Summer Lodge, Dorset
by Jeremy Wayne
Above: Summer Lodge
The History: The house dates from 1789 and was the long-time home of the successive Earls of Ilchester. In 1893, Thomas Hardy enlarged the house for his friend, the 6th Earl, and lived here himself for some years. Summer Lodge became a hotel about 20 years ago but it had become shabby and certainly not chic; then, four years ago, it was sold and the present owners have transformed it. It is also a Relais & Châteaux member.
The Room: After staying in too many hip hotels, oh how I ache for yards and yards of sumptuous chintz. And Summer Lodge has it – rooms with fabric-covered walls, zingy design, pillows to sink into, sleep without pills. There are new beds, new linens, superb plumbing, beautiful colours, romantic lighting, side-tables stacked with brand new copies of the latest glossies. In the bathroom, you can expect enormous bathsheets, delicious scented candles, and Penhaligon’s products.
The Restaurant: The room is country-house floral, but newly done, smart and up to the minute, while the adjoining conservatory has a New England lightness and airiness about it. Chef Steve Titman used to be at the White Barn Inn at Kennebunk in Maine, which means he knows nothing about giving you two slivers of black cod on your plate (so hip, so not) and everything about flavour and abundance and integrity with the seasons. Goodness, you eat well here – pot roast partridge, roast Dorset lamb – everything presented with pizzazz, everything served with know-how and nous. And sommelier Eric Zwiebel has just been voted runner-up Best Sommelier in the World 2007. So you drink good wine at modest prices and great wine at fair prices, and you can’t say fairer than that.
The Upside: True, understated luxury in a part of the world poorly served by great hotels. Staff are on the ball, sassy but not over familiar. I love the free WiFi, the clubby, panelled bar, the fact they wash your car without even asking so it sparkles for the journey home. Plus, if you get fed up with walking, or shooting, or reading Hello! by the fire in the drawing room, you can venture out to visit Hardy’s cottage at Brockhampton, T.E. Lawrence’s grave at Moreton, or Lyme Regis and the Jurassic Coast.
The Downside: Summer Lodge loves dogs and there are two doggie rooms – but book ahead as they go quickly. And the windows of the first floor rooms opposite reception can feel a bit exposed (no common net curtains at Summer Lodge). If you want total privacy, think about the fabulously restored Ivy Cottage, in the village, 20m from the hotel.
The Extras: The spa, with its small but perfectly formed pool, and great treatments. They do Reiki, Matis facials, Jessica hand and foot treatments and massage. I’m wary of massages in English hotels – hip or otherwise – because what you usually get is two drops of aromatherapy oil, oily fingers ruffling your hair, and a local girl dressed up in a nurse’s outfit saying, ‘Now, relax, and think of your favourite colour’. But at Summer Lodge the therapists are professionally trained and extremely good and you can choose between Swedish, deep tissue and reflexology. Tremendous.
The Details: Doubles from £225 including a full English breakfast.
Summer Lodge Hotel & Spa, Evershot, Dorset
01935 48 2000
www.summerlodgehotel.com