The Inspector calls at an ‘absolutely gorgeous’ Sussex hotel with extraordinary gardens and a Michelin-starred restaurant that serves up 18-course feasts
A lot’s going on here. There’s the 240-acre Leonardslee woodland gardens, with eight lakes sitting in a sheltered valley, with banks of rare rhododendrons and camellias.
Then there’s one of the biggest outdoor sculpture parks in Europe (with an exhibition — The Walk Of Life — of some 100 works by the South African artist Anton Smit); a garden centre; ‘miniature village’; vineyard and wine-tasting centre; gift shop and cafe.
But perhaps the biggest draw — for diehard foodies with credit card in hand and who are happy to spend three hours at a dining-room table — is the Michelin-star restaurant, Interlude, which offers an 18-course set menu for £120 per person.
In the main house, built in 1852, there are ten bedrooms, each decorated in the style of a famous interiors brand.
Ours features G.P. & J. Baker (holders of a royal warrant), which means exquisite wallpaper, pelmets, upholstered headboard — traditional British.
The Inspector calls at Leonardslee House, a property that was built in 1852 in West Sussex
According to the Inspector, one of the biggest draws to the hotel is the Michelin-star restaurant, Interlude (above)
‘Absolutely gorgeous,’ says my weekend companion, who is not given to praise.
It’s called the Sir Edmund Loder room, so named after the man who, in 1889, set about developing the gardens and introduced all sorts of rare wild animals, including wallabies, bush turkeys, emus and prairie dogs.
After his death in 1920, his grandson sold most of it and it went into decline until the Zimbabwean-born entrepreneur Penny Streeter bought it, with a determination to create something extraordinary. She has certainly done that.
There are ten bedrooms, each decorated in the style of a famous interiors brand. Above is the Magnolia Suite
Instead of breakfast, a huge basket ‘laden with goodies’ is placed outside guests’ rooms in the morning
There are eight lakes across the 240-acre Leonardslee woodland gardens
We opt out of the 18-course feast and pop down the road to the Crabtree pub for steak and chips.
What we had not quite expected was that there is no seated breakfast in the morning. Instead, a huge basket is placed outside your room, laden with goodies.
This is a massive project still in its infancy. It’s not cheap, but to wander around the Grade I gardens at dusk is a delight — and Ms Streeter should take a bow.
TRAVEL FACTS
Leonardslee House, Brighton Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 6PP. Doubles from £240 B&B. For more information call 0871 873 3363 or visit leonardsleegardens.co.uk.
Rating out of five: ****
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