Ellenborough Park is in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The building on the site was known as Southam Manor in the 1500's, and the land was owned by Henry VII and leased by a farmer called Thomas Goodman. On one of the windows there were even some stained glass panes commemorating Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York. It remained unfinished when it passed on to Sir John Huddleson, and remained in his family until the 1800's.
At this point, it passed to Edward Law; a distant relative who was also the Governor General of India. He made the house what it is today (minus the modern parts obviously) and was also the first Earl of Ellenborough. It's worth checking out the website for the backstory on Edward's scandalous wife, who had numerous affairs and a grand total of four marriages!
The house became a renovated modern hotel in 2008, as it had been a girl's school and a hotel before.
The house is in a perfect place for anyone wanting to explore. Nearby is a Roman Villa, but also Sudeley Castle. The Castle is where Catherine Parr (the last wife of Henry VIII) is buried. I was absolutely gutted we didn't have time to see it!
Hopefully I can make up for it with my review.....
As you can see the hotel itself is absolutely beautiful when you first see it. The old manor contains some of the bedrooms and the main reception, so you get to see all of the preserved history even if you're not lucky enough to have a suite!
We were housed in the 'newer' part of the hotel, which was styled to make it look like the old part. For me, the best part of the hotel were the grounds:
Some of the old buildings were still incorporated....
Despite how beautiful the outside was, it was the afternoon tea we NEEDED to sample! Sadly there were two events on at the hotel at the same time, so the service wasn't as good as we had hoped. I thought that the pretty tea set made up for it though (I'll never be a complainer!)
After we had a look at the teas on offer by smelling them from little vials then choosing, the cakes arrived. The scones weren't just scones, they included about 4 different varieties including chocolate and raspberry.
The 'cake' plate included trifles, strawberry and white chocolate mousse, mini tartlets and carrot cake. I felt so sick afterwards, but it was so worth it:
The room was likely the old chapel or a reception room, as it included two fireplaces, a viewing gallery and these lovely windows:
So, on offer at this lovely hotel is:
- A great afternoon tea
- A heated outdoor pool
- History, history and more history
- Proximity to Sudeley Castle and the beauty of the Cotswolds
For us the only downsides were the price and the service. It was a bit more expensive than I would have liked, and the service was a bit slow (understandably). Otherwise, it is a great way to spend a weekend!
x
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