Design Review - Our top five 5* Hotels in Somerset

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14 Feb

Written By WOOLF interior architecture and design

As leading Bath and London based interior designers, we are reviewing the interior design of the top 5* hotels in Somerset and considering what makes the design of these hotels so unique and special. WOOLF Interior Architecture & Design have designed and consulted for a number of prestigious hotels and high-end developments in England (London, Somerset and the Cotswolds), Ireland and Dubai. Our projects are wide-ranging and have a strong brand focus. We take a multi-sensory approach which is carefully considered in every detail, creating intriguing and integrated spaces with a timeless character. Explore WOOLF commercial projects.

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The Bath Priory Hotel & Gardens, Bath

The eponymous Bath Priory Hotel & Gardens is part of the outstanding Brownsword Hotel Group which is a family founded hotel group that includes a number of auspicious titles such as Gidleigh Park in Devon, Amberley Castle in West Sussex, The Slaughters Manor House in the Cotswolds, The Slaughters Country Inn in the Cotswolds, Minster Mill in Oxfordshire, Old Swan in Oxfordshire and Buckland Manor in the Cotswolds. Every hotel they own in the group is situated in a stunning location; be it in one of the most beautiful areas of our English countryside or in the centre of one of our more historic cities. For us, The Bath Priory Hotel is successful from a design perspective because the interiors have such a relevant connection to the history of Bath; the interior spaces make you feel like you are a special guest in a rather chic family residence right in the heart of the city of Bath. The interiors are naturally aligned with the history of Bath; not in a themed or contrived manner.

The Bath Priory Hotel has created a feel that is both relevant and personal. The walls of the Library and Drawing Room are adorned with the Brownsword family’s collection of 20th century art, which welcomes guests to their ‘home from home’; inviting them to relax and unwind at a more leisurely pace. Every room is named after a flower and each is unique: Heather and Lilac offer ‘Romeo and Juliet’ balconies overlooking the clipped gardens while others, such as Carnation and Bluebell, boast four poster beds. The gardens are an integral feature of The Bath Priory Hotel covering four acres; including a kitchen garden, meadow and lawns with plenty of private nooks for relaxing. Lovingly tended by Jane Moore, a Chelsea Flower Show Silver Medal winner. Every season is a celebration of colour. Explore WOOLF historic projects.

Homewood Hotel, Somerset

The Homewood Hotel is part of the independently, privately-owned Kaleidoscope Collection comprising of two Bath hotels: The Bird in Bath and the Homewood Hotel in Somerset. The Kaleidoscope Collection have creativity and innovation at its design core. They are also the former owners and founders of the super quirky No. 15 Great Pulteney Hotel in Bath. The interiors of all their hotels have an underlying sense of playful eccentricity. Each property has a unique personality, exudes a love for life, an all-important sense of humour and a twinkle of mischief. The interior style is eclectic, surprising, characterful and at times outrageously designed to delight and intrigue. Explore the WOOLF journal page on ‘No. 15 Great Pulteney’ Hotel, Bath

The interior schemes are relaxing and whimsical, and juxtapose against the traditional Georgian mansion setting, the house is infused with random artworks and a huge sense of fun. It is the added layer of creative genius that gives the Homewood Hotel its edge. The moment you swing into their tree-lined drive, you will spot a yellow submarine on the grass. Why? “Well, we don’t really know. We just thought it would raise a smile”. Walk into the reception and you are faced with a wall of wacky clocks, head into the restaurant and you are met with beautiful twinkling chandeliers and all around the hotel is an amazing artwork collection; all of which are totally unrelated, but put together just because……... Explore WOOLF curated projects.

Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath

The Royal Crescent Hotel completely meets one’s expectations of what you might expect in one of the most stylish traditional Georgian style hotels in Bath. It is a blend of two grand Grade I listed townhouses in the centre of Bath’s iconic Georgian crescent; The Royal Crescent. The interiors have undergone extensive renovation in the last decade. The hotel has been successfully designed as an authentic luxurious Georgian heritage hotel with contemporary facilities.

The elegant and refined Georgian interior design is reminiscent of a by-gone era. Both the Drawing Room and Library epitomize the elegant style of the Georgian period and classic Georgia interior design. Both of the rooms are timelessly elegant, have high ceilings, open fires and wonderful views overlooking either the Royal Crescent itself or over the one acre of private gardens at the rear of the hotel. The 45 individually designed guest rooms and suites blend elegantly with the Georgian architecture, interior design and period heritage. The spaces are imbued with ornate Georgian plasterwork ceilings and full-length picture windows with equally stunning views over the Royal Crescent private lawns or across the hotel’s private gardens. Everything at the Royal Crescent Hotel is as absolutely delightful as you would expect. Explore WOOLF commercial projects.

Babington House, Somerset

Built in 1705, Babington House is a Grade II-listed Georgian manor house set in 18 acres of English countryside in the heart of Somerset, 30 minutes from Bath. Nick Jones, the founder of Soho House (a creatives-only club on Greek Street, London) wanted to add Babington House to his portfolio as a country outpost for his members only clubs. The Soho House design ethos is to deliver a familiar clubby feel wherever you are, design is at the heart of the hotel group’s success. The design of Babington House is based upon ‘a home away from home, with a focus on laid back luxury and comfortable, adaptable living spaces’.

Traditional hand-painted wallpapers, oak four-poster beds, velvet sofas and antique furniture fill the bedrooms at this gorgeous Georgian country manor house, designed by the fabulous Bath based architect Simon Morray Jones. The key to the ‘house style’ is the combination of an ‘industrial chic with an emotionally driven, flea-market-find aesthetic’. A groundswell appetite for the ‘Soho House look’, gathered momentum and www.sohohome.com opened selling a curated collection of pieces designed by Soho House. Aspiring ‘soho-homers’ can have the mohair chair from Babington House, or the bed from Chicago, the robe from the Farmhouse or the Burleigh teacup.

The Pig in Somerset

The Pig in Somerset, near Bath is a great example of a home grown brand born out of a personal passion for food and design. When The Pig opened in Brockenhurst, owners Judy and Robin Hutson defined the look of The Pig hotel aesthetic as “garden inspiration for a fictional character”. A food first ethos where the interiors have an easy, relaxed style; nothing challenging or over precious by using an eclectic mix of old and new to give the impression that the interiors have evolved over a number of years. This is an honest hotel based upon a concept of food with rooms. Also interesting to us is that The Pig’s design, springs from the notion of a character or narrative. As an ex-film designer this approach particularly resonates with Verity, the founder of WOOLF Interior Architecture & Design. Having originally worked as a film and television designer, Verity gained recognition for her talent in creating vision from character and narrative. She approaches the design of interiors like a curator, where her spaces are tailored to the individual and their character. Explore WOOLF curated projects.

Interestingly, Judy Hutson also starts by creating a character in her head, thinking about who could have lived at the hotel? Judy has said that “once I have a character, I forage for fabrics before taking my final selection to the site and trying them at the windows” her character “great aunt Mabel lived at The Pig in Somerset, she was faded gentry, had dogs and wore tweed skirts and a baggy home-knitted cardigan. Great Aunt Dorothy was her character who lived at The Pig on the Beach in Dorset, she was an eccentric artist who wore a smock and painted on the lawn overlooking the sea. The technique of designing through the lense of a story is common amongst Verity’s most well respected fashion designers / stylist colleagues. Fashion designers and stylists often start their design journey with a notion of what and who is at the heart of ‘the story’.