Ockenden Manor hotel review

Published: September 15, 2015 at 9:32 AM

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Packed with character, and offering fantastic, locally-sourced food, Ockenden Manor makes an ideal weekend escape, just an hour from London by train.

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Wood pigeons coo, rabbits flash their scuts, and all is peace and old-fashioned comfort at Ockenden Manor, but the train journey from London takes under an hour. A Tudor house, with Victorian additions and tonnes of character, it has 28 bedrooms and suites, a strikingly cubist spa block, and a brilliant long-standing chef in Stephen Crane, who turns top Sussex produce into classic French cuisine with no pretensions.

Which room? Raymond, in all its cosy, oak-panelled, four-poster loveliness.

What to pack: Suitable apparel for the spa and its swim-through indoor/outdoor pools. Guests checking out in the morning can splash around until 4pm.

What to order: Scallops with smoked haddock from Boulogne, which Stephen says is the best that he’s found; home-smoked mackerel with oyster crackers and horseradish cream; lamb from the Goodwood Estate, which comes as belly, braised, saddle, crispy and falafel; and venison from Balcombe, where Stephen grew up.

Don’t miss: A pre-prandial glass of English sparkling wine in the drawing room. Ridgeview Estate’s fizz is made according to champenoise methods with classic grape varieties, just six miles away from Ockenden.