In the South West there are plenty of upmarket hotels and restaurants where the rich and famous like to escape. From ‘Hollywood-on-Sea’ in Cornwall to the popular town of Frome which has been voted one of the best places to live in the country, there is no shortage of country hideaways for the wealthy.
And there is one particular hotel that has become the latest buzzword among the rich and famous in London: The Newt Hotel. The stunning country estate in Bruton, Somerset, is seeing celebrities flock there in their droves and many of them spend Christmas there, reports Somerset Live.
Based between Bruton and Castle Cary, The Newt Hotel features extensive gardens, an exquisite Palladian main house and outbuildings, and it is really putting our county on the map.
The main house is the beautiful Palladian-fronted red-gold limestone Hadspen House, first built in 1687 and home for two centuries to the Hobhouse family – activists, politicians and conservationists.
It stands in a large working estate between Castle Cary and Bruton, and its famous gardens have been entirely replanted and redesigned by Patrice Taravella. There are lots of events at the Newt throughout the year and it is fast becoming one of Britain’s most exclusive hotels right here on our doorstep in Somerset.
Its website says: “Hadspen House with its Stable Yard was built in the 17th century, then remodelled in Georgian times. With 23 bedrooms, its restrained beauty is offset by playful design. Nestled in the cyder orchards, the Farmyard is the formery dairy of the Estate – now home to 17 bedrooms, cheek-to-rosy-cheek with grazing livestock and sheltering oaks.
“Just beyond the cyder orchards, half a mile from Hadspen as the crow flies, the Farmyard, a former dairy farm is a place to spread out and lean back, cheek-to-rosy-cheek with grazing livestock and sheltering oaks. Original farm buildings, with a delightfully golden patina, are home to 17 rooms, a pool, bar, snug and all-day kitchen. Complimentary drinks are available at the Garner Bar, while bikes and buggies provide ample opportunity for pootling over to the gardens and spa at Hadspen.”
The four night Christmas package – from Monday, December 23 – at the Newt starts at £8,330.
This article was first published in November 2023 and updated for November 2024.