7 UK SPRING HOTEL STAYS FROM THE LIFESTYLE COLLECTIVE

Whether you’re looking for a city break or an arty adventure these are the seven UK spring stays to have on your radar now

BOYS HALL, KENT
Best for a boozy break

This spring, the award-winning boutique hotel has partnered with Wine Tours of Kent to transport wine-loving guests to two wonderful Kentish vineyards during their stay. Crucially, there’s a dedicated driver for the day and a knowledgeable wine guide so you can make the most of two tastings and a delicious vineyard platter lunch among the vines before heading back for supper at Boys Hall in their stunning oak-framed restaurant. Boys Hall are spoilt with amazing local Vineyards including Chapel Down and Gusbourne. After a busy day of drinking there’s few nicer spots to bed down than this medieval timber-framed manor house with its enormous fireplaces, worn chesterfield sofas and Persian rugs – the perfect place for a nightcap before heading to bed in a wood-panelled room with views of the stately gardens. 

Wine tours: February 25, March 13 / 24, April 17 / 28, May 15 / 19; boys-hall.com; B&B, full day winery tour & lunch combined is £440 for two people

BINGHAM RIVERHOUSE, RICHMOND
Best for a breather in the city

This charming riverside hotel is the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of London life while still being close to the action. There are few lovelier places to enjoy lunch, overlooking the banks of the river Thames. And in the kitchen leading a new culinary chapter for the hotel restaurant is South African born Vanessa Marx. Her menu champions slow food including meat and dairy from organic Haye Farm, fish from Brixham fish market and low-waste wonders including coffee-grown oyster mushrooms, grown on the urban Rooftop Farm in Wimbledon. Signature dishes include beetroot gnocchi with parmesan and venison tartare with bone marrow and girolles. Vanessa is the latest in a line of visionary women to take a leadership role at Bingham Riverhouse, working alongside the hotel’s co-owner and founder of bhuti Wellness, Sama Trinder. As part of the bhuti offering guests staying at the hotel can join yoga, gong meditation, Pilates and fitness classes.

binghamriverhouse.com; bedrooms from £160 room only

ROTHAY MANOR, THE LAKE DISTRICT
Best for: an adventurous break

Days at Rothay are all about exploring and the arrival of milder weather means hiking, swimming, horse riding and forest bathing are all on the cards. The hotel is dog-friendly (there’s even an indoor dog wash!) so bring your hound for hikes across the fells (the hotel can also arrange guided hiking trails and off-road driving experiences) as the landscape wakes up from winter and daffodils start to bloom – there are few lovelier times to visit the Lake District. The truly adventurous can check out Rothay’s cold-water swimming retreat (1-3rd March 2024). There’s also a new chef heading up the kitchen, the Michelin-trained Aaron Lawrence who is launching a tasting menu this spring in the 3AA Rosette restaurant. Plus, after a day’s walking, his afternoon tea is the ultimate treat. 
rothaymanor.co.uk; rooms from £200

NO 1 BRUTON, SOMERSET
Best for an arty break

There is no bad time to visit this boutique hotel in Bruton but spring is your last chance to eat at Merlin Labron-Jonshon’s brilliant Osip before he moves down the road and the hotel launches its new restaurant offering. Hauser & Wirth’s Somerset outpost is a short walk away – visit before April 28th to catch Present Tense, spotlighting 23 contemporary artists addressing and confronting notions of identity, consciousness, humanity and representation, as well as the Piet Oudolf gardens which reopen at the end of January and are at their prettiest in spring. Plus, keep your eyes peeled for brand new bedrooms at Number 1 opening in May.

Numberonebruton.com; rooms from £160

THE RECTORY HOTEL, WILTSHIRE
Best for: a foodie break

Jake Simpson, former head chef at Bocca di Lupo, has left London to lead the kitchen at the much loved Wiltshire hotel and the new menu is enough to tempt you away from the big smoke as well. Menu highlights include egg yolk raviolo with bottarga butter, Venison Haunch with faggot, parsnip and pickled prune and a tempting pistachio cake with rosewater sherbet. There’s also a brilliant Sunday roast to be had at sibling joint The Potting Shed as well as gorgeous kitchen gardens to explore as spring sunshine kicks in. Westonbirt Arboretum is just a 15-minute drive away and in Spring the magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas all burst into bloom in a riot of red, pink, purple and orange best seen from the tree-top walk.

therectoryhotel.com; rooms from £170 B&B

LIME TREE HOTEL, LONDON
Best fora city break 

It’s hard to beat the Lime Tree’s London location. Just around the corner from Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, there’s a film-set feel to the two converted Georgian townhouses which make up this hotel. As well as access to excellent boutique shops, the hotel is within walking distance o fSloane Square and in the other direction, Hyde Park – perfect for spring-time exploring. Inside the walls are hung with retro film posters and framed Penguin Classic covers and the charming garden feels like a London secret – one of the loveliest spots for breakfast (of Nutella French Toast or perfect eggs Benedict from hotel restaurant, The Buttery) in the capital. Note, one of the loveliest times to visit is during Belgravia in Bloom (21-25th May 2024) when doorways across the neighbourhood are adorned with decadent floral displays marking the end of spring.

limetreehotel.co.uk; Double rooms from £220

THE TAWNY HOTEL, STAFFORDSHIRE
Best for a romantic break

Bedrooms are sprawled across the 70-acre rewilded estate in boathouses, treehouses and shepherd’s huts which means they all feel remote. And the landscaped gardens, dotted with lakes, wild woodlands and follies come to life in spring. There’s also a heated swimming pool in the grounds as well as spa baths with the bedrooms, while all the interiors were designed to bring a sense of the outdoors in. This year also sees the launch of a new series of serviced rentals, The Fledglings, available to take over in bigger groups with all the luxuries of the hotel for those that want them (personal bartender, private chef, yoga classes) as well as a private pool. Located in the UK’s ceramic heartland, Kestrel Cottage is stocked with crockery from Emma Bridgewater – and guests of The Tawny can enjoy factory tours and decorating experiences with Emma Bridgewater and World of Wedgewood on request. Guests can borrow bicycles and take a Tawny picnic hamper for lunch, and this March there are also stargazing and foraging workshops too. Not enough to tempt you? The outdoor pool is kept deliciously warm all year round too. 

Star Gazing: 29th March; Foraging: 30th March; thetawny.co.uk; rooms from £240

For further press information and to arrange reviews or interviews, please contact Jessy Harrison or Joanna Webb at The Lifestyle Collective.

E: jessy@lifestyle-collective.co.uk or jo@lifestyle-collective.co.uk