The Reeds at South Lodge: lakeside hideaways are the perfect country escape

Take a dip in the lake, a few steps from your own private sanctuary in the South Downs

The Reeds at South Lodge
There are just eight new luxury lodges overlooking the lake
(Image credit: Feasts, Shoots and Leaves)

The grand, calming lobby at South Lodge Hotel is so inviting I feel a momentary pang watching the other guests check in and head for their rooms. But we're not staying inside the neo-Jacobean manor house; instead we're ushered into an electric golf buggy and whisked down a winding gravel path to the hotel's secluded lakeside lodges, The Reeds.

Fringed by vineyards and set far enough away from the main house to feel entirely self contained, there are just eight new luxury lodges. Ours, Pond Skater, arguably has the best views out across the lake. As our friendly hosts retreat back to the buggy, promising to return with breakfast the next morning, it begins to sink in just how different this is from an ordinary hotel stay. Save for the distant splash of a lone wild swimmer in the lake below, it is completely quiet.

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Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.