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HOLDING COURT
For me Hartwell House was a reprieve, a time to enjoy long garden walks, delicious meals, and languish in superior spa facilities.
With high ceilings, lots of satin, silk, and dreamy views over the extensive landscape one could easily feel like sultan for a night. The rest of the rooms and suites of the house are no less extravagant, with the centerpiece of the hotel being its staircase. A fine wooden banister winds its way up two stories, adorned with fantastic and detailed figural carvings of everything from knights to Sir Winston Churchill himself. The hotel is located 20 miles from Oxford, and within an hours drive from London, lending itself to quick city breaks, or as a base for exploring Oxford, and the Cotswolds.
Standing in the middle of 90 acres of gardens and parkland, landscaped by one of "Capability Brown’s" pupils the grounds alone could constitute a day's tour. Nearby there are an abundance of activities and historic sights, including Woburn Abbey, Blenheim Palace, Milton Cottage, and Frogmore Gardens, which are owned by the Queen. Whether you are looking to escape the hustle and bustle of London, or a country hotel not too far from the city, I highly recommend holding court at Hartwell House. By Shannon Domianovich October, 1999
LINKS WITH ATTITUDE Here is the Hartwell House web site. Blenheim Palace - Located in Woodstock, and within 35 miles of the hotel was the birth place of Sir Winston Churchill, and is one of the most important and significant English Country houses open to the public. Frogmore Mausoleum and Gardens - Here is the final resting place of Queen Victoria and her beloved Albert. Contains lovely gardens, and within 30 miles of the hotel. |
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From temperance hall to finishing school
Hartwell House has played many roles, not the least of which being Royal Court to Exiled
French king Louis XVIII. Walking the lush grounds with its numerous outbuildings,
it’s easy to see how Louis created his own mini Versailles. The converted Hartwell
House rooftop became a tiny farm replete with rabbits and chickens. French Émigrés short
of cash took over the outbuildings creating shops for Louis to peruse. Interior rooms were
subdivided allowing a larger entourage, and Voila: Versailles a la Hartwell!
Hartwell House is a compilation of many centuries of architectural
style, from Georgian to Jacobean; the house is an eclectic and successful mingling of pomp
and circumstance. My room, the "Persian Suite" was merely a continuation of
theme of refined decadence that defines Hartwell.