Once its pool and spa open – and there’s a little more choice at dinner – this new incarnation of a Wye Valley manor house will be hard to resist
There is something significant about decelerating on the driveway sweeping you towards a country house hotel. Perhaps the slower pace allows time for drama to build, for the beauty and scale of a property to be appreciated. It could be the feeling of escape or adventure – or just an enforceable speed limit.
Brooks Country House is at the end of a short driveway off the A49 between Ross-on-Wye and Hereford. It is an imposing Georgian manor house that will, ultimately, offer 22 bedrooms in its main house and around a courtyard, and is part of a small chain under the Brooks banner (it also has boutique B&Bs in Bath, Bristol and Edinburgh). Conceptually, this is “affordable luxury” territory; physically, it’s in the wonderful Wye Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty, with acres of National Trust parkland nearby.
Locals could be outside brandishing flaming torches and playing 'rough music' – I wouldn’t notice, so sound is my sleep
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