Guests get their first glimpse of Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa, located just five miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, as they approach this impressive 16th century Elizabethan Manor house down a long sweeping driveway. I revisited the Hotel after what has been a major £5.6 million four year refurbishment of the Hotel, bedrooms, Spa & grounds. A refurbishment programme which I must say has been a huge success!

Set in amongst eleven acres of mature trees and beautifully manicured Warwickshire lawns, I first noticed a small pond with an impressive fountain next to some tennis courts. Directly in front of the hotel is a very impressive terrace where guests were sitting enjoying a meal & a drink in the late autumn sunshine. To the left of the façade of the main house is a spectacular Victorian – era ornate topiary garden, where yew trees were planted over one hundred years ago. They were then were clipped & trimmed, to replicate a giant chess board and its pieces, inspired by Lewis Carroll`s Alice in Wonderland.

It could be said that you are walking in the footsteps of William Shakespeare at Billesley Manor because in 1582 “The Bard of Avon” married Anne Hathaway at the 11th century church of All Saints, which is inside the Manor grounds just behind the barn conversions called the Cedar Barns. It is known for certain that his granddaughter, Elizabeth Nash married at the church in 1646!

‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’

AS YOU LIKE IT (ACT 2, SCENE 7).

Seventeen years after marrying Anne, our nation`s greatest ever poet & playwright wrote his 20th play, the comedy `As You Like It` whilst visiting the library of the old house. What greater inspiration do you need to pen that novel you have been planning to write for all those  years? Visitors can today sit & relax in the As You Like It lounge for a quiet game of chess or spend some quality time with a good book. It is also rumoured that William Shakespeare was a regular visitor, to the churchyard that predates the present tiny All Saints church.

It is England’s national poet, the “Bard of Avon” that draws in the annual 3 million tourists a year to this part of Warwickshire and Billesley Manor is the ideal base for exploring the many other places associated with the Bard, including nearby Anne Hathaway`s Cottage, Mary Arden`s Farm and of course Shakespeare`s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, which is just five miles away.

In this beautiful Warwickshire market town, you can visit the great man`s birthplace, the church in which he is buried or take part in a lesson in the actual school he attended. Before arriving at the Manor, I stopped off briefly at Anne Hathaway`s Cottage in nearby Shottery, only three miles away, for what was a very interesting introduction to the Bard’s early married life.

The stunning Manor House at Billesley has a very long history, having been listed in the Domesday Book in 1086. For four hundred years the estate was a private home, in the name of the Trussell family. The present building dates from around 1610 – 1620 and is listed as a grade II* building. Billesley is a very good example of a 17th century manor house retaining many internal features of interest including some fine interior woodwork. Folklore has it that a servant to the Trussell family was responsible for bringing the ‘Black Death‘ from London to the village during the fourteenth century on a coat he had stolen, wiping out most of the village’s population of 150 villagers. At one time there were said to be many secret staircases and corridors in the Manor House but only one remains today in one of the Four Poster bedrooms, leading to a hidden priest hole above the fireplace.

Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.

AS YOU LIKE IT (ROSALIND, ACT 1 SCENE 3)

On arrival I received a very warm welcome from the reception staff, who were very helpful and friendly as I checked into the Hotel. I thought the collection of various umbrellas and wellington boots available for the use of guests just inside the main door was a nice touch. With Halloween just a few weeks away there was also an impressive collection of assorted pumpkins in the main entrance hall. There are several references to Shakespeare dotted about the walls of the hotel, photographs showing famous actors such as Sir Kenneth Branagh & Judy Dench, but most are subtle & stylish, such as the feathered quills & books floating from the ceiling!

The Manor has seventy one bedrooms including four-poster feature rooms furnished with antique pieces and Tudor panelling in the original Manor House and more contemporary bedrooms in the restored Cedar Barns. The Cedar Barns are just a short walk from the original manor house, restaurant and spa facilities. Each room has been individually designed and are thus unique, the décor was rich and stylish with several pieces of tasteful furniture. All of the bedrooms have flat-screen televisions, free high-speed WiFi, and 24-hour room service.

Our beautifully refurbished De-luxe Manor House bedroom, which was both stylish &comfortable, was located on the first floor of the main Manor House with wonderful views across the landscaped lawns to the fountain, terrace & topiary garden. The room had a Super-king size bed with headboard, a luxurious Hypnos Landsdowne cashmere mattress, Duck down duvet & even a pillow menu! Crisp linen sheets & large felt covered -headboards & velvet decked chairs add an element of pure luxury!

My room also included a much-appreciated small seating area with two upright comfortable armchairs, coffee table, writing desk with vanity make up mirror & a double wardrobe. Other items to be found in our room included a luggage rack for the suitcase, a mini-fridge with still and sparkling water, a shoe horn, clothes brush & the obligatory tea & coffee making facilities!

