Gravetye Manor review: secluded Elizabethan opulence in the Sussex countryside

Gravetye Manor lies just 30 minutes from London in the Sussex countryside, but couldn’t feel further from it. Clouds, sun and birdsong fill the sky without a hint of urban intrusion.

Set in 1,000 acres of woodland, lakes and fields, it feels about as off-grid as you can get. The name is pronounced “grave-tie” – not gravity – which makes it sound like it’s part of a superhero origin story. You could be forgiven, though, for feeling like the house is billionaire Bruce Wayne’s British hideaway.

Why stay here

Originally built in 1598 by ironmaster Richard Infield, renowned gardener William Robinson purchased the property in 1884 and lived there until he died in 1935, during which time he created one of the world’s most celebrated gardens; a huge, walled kitchen garden (which now serves the restaurant) growing everything from unusual herbs to medicinal plants and orchard fruits and berries. Wildflower gardens, a meadow, orchards and unusual semi-wild gardens can be found around the manor itself with high plants and otherworldly flowers shooting in all directions. A woodland coppice garden is in the works. Garden tours get booked up years in advance, but guests can explore at leisure. Robinson also commissioned architect Ernest George to build a new wing at the house seamlessly matching the styling of the original parts.

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Gravetye lets guests live the manor life from the moment you arrive; meander up the mile-long drive to be greeted by the site of the stunning stone manor, red ivy growing up it in a spidering crawl – it’s hard not to feel like you’re on a film set. Footmen guide you to your parking spot and whisk you up the arresting, columned entrance. Pause and inhale – the scent of woodsmoke from the huge fireplace sets the tone for the whole shebang and, on a rainy October day, couldn’t have been more welcome. Luxe rich velvet armchairs and thick carpet pair up with the dark, wood-panelled walls.

Rooms and suites

Up a wood-panelled central staircase, the hotel becomes something of a warren. You’ll follow twisting corridors to find your private retreat. The 18 rooms and suites at Gravetye live up to the manor-monicker. They are generously sized with super king beds covered with beautiful oak-patterned bedspreads; striking stone and iron windows look out onto the rolling grounds with incredible flora reaching up to brush the sky. Bathrooms are expansive with large roll-top baths and showers you could fit a party in. Toiletries are luxe and come in a variety of very British scents. Well-stocked minibars are complementary and there’s a bottle of sloe gin on-hand for those so inclined.

Eating and drinking

The hotel’s dining room is a new addition, designed by architect Charles Knowles and built onto the outside of the original manor house – one of the inner walls of the dining room is an outer wall of the original building creating a pleasing flow from old to new. Two walls facing the garden feature floor-to-ceiling windows which flood the dining room with natural light and offer spectacular views of the wild, encroaching garden which banks down to meet it.

Wall hangings, painted by Claire Basler, continue the conjunction of old and new, interior and exterior, with striking visuals of the local flora; this continues to the tables themselves with hand painted chargers, each unique.

The restaurant garnered a Michelin star under executive chef George Blogg. The food is at once delicate and bold, restrained and smart, with thoughtfully sourced ingredients married up with those harvested from their bounteous kitchen garden. The menu consists of four courses (no exhausting tasting menus here) across a breadth of ingredients, but without falling into the oft-seen pitfalls of prime cuts (indeed, on our visit, the easy win of beef was conspicuous only in its absence).

The food is playful here – your meal starts with six little buttons of flavoured butters with a basket of Paris-quality bread. Sauces are poured table-side (a favourite was the roast chicken jus) and there are plenty of top notch ingredients, used judiciously – a caviar and potato dish saw a pile of the butteriest mash topped with a hefty spoonful of caviar alongside a squid-inked pommes boulangere – all black, whites and creams. It’s classy cooking and though a million things are happening in the kitchen, it feels gentle and effortless.

Pudding deserves an honourable mention here – a raspberry souffle, top split at your table, a thick, tart raspberry coulis poured in to provide the committed pudding miner a reason to slip a spoon all the way to the bottom. A boule of roasted almond ice cream, a worthy bedfellow. A bright, young sommelier will match some delicious wines with whatever you choose.

A short walk of around 30 minutes through the grounds of Gravetye will bring you to The Cat Inn, a fabulous pub you’ll wish was your local – we immediately started searching for property prices nearby. A roaring fire, a warm welcome, cold beer, a good wine list (at good prices) and an inventive, playful menu make a recipe for success. Friendly dogs only add to the charm. Book ahead – it was sardines on our visit.

What to do

There’s plenty to do (or not) at the manor itself; wander the grounds, read by the fire, sip champagne or deftly-made cocktails in the cosy bar or outside, weather permitting. There are some great walks including some to local vineyards and The Cat Inn, mentioned above (climate change is creating a very wine-friendly environment in the area).

A 20-minute drive away lies the Insta-worthy Ouse Viaduct built to bridge the London to Brighton trainline over the River Ouse – it’s noted as one of the UK’s most stunning viaducts, if that’s your thing.

For something a little more historic, the National Trust-owned Standen House and Garden is a short car ride away. The Arts & Crafts movement house features Morris & Co interiors. Nearby is Wakehurst, Kew Gardens’ botanical garden with more than 500 acres of diverse gardens and the Millenium Seed Bank.

Gravetye Manor, Vowels Lane, East Grinstead, RH19 4LJ. Rooms start from £620 bed and breakfast; gravetyemanor.co.uk