The Weekenders - Search for weekend getaways around the UK.

Stanwell House - Lymington

2|1

Quirky luxury by the sea

Escaping from city life, but can’t quite bear to give up city luxury? We’ve found just the place. Stanwell House in the gorgeous Georgian harbour town of Lymington is seaside luxury at its best. The handsome regency building, right on Lymington’s bustling high street, has been transformed from provincial hotel to a sumptuous and cosmopolitan haven, with two restaurants, a light and airy conservatory tea room/champagne bar and some of the most beautiful bedrooms on the South Coast.

Stanwell’s décor is stylish, seductive, with bedrooms in rich hues, with huge beds, luxurious en-suite bathrooms, flat-screen tellies, fluffy bath robes and Molton Brown smellies. Huge sash windows ensure that many of the rooms offer great views of the pretty high street below or the hotel gardens. There are five amazing suites, all with too-good-to-leave sitting rooms, and two with their own roof terraces.

Downstairs, the hotel is a hive of activity. The bar is a stylish spot to enjoy your pre-dinner/post-dinner/breakfast martini, while the award-winning bistro serves up sophisticated modern European cuisine. Delicious and plentiful breakfasts (including in your room rate) are served in the light garden area, or outside if the weather’s good. But it’s the airy seafood restaurant that is a highlight - the only dedicated seafood restaurant in town. With dishes created almost solely from produce collected at Lymington Quay that morning, it offers a unique opportunity to actually ‘eat’ Lymington, as well as just stay there. And that doesn’t happen too often…

Where is it?

Lymington is a gorgeous South Coast harbour town, which is hugely popular with UK and international sailors alike. The Georgian architecture throughout and winding, narrow streets in the old part of the town, lend it a real Austen-esque quality, which, thanks in part to the wealth brought in by the yachtie set, has been largely left unspoilt. It’s also the perfect bolthole for anyone looking for a quick escape from the city.

Lymington’s obvious attraction is its harbour, a huge estuary at the west end of The Solent with three marinas, filled with clanking boats of all sizes. For keen or budding sailors it is paradise, with countless opportunities to get out on the water. Hurst Point Yachts (www.hurstpointyachts.co.uk Tel: 01590 623765) offer daily bareboat or skippered charters on their fleet of six yachts, ranging from 32ft upwards. For those more petrolly-minded, a speedy trip out on a RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat aka ‘the ones lifeboat men use’) will definitely blow some city cobwebs away. Solent Rib Charter (www.solentribcharter.co.uk Tel: 07887 635000) are the best RIB outfit in Lymington.

If you’re after something a little more sedate, Lymington Quay is the place for catching a sightseeing cruise. Whether you fancy venturing over to the Isle of Wight, the pretty market town of Christchurch and the beach at Mudeford Spit along the coast, historic Hurst Castle or the gorgeous house and village at Beaulieu, you’ll find a boat willing to take you. One of two brilliant websites Lymington has to offer (www.lymington.org – the other is www.lymington.com) has the full list of cruise operators and their routes.

Had enough of the water? Then drive a few miles inland from Lymington and you’ll be in the heart of The New Forest - miles and miles of tranquil forest and heathland to explore on foot, by bike or (the most exciting option in our opinion) on horseback. Read The Weekenders Guide to The New Forest for a full round-up of what to see and where to eat in the area.

Where can I eat?

As an internationally-renowned port-of-call, Lymington is home to some fantastic restaurants. Of course, Stanwell House offers a great dining experience (and there’s nothing better than enjoying a fab meal and several bottles of vino in the knowledge that your bed is within staggering distance), and the hotel offers some great dinner, bed and breakfast rates. But there are plenty of alternatives to check out if you fancy exploring.

For something a little more relaxed, the buzzy Vanilla Pod Café (www.vanillapodcafe.com Tel: 01590 673828) offers light and simple dishes made from local ingredients. They have recently opened their doors to evening diners on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but it’s their delicious lunch menus which have made Vanilla Pod so popular. You can eat in the light and airy café, or take away one of their fantastic ‘picnic pods’ for a multi-course feast down at the water’s edge.

But if you’re looking for that really special dining experience, a 15 minute car journey will drop you at Chewton Glen (www.chewtonglen.com Tel: 01425 275341), a five-star hotel and spa, whose restaurant was recently named as one of the 25 best in the UK by Egon Ronay. Head Chef Luke Matthews has created a fabulous menu – sophisticated and very special, without any hint of pomposity. And the wine list is extraordinary – definitely worth the taxi fare from Lymington!

Top of page

Escaping from city life, but can’t quite bear to give up city luxury? We’ve found just the place. Stanwell House in the gorgeous Georgian harbour town of Lymington is seaside luxury at its best.