For my birthday last month my husband surprised me with dinner at one of my favourite restaurants – The Artichoke in Amersham – and a night at The Crown Inn. It’s the second time we’ve stayed at the Crown Inn (we did the same dinner and hotel stay for our wedding anniversary a couple of years ago) and it’s a fabulous hotel.
Less than an hour from London, you’re in the countryside and the quaint little market town of Amersham. It’s pretty small so one or two nights is enough to explore it and you really will feel the benefits of getting out of the city. During the summer we love coming to Amersham for lunch and taking a walk from the station to the Old Town. The walk takes you through forest, then a large field and through the gardens of St Mary’s church, which dates back to 1140 A.D. If you like long walks or cycling, there are a number of routes you can take.
Enough about Amersham – what was the hotel like, you ask?
The Crown Inn describes itself as a modern coaching inn, with 38 beautifully designed bedrooms. The luxurious rooms have been designed by Ilse Crawford, whose portfolio includes Soho House New York, Cecconi’s restaurant in Mayfair and Ett Hem hotel in Stockholm.
We stayed in the main hotel in a deluxe room. All the rooms come with a complimentary half bottle of red wine, some crisps and a bottle of still and sparkling water. It’s little touches like this that really make a stay memorable.
And although the red wine was a lovely touch, we were celebrating my birthday so a bottle of champagne was in order.
Is there anything better than a roll top bath? A roll top bath INSIDE your bedroom, that’s what’s better. Again, the little touches of luxury with the bath salts just add to the experience.
If you are more of a shower person, then don’t worry – there’s one in the bathroom. There’s also a lovely selection of toiletries from The White Company as well as fluffy, white bath sheets.
The bed was huge and comfy. Personally I prefer a headboard but this was surprisingly more comfortable than it looked. I loved the vintage-style telephone next to the bed too, which matched the vintage style DAB radio on the desk.
Although the room is predominately white and shades of brown, it’s the pops of colour here and there which I love and which brings the room to life. The yellow metallic desk chair, the red vintage-style radio and the tea and coffee caddy with an orange tea pot being examples.
If you decide to visit Amersham and stay over, I highly recommend booking two nights so that you can enjoy dinner at the award-winning restaurant across the road, The Artichoke, and also try the hotel’s new restaurant, Hawkyns. Chef Atul Kochhar (who has a couple of Michelin stars behind his name) heads up Hawkyns, which serves modern British cuisine.
For us, a stay in Amersham is the perfect short break away from London.
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