Southernhay House

A sense of old-world elegance where ‘style is a central feature’ can be found in this independent boutique hotel not far from the cathedral. Owners Deborah Clark and Tony Orchard have added a 20th-century sensibility to the Grade II listed town house, the original Georgian features complemented by soft Farrow & Ball colours, quirky antiques and designer furnishings. A Guide inspector found that ‘exquisite’ bedrooms had none of the ‘charmingly dog-eared features often present in even the nicest of places’. All rooms have a comfortable seating area, and overlook the pocket garden or leafy Southernhay Gardens. Some larger rooms have an in-room roll-top bath tub. A new self-contained apartment has just been added. On the ground floor, a glamorous bar, with a new glass pavilion extension, is the place for cocktails and fine wines. The ‘exceptional food’ is ‘an experience in its own right’, with a changing menu of seasonal dishes, simply cooked, and served in the ‘intimate’ 
dining room. Breakfast brings a wide array of hot dishes cooked to order. ‘I would go there purely for the hotel, irrespective of whether I wanted to visit the city.’