You’re in good company when you stay at Beaverbrook; Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor, Rudyard Kipling and Ian Fleming all holidayed here – and there are tributes to each of them within the hotel’s design (credit to Susie Atkinson of Soho House fame). My husband, a total history buff, spent the vast majority of our stay absorbing the hotel’s history, exploring the bookshelves and admiring the wartime photos of Spitfires that emblazoned the corridors.
Despite the hotel’s glamorous alumni, we visited Beaverbrook with our much more feral two-year-old daughter – but any concerns we had over whether she’d feel welcome were immediately quashed. The staff were the most accommodating (and well-dressed) bunch, and our daughter was warmly welcomed with a Beaverbrook teddy that she still cherishes to this day.
A quick tour revealed the hotel is, somewhat surprisingly, hugely child-friendly. Just off reception is the kind of plush cinema rooms billionaires have in their basement – and one used by Churchill to catch up on Pathe newsreels. Today, the Private Cinema is the perfect rainy day activity and, yes, there’s a fresh popcorn machine.
Our favourite kids entertainment company, Sharky & George, also run a kids’ club on site, with al fresco activities like bug hunting, den building and high-octane games in the epic treehouse on offer. There’s also kids’ swimming times for both the indoor and outdoor pools, which our daughter spent approximately 80% of her time splashing around. When the sun is shining and you’re relaxing by the outdoor pool, glass of rosé in hand, you could be in the Caribbean, not 20 miles from the city we so desperately try to escape at weekends. Weather not playing ball? Treat yourself to an indulgent spa treatment at the spa. Designed by contemporary artist and architect Brian Clark, the kaleidoscopic-coloured design makes perfect Instagram fodder and the treatments are heavily inspired by medical plants with those from the on-site apothecary garden used in treatments and teas.
The bedrooms are spoiling and flooded with natural light thanks to sash windows with views of the undulating Surrey hills. Each room is named after Lord Beaverbrook’s famous guests, from the Duchess of Windsor to Winston Churchill, and special touches like traditional British mint humbugs, Bamford toiletries and Sipsmith gin add to the indulgence. The pièce de résistance was a roll-top bath tub overlooking the incredible hotel gardens. When our daughter wasn’t in the swimming pool, she could be found causing chaos in here.