A real feature of my room was the beautifully modern & stylish en-suite bathroom which included a couple of cotton waffle bathrobes & a thick cotton towel set for each of us. In some hotels I have stayed at the shower & bath controls can be very confusing & difficult to operate but the shower in my room were simplicity itself! A straightforward button to turn on the overhead rain shower or hand – held shower with another dial to adjust temperature. Simple, this is a shower unit I like! Luxurious Molton Brown products. shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, hand & body lotion helped complete a wonderful shower experience. There were also plenty of essential plug sockets for phones & laptops placed around the room. I also noticed that the outside water fountain was turned off at night, which was much appreciated, making for a very quiet and restful sleep.

My wife and I enjoyed a pre – dinner drink in the wonderful oak panelled Great Hall Bar & Lounge which has a huge Inglenook fireplace for those colder months of the year before going into the Stuart Restaurant for our evening meal. I enjoyed a pint of Staropramen, a refreshing full-bodied Czech Pilsner with a fruity flavour & crisp finish, it was delicious. We enjoyed an Argentinian Malbec, Brazos De Los Andes 2022, with our meal; a wonderful Malbec with the aromas of ripe cherries, plums, & blackberries, fruity with a spicy finish! It complemented our meal perfectly.

The Stuart Restaurant is an impressive room in which to enjoy first-class dining. All around us were original 16th century oak panelling, large stone period fireplaces & mullion windows, historic oil paintings and grand chandeliers. Quite what visitors make of the deliberate splashes of bright colour seen on the otherwise traditional portraits is open to question, although I quite enjoyed them! It was a simply beautiful space in which to sit and watch the sun set across the topiary on the lawns outside.

Our Meal:

Starters:

12-hour Citrus Cured Salmon: with Wasabi Ketchup, Ginger Pickled Mooli, Caviar, Radish & Sea Herbs

Prawn Cocktail: Paprika Emulsion, Compressed Cucumber, Tomato Gel, Salmon Roe & Dill Powder

The Main Event:

My wife & I both opted for the Lamb Rump: Garlic Mash, Cherry Tomato, Grilled Courgette, Olive Puree, Mint Feta Crumb & Red Wine Jus

Desserts:

White Amarena Cherry, Cherry Gel, Nut Granola, Apple Sorbet

Dark Chocolate Delice, Vanilla Mascarpone Cream, Raspberry Gin & Mint Gel, Raspberry textures

All of the food was freshly cooked to order with a strong emphasis on using fresh, locally sourced suppliers, whenever possible or from the hotels very own kitchen garden with its own vegetable, herb & spice patches at the rear of the hotel.

The table service was excellent. Attentive and knowledgeable but never invasive. The restaurant & hotel staff were always efficient and polite, and nothing was too much trouble for them, which was really appreciated. All of the staff that I spoke to across the hotel were very professional and all delivered a very high quality of service throughout my stay.

All resident guests have free use of the extensive leisure facilities which includes a health spa suite, a modern gym, sauna, steam room, a large indoor swimming pool complete with steam/sauna room and of course, the tennis courts which I had spotted on my arrival. We didn’t make us of the Spa, but it has everything you would need to relax and unwind with an extensive selection of leading spa brand ESPA treatments from holistic massages to prescription facials and professional treatment rooms.

The buffet style breakfast was well worth getting up for with a wide selection of cereal, fresh fruit, various conserves, pain au chocolate, toasts & smoked salmon as well as the traditional full English cooked breakfast items such as sausages, bacon, and eggs. There was also lashings of hot tea & coffee, all I had to do was ask!

If like Shakespeare you would also like to get married at Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa, you can do so! What could be more romantic than tying the knot in the same location as it is believed William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway? The unique 16th century backdrop and beautiful landscaped gardens & topiary gardens offers the perfect setting for a wedding and those much-treasured photographs. The Manor is licensed to conduct ceremonies in several unique rooms and your wedding is guaranteed to be the only one taking place on your special day. The Manor’s team of wedding planners will plan every moment of your wedding including the ceremony and reception, the welcome Champagne bubbles right down to the selection of menus and silverware. The Wedding facilities cater for up to 80 guests. For business meetings & conferences there are also twelve dedicated meeting rooms, with a capacity for up to 100 delegates.

I really enjoyed my stay at the historic Manor House, our room was extremely comfortable, spacious and clean, with everything we needed for a weekend break. The food was very special, a wide-ranging menu of top quality dishes, beautifully cooked and professionally presented to table. By continuing to provide good quality food and drink combined with the warm, friendly hospitality of the waiting staff, this historic Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa is sure to win many awards for its food, rooms, and hospitality.

It certainly comes highly recommended from me!

Why not visit Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa for that special occasion?

You won’t regret it!

Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa rates start from £139 per night B&B based on two people sharing, subject to availability. For more information about Billesley Manor Hotel and to book a stay, please visit http://www.billesleymanor.com or call 01789 279955.

Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa, Billesley, Alcester, Warwickshire, B49 6NF.

http://www.billesleymanor.com

Disclosure: My stay was courtesy of Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa

The views and comments expressed are as usual my own

If you decide to visit Billesley Castle Hotel & Spa as a result of reading this review please mention The Travel Locker.