With its extensive winter events program, the luxury country estate that is Beaverbrook Hotel & Spa is making the idea of overwintering in Surrey more appealing than ever. Locals, Londoners and those from further afield can look forward to all sorts of festive fun – including a visit by Santa himself.
If like us, you were planning on ending a year of uncertainties on a positive note, and you intend to do so somewhere within the UK, you might just want to consider a getaway to Surrey this winter. The region’s most stately hotel, Beaverbrook Hotel & Spa is all set for a spectacular season full of surprises. Now we’re not ones to skip a celebration, so needless to say, we were all ear when a little birdie from Surrey flew over the OutThere headquarters to spread the jolly news…
‘Beaverbrook on ice’, we hear, kicks off 1st December and will run all the way through January, inviting guests and visitors to delve head-first into a stocking of wintery experiences. The season’s highlight will be an ice rink – if the name didn’t give it away – crowning Beaverbrook’s extensive grounds, themselves surrounded by the inspiring landscapes of southern England. Though if a warm waffle and a cup or two of mulled cider from the rink-side cabin sound more festive to you than showing off your Michelle Kwan tribute routine, we certainly won’t be pointing the finger (in fact, we’re likely to be two waffles into the celebrations by the time others arrive).
And speaking of feasting, Beaverbrook’s snug Garden House restaurant will be serving up Christmas-inspired meals throughout December while the stunning Sir Frank’s Bar beckons with fiery concoctions designed to be taken on the estate’s winter terrace (fret not, hot water bottles and rugs will be available!). Those looking for some less traditional fare will be delighted to explore the menu at Beaverbrook’s pioneering Japanese Grill, the concept and sheer refinement of which we find utterly applaudable, especially seeing sophisticated Japanese isn’t exactly the order of the day in rural Britain.
There’s lots more to discover, too: from old-edition board games and Santa stopping by for some chitchat with the youngest guests (and a flute of festive bubbly, we’d like to think) to a postcard-worthy storybook decor of the pillars by the hotel entrance, paying homage to none other than Rudyard Kipling, who during a 1911 visit wrote a Christmas story in and about the estate. In our humble opinion, winter at Beaverbrook could well be the hottest ticket of the season – our bags are packed.
Photography courtesy of Beaverbrook Hotel & Spa
