Bite Autumn 2012

ANNABEL GOLDIE-MORRISON VISITS ELLENBOROUGH PARK, AN IMPRESSIVE ANCIENT HOUSE RESTOREDAS AN EXCEPTIONAL HOTEL NEARTHE COTSWOLDTOWN OF CHELTENHAM.

T en minutes from the Cotswold town of Cheltenham, Ellenborough Park sprawls in 90 acres of parkland conveniently located adjacent to the famous Cheltenham Racecourse. The hotel opened in 2011 after an extensive and expensive facelift, and was rewarded with a coveted AA Five Star rating. It’s the ideal spot for a romantic weekend break, a family get together or a base from which to enjoy the picturesque local area. Horse racing enthusiasts will be impressed by the private drive linking Ellenborough Park directly to the racecourse, and the four suites named after famous racehorses. The 15 th century manor house at the centre of the property has been gradually expanded and added to over the centuries, first as a private home, then a girls’ school, and lastly a 3-star hotel before being sensitively remodelled into its current incarnation.The heart and soul of the building remains, and the new accommodation wings echo the main house, and are built in the same warm yellow Cotswold stone. In fact the stone

to the Earl of Ellenborough, a former Governor General of India, and this history has received acknowledgement from Campbell with colonial and Indian touches throughout, just as the Earl would have added Indian features and artefacts to the property in his time. My favourite space within the hotel has to

has been taken from the same quarry that much of the original building came from. Give it a few more years of sun and weather and you won’t be able to tell the difference! The interiors are designed by Nina Campbell, and are a pleasing mix of old and new. The house was home