Country retreat to the Grim’s Dyke Hotel

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After a stressful working week, what could be more soothing than the thought of slipping away to your very own country retreat.  But before most of us have googled weekend breaks in the Cotswolds, visions of a grid-locked M25 sends us scurrying home for a glass of wine instead. Cooped up in concrete for another weekend, few realise that only twelve miles from central London lies a fairy tale Manor house nestled in 40 acres of award-winning gardens and woodlands. (leave a comment below for a chance to win a stay at the Grim’s Dyke hotel)

Grim's Dyke gardens

Office Breaks Grim’s Dyke gardens

Crawling up the winding driveway to the Grim’s Dyke Hotel in Harrow Weald, I utter a gasp as the dense shrubbery gives way to reveal towering Gothic-Elizabethan chimney stacks and half-timbered gables rising up against a backdrop of manicured lawns, sunken rose gardens and vast swathes of Rhododendrons.

Grim's Dyke Hotel gardens

Office Breaks Grim’s Dyke Hotel gardens

Designed in 1870 by Norman Shaw of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Grade II* Manor House was originally built for the artist Frederick Goodall before it attracted the eccentric tastes of librettist, W.S. Gilbert, of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, who lived here for twenty-one years until his untimely death in 1911.

Grim's Dyke Hotel interior

Office Breaks Grim’s Dyke Hotel interior

Entering the house, Gilbert’s flamboyant sense of fun is immediately apparent – from the brazen male mermaids straining under the weight of an alabaster chimney piece –  to the stone animal carvings depicting the motley menagerie of hens, cats, dogs, lamas and monkeys who freely shared the run of the house –  and frequently a place at the dinner table.

Creaking up the wooden floorboards, my eyes are drawn to the Music Room where the strains of Gilbert & Sullivan operettas still regularly ricochet round the Minstrel’s Gallery where Gilbert was once a regular fixture.

Grim's Dyke Hotel Music Room

Office Breaks Grim’s Dyke Hotel Music Room

The main house boasts seven master bedrooms including the sumptuous Gilbert Suite, (formerly Lady Gilbert’s bedroom).  While the flouncy four-poster has been swept out in favour of a more contemporary look, the toning chintzy wallpaper and curtains are straight out the pages of an Edwardian Lady’s Country Diary. In addition to the main house, there’s also a modern development of 37 fully accessible rooms in the Garden lodge –  each with their own secluded terrace, over-looking the orchards and kitchen gardens.

Gilbert Suite

Office Breaks Gilbert Suite, Grim’s Dyke Hotel

The kitchen gardens, beehives and Victorian greenhouses are still active to this day and in keeping with the Gilberts’ tradition of self-sufficiency, an abundance of seasonal fruit, vegetables and honey continue to make their way into the hotel restaurant.  Italian bees are a new addition to the workforce and I’m reliably informed that they’re both noisier and flashier than their UK counterparts.

Grim's Dyke Hotel orchards

Office Breaks Grim’s Dyke Hotel orchards

After a refreshing gin and tonic in the garden’s marquee, a pre-dinner stroll takes me away from the gentle clonk of croquet mallets, past towering Redwoods to an ornamental lake.  It was here that Gilbert enjoyed a daily swim in summertime and where he tragically met his death while trying to save a visiting local girl who had got into difficulties.

Following Gilbert’s death, it was not until the late 1960s that the hotel came to public attention again, this time as a favourite film location for Hammer House of Horror.   The house’s striking presence and isolated location provided the perfect backdrop for The Bride at the Crimson Altar, in which a young man sets off for a weekend in a deserted country house with ominous consequences…

Grim's Dyke Hotel, lake

Grim’s Dyke Hotel, lake

I find myself pondering on these ominous consequences as the phantom strains of a pianola welcomes me into the restaurant. Originally, Gilbert’s Billiards Room, the restaurant’s rich red hues convey a relaxed feeling of faded grandeur, with tapestry seats and elegant Art-Nouveau lighting completing the cosy ambience.

While the head chef, Darren Mason (a former protégée of Gary Rhodes), specialises in modern British cuisine, the hotel’s French pastry chef ensures that the scones, soufflés and petit-fours remain strictly stodge–free.   For starters, I opt for the velvety goats’ cheese soufflé with pear and hazlenut, before succumbing to the mouth-watering slow braised beef stew in red wine. A decadent chocolate brownie with hot cherries and pistachio ice cream provides a fitting finale to the evening’s indulgence.

Grim's Dyke hotel gardens

Office Breaks Grim’s Dyke hotel gardens

Winding back down the driveway, it’s a wrench to leave my country retreat behind but such a relief to know that I’ll be home within the hour. Feeling well-rested and a few pounds heavier, the Grim’s Dyke Hotel provides the perfect rural retreat for stressed-out office workers.  Just don’t tell the rest of London.

Add a comment below for a chance to win dinner, bed and breakfast for two at the Grim’s Dyke hotel.  The competition closes at midnight on Tuesday 30th June 2015.  Full terms and conditions apply.  To opt out of receiving occasional offers from the Grim’s Dyke hotel, please add “no subscription” to your comment.

 

131 thoughts on “Country retreat to the Grim’s Dyke Hotel”

  11. Attended a Gilbert and Sullivan operatta one glorious hot summer evening and had an enjoyable barbeque.I drive past on a regular basis and would love to apprecite your hospitality.

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  13. Our 10th anniversary is coming up. We would so love a stay at the beautiful grounds and surroundings of the Grim’s Dyke Hotel.

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  23. This would be perfect to allow us a much needed catch up with local elderly relatives, without intruding on their generous hospitality

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  27. A fantastic hotel with great historical significance as the home of WS Gilbert – the continuation of the tradition with the opera dinners is a superb idea!

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  34. It’s at the top of my must visit list to tour the home counties, so a trip to Grim’s Dyke Hotel would be the perfect starting place.

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  39. Not a property that we have visited but after seeing the pictures here we will certainly bear it in mind for future short breaks.

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  46. Having just moved to London, this would be a VERY welcome break! London is sooooo different to Yorkshire! 😛

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  47. I would relish a little taste of opulence in the perfect rural retreat of the Grim’s Dyke Hotel ! To de-stress in such a wonderfully beautiful and historical environment, so close to home would be a thrill!

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  49. Would love to be able to sing ” Now to the banquet we press, now for the eggs and the ham” (Scorcerer) at breakfast in Gilberts old home.

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  52. What a beautiful hotel – would love to see where Gilbert lived (am surprised the male mermaids never made it into one of his operettas!).

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  53. What a beautiful hotel – I would love to see where Gilbert lived (am surprised the male mermaids never made it into one of his operettas!).

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  55. Such a beautiful place. Can’t wait to go back. Got married here in January, such a wonderful place, and lovely staff for my day

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  68. This would be brilliant for myself and my husband. We have two disabled children and never get alone time, this would be perfect

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  76. A hidden gem in London. Not only the beautiful home of w.s.Gilbert but many film and TV classics set here too! What a great retreat this would be 🙂

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  124. Such a lovely competition! This would make an amazing mini moon for my partner and i after our September wedding

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  125. Amazing place, never been but family lives near there so would be lovely to stay there and catch up with them as they live about 5 mins away

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