Sopwell House Hotel Shortlist*
St Albans, Hertfordshire
Good Hotel Guide Review
In extensive grounds, the former home of Lord Louis Mountbatten is today a ‘well-run’ hotel with contemporary bedrooms, cossetting suites, a choice of eating and drinking spaces, and a sleek spa. Bedrooms in the extended 300-year-old manor house are ‘practical and well furnished, with all the amenities’; upmarket mews suites are in landscaped gardens in a gated compound. The ‘bustling’ brasserie has classic bistro dishes (‘seemingly something for everyone’); more formal, modern British dinners are taken in the restaurant (Wed–Sat). Besides the state-of-the-art spa, several walled gardens provide space for relaxation and reflection. ‘Plentiful’ breakfasts are ‘nicely served, with freshly squeezed orange juice’.
Hotel details
Address
Cottonmill Lane
St Albans
Hertfordshire
AL1 2HQ
England
Telephone
01727 864477
Bedrooms
128. 16 mews suites.
Open
all year, restaurant open Wed–Sat for dinner, Sun lunch.
Facilities
cocktail lounge, bar, 2 restaurants, sitting room, meeting and conference facilities, in-room TV (Sky, BT), civil wedding licence, spa, indoor pool, gym, 12-acre grounds.
Background music
in lobby and restaurants.
Children
over-12s welcomed, not in spa or swimming pool.
Dogs
not allowed.
Credit cards
Amex, MC, Visa.
Prices
per room B&B £179–£799, D,B&B £229–£849. À la carte £45.