Not too long ago I tried my hand at making some Buttermilk Panacottas, a recipe from Daniel Moons recipe ebook, who is the head chef at Ston Easton Park, and last week we were lucky enough to head down to near bath to stay the night and try some of the food first hand!
The entry to the hotel is majestic, down a long winding road before the grand building comes into sight. The helicopter on the lawns made it even more special, even thought I’m sure thats not there every day!
The welcome was warm and efficient, and we were shown up to a room on the top floor. Well I say room, it was more like a suite with a separate sitting area and study area as well as walk in closet and large bathroom. The room was decorated in a classic style with lovely pastel blues and purples running through.
The large marble bathroom had his and hers vanity area and top notch toiltetires, and even had a bidet – not something you see very often anymore in England.
The closer you looked, the more interesting things you found, with beautiful paintings on the walls, intricate antique plates and small statues. The room also boasted a balcony, overlooking the grounds with wrought iron table and chairs. The view, even in the gray november gloom was impressive.
There was a hamper full of tea and treats, lots of books and magazines to read. You could easily never leave the room on your stay.
But venture out of the room we did, if only for a quick tour of the grounds and then to collapse in front of the roaring fires in the drawing room for some tea. There’s also a more intimate library that you can relax in, read or play chess on their impressive set. Of course, relaxing wouldn’t be complete without meeting the house dog Oscar, who is gorgeous!
We headed back up stairs to get ready for dinner – something I’ll tell you about a a later date, but it was pretty delicious!
Due to the room being at the top of the house, it was pretty hot – but once we’d turned down the radiators and opened the balcony door for a bit we slept really well in a bed that swallowed you up it was so soft and made you never want to leave.
For breakfast there was an array of cold dishes, pastries, fruit and yoghurt, and your choice for the A La Carte Menu also. I chose a lightish option of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, whilst Lee had a very well presented and well cooked full English.
If you’re looking for a quintessential country house hotel, with excellent service that really stands out (word here for the man that was serving tea in the afternoon and drinks before and after dinner in the evening who was fantastic!), lots of lovely old fashioned features, beautiful grounds and a friendly house dog on top you won’t go wrong with Ston Easton Park.
