Old Downton Lodge
Amid rolling hills, where Shropshire nudges Herefordshire, Pippa and Willem Vlok’s restaurant-with-rooms comprises a picturesque set piece of medieval and Georgian farm buildings. More
Good Hotel Guide Review
Amid rolling hills, where Shropshire nudges Herefordshire, Pippa and Willem Vlok’s restaurant-with-rooms is a picturesque set piece of medieval and Georgian farm buildings. It lies on the historic Downton Estate (not that Downton!), and caters to shooting parties, but you are as welcome to take tea outdoors and just shoot the breeze. Bedrooms occupy former stables and barns, some with lofty, beamed ceilings, perhaps an oak four-poster. ‘Our room was stunning, with a beautiful bathroom with romantic lighting,’ a reader writes. ‘We enjoyed a bottle of wine on the garden chairs overlooking the colourful garden.’ Others take a drink by the log-burner in a sitting room fashioned from a milking parlour. In a baronial-style dining room, Nick Bennett’s cooking is ‘five star’. Although another reader staying for several nights would have liked more variety, ‘ham hock with pineapple chutney and pistachio, and duck breast with beetroot, kohlrabi and cherry were highlights’. ‘Willem, Pippa and their team are knowledgeable, professional and make you feel so special, it’s a hard place to leave!’ (Amanda Bateman, Frances M Thomas, and others)
Hotel details
Address
Downton on the Rock
Ludlow
Shropshire
SY8 2HU
England
Telephone
01568 771826
Bedrooms
9. In buildings round courtyard.
Open
all year, except Christmas.
Facilities
sitting room, dining room, ‘museum’ (function room), in-room TV (Freeview), civil wedding licence, 1-acre courtyard, EV charging, unsuitable for disabled.
Background music
soft classical in sitting and dining room.
Children
over-13s only.
Dogs
allowed in 4 bedrooms by prior arrangement (£15 per dog, max. 2 per room), only assistance dogs in sitting room and dining room.
Credit cards
Amex, MC, Visa.
Prices
B&B doubles from £215. Fixed-price dinner (24 hours’ notice) £50–£60 (2/3 courses), tasting menu £85.
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Old Downton Lodge
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- express.co.uk: UK’s 10 best hotels revealed
- Daily Mail: The very best of British
- Wedding Ideas Magazine: 5 UK country barn venues with a difference
- Independent: The best British hotels to discover this year
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