creating a perfect restful haven finishing off our
stay with the most perfect of massages from an extensive list of
pampering options.
Brandshatch Place Hotel and Spa offers a friendly relaxed environment,
which was evident throughout our stay from the family groups
relaxing in the lounge to the buzzing quick coffee stop and the social
café space of the health club. After-dinner drinks in the mood-lit bar,
making the most of the unexpected October sunshine in the outside
suntrap of the almost-secret spa terrace, and, of course the staff who
were welcoming, friendly and faultless really topped off a wonderfully
restful stay.
Brandshatch Place Hotel & Spa
Brands Hatch Road
Fawkham
Kent
DA3 8NQ
[email protected]
0845 072 7395
www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/brandshatchplace/
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