Newmarket is often referred to as the home of British horse racing. Its two racecourses, The Rowley Mile and the July Course, have long been home to premier events in the British horse racing season, but it goes beyond that now, because Newmarket also has the National Stud, the National Horse Racing Museum, the world’s oldest horse auction yards, and around sixty stables. There are also around three and a half thousand horses living in and around Newmarket. One of the hotels on our list of the best places to stay in Newmarket is The Jockey Club, an institution indelibly tied to Newmarket’s horse racing, but we also recommend a spa hotel and a fantastic country escape.

Newmarket is only around twenty minutes from Cambridge, and just a short jaunt from London, so the best hotels here are popular during the racing season, and the off season. There are museums, and horsey art, and the fact that Newmarket is effectively where the English Civi War started, after Charles I refused to surrender the armed forces to Parliament at his palace here in 1642 to discover too.

Most of Newmarket’s racing stables are within the centre of town, close to the training grounds, which are charmingly called ‘the gallops’, and there are special horse routes throughout town allowing horses to travel between their stables and the training grounds and equine rehabilitation centres. If you’re not a horse-lover the best places to stay in Newmarket still have something to offer you, though, firstly, the opportunity to escape to the country — possibly to a spa hotel — secondly to appreciate the incredible Suffolk landscape and local National Trust properties. and as a base for visiting the wider area, including Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds.

The Best Places to Stay in Newmarket

For Horse Lovers

• If you’re here for the racing, The Jockey Club Rooms are an obvious choice, long associated with British horse racing, and decorated with a pleasurable plethora of horse-y art, decor and memorabilia. The 21 rooms and suites are gloriously proportioned, with country house hotel style, a nice collection of antiques, and large bathrooms. The cosy lounge bar is lined with more equine portraiture than you might have thought you would eve see all together, and the restaurant won’t disappoint on that score either. They offer a luxury package involving a seven-course meal in the Members’ Dining Room.

For a Country Escape

• The Chippenham Park Kitchen Garden Rooms is an intimate, five room B&B on a small part of a huge estate, surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens and parkland. The Kitchen Garden part of the name is important, because these five rooms have been created from converted potting sheds which open onto the working kitchen gardens. The rooms are simply, but very smartly and comfortably decorated, and open out onto a sunny courtyard, backed by the beautiful gardens. The morning starts with a wonderful English Breakfast in the courtyard, or the breakfast room, and guests have access to all the pleasures of the estate’s grounds.

For Treating Yourself

• Bedford Lodge Hotel & Spa is an indulgent spa hotel converted from a sprawling estate. There are 77 rooms and suites, lots and lots of green space, and the huge spa with its big, bubbly pool and ESPA products. There’s no scrimping on anything here, from the high quality bedding to the Tea Pigs teas. The restaurant, lounge and bar all feel ready for a special occasion, and there’s a sense of delicious decadence.

Prefer a Private Apartment or Cottage?

• If you'd prefer the privacy of a self-catering option then browse through the wide variety available online with our partner, Booking.com.

Travel Information

• If you’re travelling to Newmarket by air you have several choices: London Stansted Airport is closest, about half an hour away by car or taxi, or about an hour and a half on the train; Luton Airport is just an hour away by car or taxi, but almost three hours by public transport; and Heathrow is about the same. There’s a good train service from London, it takes just under two hours by rail via Cambridge — or about twenty minutes from Cambridge.
• If you want to hire a car we recommend you visit our online partner, Rentalcars.
• Newmarket hosts nine of Britain’s annual Group 1 horse races, and the racing calendar runs between April and November. There are plenty of races throughout, but the largest events take place in May and July, so these are the busiest months for racing visitors, and you’ll definitely need to book ahead. If you love horses, but aren’t super fussed about the racing, then spring is the best time to visit, as you’ll get to meet the foals at The National Stud. Summer will always have the best weather, but there is plenty to do indoors if you opt for a less sunny time of year to visit.

Still not sure where to stay?

• Expand your search to include all the best places to stay in Cambridgeshire or Suffolk
• Consider other local centres. Try the best places to stay in Cambridge or Bury St Edmunds
• Or you could contact one of our friendly Gurus for personalised advice.