3 days ago
This Sussex country house hotel has a spa, outdoor pool and rooms from £165
What's the point of an English country hotel? For me: a venerable old house, graciously repurposed, in a beautiful location with plenty to see and do in the vicinity. It should act as a comfortable, attractive, kindly base to return to after an excursion, preferably with a spa in which to relax. There are plenty of addresses that offer these things, but one knotty problem remains: can you afford it? And if so, does it cut too many corners in terms of design, comfort and service?
The Alfriston has just opened in the medieval village of the same name, where fairytale St Andrew's Church sits on a rise overlooking the village green and the Cuckmere River, with the old Clergy House, the National Trust's first property, next to it.
So far, so very good. Location (lovely village; glorious, uninterrupted Downs views): tick. Things to see and do (Glyndebourne, Charleston House, Eastbourne, Rathfinny Wine Estate, Long Man Brewery, walks high on the Downs, on the Seven Sisters cliffs or along the Cuckmere River, canoeing, paddle-boarding, paragliding): tick. Value for money? Let's look at that.
First, the back story. This is the fourth boutique hotel in the Signet Collection, which started with the excellent Mitre at Hampton Court in 2020. Backed by investors, owner Hector Ross then opened the Retreat at Elcot Park near Newbury, the Barnsdale in Rutland and now this, formerly Dean's Place, which began life as a 14th-century farmhouse and became a hotel in the early 20th century.
Its previous general manager, James Dopson, whose parents-in-law were the owners, has stayed on, thrilled with the refurbishment. The heated outdoor pool has been given a facelift, though the gardens need work, while the new spa contains a secret weapon called Alessandra, whose facials and massages were, my friend Geraldine and I both agreed, the last word in blissful relaxation.
Ross is a delightful fellow who with his wife Sammy has project managed each hotel himself, and often helped out building them. But four hotels in five years is a lot and corners, in the process, have been cut in terms of design. This, he tells me, is the last one: now to perfect what he has so rapidly created.
This is not the only boutique hotel in tiny Alfriston. Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi was probably not best pleased when Ross landed here too, but in fact the two hotels complement one another. What the Star, one of three Polizzi Collection hotels, lacks in location (it looks on to a car park though its courtyard garden is lovely), it gains in the peerless interiors of Olga Polizzi, Alex's mother, and is altogether more polished and luxurious – and therefore expensive: from £340 for a standard double with breakfast as opposed to £165 at the Alfriston.
Take your pick. At the Alfriston, you will find an attractive colour palette throughout, particularly in the airy dining room; prettily decorated bedrooms, each with a statement headboard, coir carpeting, patterned fabric lampshades, sparse art on the walls and neat, functional tiled bathrooms. But no radio, no flowers, no books, no minibar, making it fall short of boutique luxury. But my Sussex room had wonderful views and it was called Ravilious, which is nice, because he is my favourite English artist.
The Star also gives guests a chance to dine elsewhere on their second or third night at the Alfriston, and vice versa. Geraldine, who came with me when I reviewed the Star in 2021, and I both thought that would make a perfect break.
I tell you what else makes a perfect break. A swim in the pool (drinks brought to us), a spoiling spa treatment, a visit to this-must-be-the-South-of-France Rathfinny Wine Estate, then a short drive and an early evening stroll, followed by lolling on a bench on Seaford Head with a bottle of Rathfinny bubbly and stunning views of the Seven Sisters cliffs and the Cuckmere Valley.
There were a few dog walkers about and a group of Korean tourists who had come to see the Seven Sisters, which feature in a popular series back home. The weather was lovely and we felt we were having a special day. Back to the Alfriston for an excellent dinner from a simple menu – jamón ibérico and a pork chop for me, moules and lemon sole for Geraldine – a comfortable night and a help-yourself buffet breakfast (again, several notches down from what you would find in a luxury establishment). But value for money? I think so.
