R & R And A Bath Big Enough For Two At Barnett Hill

Trust me when I say there is nothing quite as relaxing as lying in a steaming hot bubble bath, in the middle of a luxury hotel room, while watching the snow gently fall outside.
When the arctic conditions returned to the UK, I decided to escape to the safe haven of Barnett Hill, a country house hotel in Guildford, Surrey.

The four-star getaway has recently been lovingly refurbished after originally being bought in 1905 as the family home of Frank Cook (the grandson of renowned travel agent Thomas Cook).
It now features a grand black and white tiled reception, period decor and a giant chandler over the twisting staircase.

Hidden away in the small and quaint village of Wonersh, just outside of Guildford, it’s set in 26 acres of beautiful grounds and woodlands, which means that you can choose how active or relaxing your stay will be.

After a brief and chilly walk around the grounds – which feature several impressive statues – we decided to retreat back to our room for the evening.

The Splendid Room certainly lived up to it’s name, boasting a modern four-poster bed, a large freestanding bath in the corner of the room, antique fireplace and Egyptian cotton linen sheets.
Soaking into the bath was definitely a key highlight and a range of L’Occitane toiletries on-hand made it an extra treat.

Suddenly all the stresses of the day were instantly soothed, assisted by a glass (or two) of wine. You can either opt to watch the world go by out of the adjacent bay windows or turn the giant flat screen TV towards you and pop on a film.

And yes, the bath is definitely big enough for two if you’d rather not be alone!

After feeling revitalised, we headed down to dinner at the Oak Room restaurant and bar, which is headed up by new Head Chef Lee Young. He has worked in a host of Michelin starred establishments, including Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin starred pub, the Hinds Head in Bray, and his background really shows as the food on offer is first class.

Sitting next to a roaring open fire, my partner and I both opted to go for the fried cod cheeks to start with (£10). They were accompanied by salt cod brandade, garlic and saffron aioli and sea vegetables.

For mains we went for pan fried sea bream with potato and crab cake, spiced lentils and almond and basil pesto (£23) and the Surrey Farm ribeye steak (£28) and triple cooked chips (£4). It was the perfect combination of an idyllic setting, mouth-watering food and attentive staff – who, after finding out it was my birthday, surprised me with a sweet rendition of happy birthday and a cake!
The next day we were keen to explore the local area and wrapped up warm against the four-inches of snow, which had only increased overnight.

The hotel generously offer a free loan of bikes but we opted instead to go on the Blackheath and Shamley Green Walk because of the weather conditions. Over nine-miles it takes you through the Surrey Hills, through a mixture of woodland, hill-tops and local farms.  Chinthurst Hill in particular a peaceful spot and you can walk around the outside of the tower, a stone folly built in the 1930’s, which proudly sits at the top and is now a Grade II listed building.