STON EASTON PARK
Classic Georgian manor house in sweeping parkland setting.
YOU CAN ALMOST PICTURE THE CARRIAGES from bygone days bowling along the drive of Ston Easton Park. Set in 36 acres of parkland, this Palladian mansion is
one of the most romantic estates in the West Country.
Set on the edge of the Mendip hills 20 minutes from Bath, Ston Easton Park has everything you would expect of a grand 18th century country house. Log fires burn, antiques and oil paintings abound, and
views over the rolling private estate are second to none. You might have stepped into the pages of a Jane Austen novel.
Now newly refurbished, Ston Easton
lives and breathes old-time elegance. The grandly classic lounge, with its lofty proportions and ornate ceiling, is a stunner. No new-age replicas here – from its oil paintings and huge chandeliers to its wood-panelled library lined with leather-bound volumes, this Grade I listed mansion is the real McCoy.
Hit the spot
A beautiful parkland estate 11 miles from Bath.
Bedtime
Splash out in the fabulous Master Bedroom, or the top floor Terrace room, with its private patio. Or get wrapped up in each other in the ultra-private Gardener’s Cottage.
Be savvy
It's grand but never intimidating.
Be smitten
High living in grandest Somerset.
Tassels and taffeta
Bedrooms come with antique furniture, original features and – in many – four poster or coronet beds. All are different in size and feel, and marble bathrooms (many converted from the original wig rooms) gleam in marble and glass.
Rustling taffeta drapes, huge silken tassels and soothing colours evoke the richness of Regency England, while drench showers and wi-fi provide all essential 21st century comforts.
Decorated in shades of jade and crimson, our sprawling Master Bedroom boasted a huge
Chippendale four-poster draped in silks and crushed velvet. Tall windows framed views of an ancient cedar tree, shimmering river and rolling hills that might have been
straight out of a Gainsborough painting. We also loved the secluded 18th century Gardener’s cottage hidden away in the gardens.
Downstairs, you can admire the oil paintings in the flag stoned foyer, have a nightcap beside a blazing fire on cool evenings or leaf through a copy of Country Life in one of the lounges. Check out the billiard room in the cellars, or enjoy
lunch or afternoon tea in summer on the outside terrace.
Discover the “below stairs” Georgian kitchen, with its polished copper pots, or stroll past a burbling brook along
Ston Easton’s woodland paths and landscaped gardens with Oscar, the friendly house spaniel.
Ston Easton’s pastel-panelled dining room provides a smart setting for head chef Matthew Butcher’s
inventive English inspired cooking using produce from the hotel’s own kitchen garden. Prefer something lighter? Staff will kit you out with a picnic hamper and rugs for you to dine in the grounds on sunny days.
Warm and welcoming staff ensure you’ll find the place grand, but never intimidating. And
Oscar is a tail-wagging charmer who is at the ready for walkies with guests come rain or shine.
Ston Easton Park was reviewed for
Room for Romance by Mark MacGee
Click on any picture to enlarge it and move through the gallery.
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Dining in
You’ll want to dress up to enjoy the best of head chef Matthew Butcher’s inventive English inspired cuisine in Ston Easton’s Sorrel Restaurant. Start with
langoustine tails and truffled baby leeks, followed perhaps by smoked venison loin with prune and chestnut blinis and shallots. Our chilled lavender rice pudding with pink grapefruit sorbet to follow was delicious. There’s also an outstanding wine list.
Dining out
Try The Old Spot bistro in nearby Wells or dine at Ston Easton’s sister hotel, Homewood Park near Bath.
Where?
Sorrel Restaurant at Ston Easton Park.
What’s cooking?
Try native red mullet with saffron crumbs, razor clams and crisp wakame seaweed, or slow braised oxtail with celeriac gratin and kale with bacon.
Top table?
By the window, with views over the grounds.
See & Do
You’re nicely close to Bath here without being city-centre, so spend a day discovering its famous Georgian terraces and Thermae Spa. The pint-size city of Wells is close by, with its pretty cathedral green and tea rooms, while Cheddar and its famous gorge and caves are a short drive away.
Play croquet or tennis at the hotel, book a morning’s clay pigeon shooting or play a round of golf at nearby Farringdon Golf and Country club. Hot air balloon rides can also be arranged.
Shop
Nearby Bath has all the little galleries and artisan shops you could want.
Spa
A range of in-room beauty and wellbeing treatments can be booked through reception.
Dates
June
Britain’s biggest outdoor music festival kicks off at Glastonbury.
September
Weird and wonderful creations take to the air in the Bristol Balloon Festival.
GETTING THERE
Location
Ston Easton, Nr Bath BA3 4DF
Parking
There is free guest parking.
Trains
Bath Spa station – 11 miles.
Taxis
GBP 30 from Bath Spa station.
Airport
Bristol Airport – 12 miles. There is a helipad on site.
Rooms and suites
22 rooms and suites
Special features
Bedrooms have traditional English decor and antiques, together with high-speed internet ports, TVs and complimentary newspapers.
Also…
There’s a tennis court, a billiard room, a helipad and a croquet lawn.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
GBP 175 - 545
Open/closed
Open all year
Check-in
14:00
Check-out
11:00
Minimum night stay?
Rarely.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served until 10am. Specialities include smoke haddock and poached egg in a herb sauce, or grilled kippers.
Room service
Available 24 hours
Children
Welcome, though not in the restaurant after 19:30
Pets
Welcome
Air conditioning
No.
Wedding license?
Civil ceremonies with up to 140 guests can be catered for.