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Glyndebourne’s beautiful location helps make it such a special place to experience great art, but it’s also a pretty inconvenient place to get to and from. To help make the most of your Glyndebourne experience why not stay over in one of our Guru recommended best hotels near Glyndebourne? Great hotels in the area are in hot demand during the festival, so our Gurus have cast their nets widely when it comes to selecting the best hotels near Glyndebourne, but a night in any of these charmers will certainly add to your experience.
For Romantics
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- The Star Alfriston is the newest addition to the Polizzi Collection, and as with any member of this hotel group, you can expect fabulous interiors and exceptional service. The property has roots dating back to the 15th century and so as well as country chic wallpapers and fabrics, you can expect beamed ceilings, huge fireplaces and wonky floors aplenty! The restaurant is superb and there's a lovely courtyard for balmy summer evenings. Elegant, understated and very romantic!
- Gravetye Manor, near West Hoathly, is a traditional English country house hotel converted from a charmingly grand Elizabethan stone manor. Its 17 rooms and suites offer cosy country elegance, complete with country garden views, wood panelling and four-poster beds, the restaurant has a Michelin star, and the lawns, with their croquet hoops, complete with picture. Charm and romance against a backdrop of old fashioned hospitality and service.
- Wingrove House is a charmingly converted boutique hotel on the South Downs Way, with 12 elegant, simply furnished rooms, and welcoming lawns. There’s a cosy restaurant specialising in British fare, plus a fire-lit lounge, both the perfect places to retire to after a walk, or the opera. Adults only.
For a Country House Hotel
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- The Buxted Park Hotel is a grand, Palladian mansion turned 44 room country house hotel. Just outside Uckfield, this gracious pile feels grand, enduring and romantic, and is surrounded by three hundred acres of stunning grounds, including three lakes, a deer park, and a walled garden. The restaurant is fine dining, modern British style, and they offer cookery classes and courses too.
- The Ashdown Park Hotel is further away, in Ashdown Forest — home to Winnie the Pooh — but it’s a glorious 19th century mansion with an incredible range of facilities on offer, and 186 acres of landscaped grounds, so why not make a proper holiday of it? Play a round of golf or game of tennis, tackle the mountain biking trails, use the pool or hot tub, or eat at the award-winning restaurant before attending Glyndebourne. It has 106 rooms and suites in an excellent range of sizes and shapes.
For a House Party Atmosphere
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- For an experience more like staying at a friend's beautiful country pile than being a hotel guest, Old Whyly near East Hoathly is one of the best hotels near Glyndebourne. Just ten minutes away, this listed, manor house has just three luxurious bedrooms, plus a heated pool and tennis court. And the owner, a Paris-trained cook, will prepare a picnic for you to take to Glyndebourne.
- Saltmarsh is a cosily converted farmhouse in the heart of the 700-acre Seven Sisters Country Park. It has just six rooms, all simple and stylish, with polished wood floors and cast iron beds. The restaurant serves wholesome, homely choices. The perfect escape, for families, couples or groups, because you could easily book out all six rooms.
For a Rural Escape
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- The Flint Barns at Rathfinny Estate are a collection of rooms and suites in a converted outbuilding of the Rathfinny Estate vineyard; so you’re surrounded by vines in the foreground, and views of the South Downs behind. There are just ten rooms, all different shapes and sizes, but all featuring the exposed stone of the old building, with whitewash and contemporary details. There’s no restaurant, but they offer breakfast, and plenty of wine and charm.
- The Blue Door Barns, in Beddingham, are a collection of converted barns, made cosy and stylish with vintage finds, retro-furniture, throws and warm lighting. There are just four barns, sleeping between two and four - book The Lodge for family-sized living space too. There’s no restaurant, but you do have your own kitchens or kitchenettes, and they offer breakfast. And you’re most welcome to get a barbecue going in the pretty courtyard.
- The Ram Inn is a traditional pub, with plenty of quaint charm in the heart of the South Downs National Park. In addition to its fire-lit restaurant, it has five elegant bedrooms tucked away in the eves. You might be expecting them to be as quaint as the pub, but they’re not: beams are whitewashed or sanded back, red-brick is exposed, and the hardwood floors are all new.
For Great Value
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- The Griffin Inn at Fletching is a very popular village gastropub-with-rooms. As well as the convivial pub atmosphere and excellent kitchen, The Griffin has wonderful views over the Ouse Valley, and its 13 rooms are upstairs, so have even better views. A number of rooms have four-poster beds if you fancy something a bit special.
- The Bull, East Sussex is a smart local pub (with-rooms), with an excellent restaurant and its own brewery. The pub dates from the 16th century, so has plenty of ye olde worlde charm, and the rooms upstairs have been dressed in a mix of styles, so have a look at them all before you pick one. And all importantly it’s in Ditchling in the South Downs National Park, about ten miles from Glyndebourne.
B&Bs Near Glyndebourne
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- White Lodge B&B is a chic hideaway in a charmingly green part of East Sussex about 15 minutes from Glyndebourne. This is a modern house conversion, and the rooms are contemporary in style, with hardwood floors, dark-wood furniture and huge bathrooms with rain showers. There’s lounging space on the roof, and they offer a great breakfast.
Still not sure where to book?