Tudor Farmhouse

Sometimes you need to just get away into the countryside for some good food and fresh air. Well, it need not be to a crumbling cottage with a tin roof in the middle of nowhere. Instead, you might want to think about this gorgeous little hotel in the Wye Valley, which was converted from a working farm. Its 21 rooms and 2 luxurious suites embody country-chic accommodation with enormous bath tubs and sumptuous interiors. The Michelin noted restaurant serves up delicious British fare, perhaps some butter roasted breast of guinea fowl with celeriac purée or a confit of smoked duck! The ethos is for all ingredients to be sourced from not further than twenty miles away. For fresh air you might leave behind your cosy log fire to the sound of bleating sheep, country walks, a bike ride, the Forest of Dean, a medieval castle to look around....

Why do people love staying in your hotel?
Our guests love the ‘home from home’ welcome they receive at Tudor Farmhouse and the sense of laid back luxury throughout. We have tried to create a rural retreat that we would want to stay in; attentive and intuitive in customer service, authentic and stylish in design and with a warmth of welcome that makes guests feel genuinely at the heart of the hotel. Much of what we offer within the hotel reflects our beautiful surroundings and rural heritage. From the natural, earthy tones of tranquillity seen throughout the hotel's décor, to the elegant, design led finishing touches, Tudor Farmhouse succeeds in offering guests a true feel of the country combined with the chicness of a sophisticated modern hotel.

What is there to do in the area?
The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley are still very much hidden gems in the UK. The area maintains a feeling off the beaten track, whilst offering a fantastic range of activities and adventures, along with great places to eat and drink. Within a stone’s throw of the hotel there are some stunning walks to be had, even if it’s just a quick amble through our 14 acres of hotel grounds. The Forest of Dean offers 27,000 acres of ancient woodland to explore, bursting with an abundance of native wildlife, flora and fauna. The surrounding Wye Valley, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, offers spectacular gorges, Iron Age caves and some of the highest inland cliffs and viewpoints in Britain, including the fantastically named “Eagles Nest”, “Devils Pulpit” and “Wintours Leap”. For those who would rather explore on two-wheels the area offers cycling tracks catered to all abilities. Other popular activities visitors can enjoy include canoeing along the River Wye, golf, clay pigeon shooting and off road driving. The Forest of Dean is also home to a number of historical attractions of note including the Clearwell Caves, Tintern Abbey, and Puzzlewood - the inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and filming location for Merlin, Atlantis and Jack and the Giant Slayer. Along with the abundance of activities in the surrounding area, Tudor Farmhouse Hotel also host their own events and activities. These include regular foraging trips with local wild food guru, Raoul Van Den Broucke and a popular Christmas food and craft market.

What kind of breakfast do you offer?
All our breakfasts are cooked freshly to order with the same attention to detail as our lunches and dinners. We use produce sourced locally wherever possible, supplemented with eggs from our resident flock of ducks and chickens. Our buffet is stocked with a fantastic range local goodies including delicious Wye Valley Granola and fruit juices from the orchards of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire.
Do you offer other meals? And can you recommend good places to eat out locally?
Tudor Farmhouse Hotel runs an award winning restaurant offering a varied and imaginative menu of classic British fare, crafted from the finest locally produced ingredients. Head chef Martin Adams has succeeded in putting Tudor Farmhouse Hotel firmly on the food map, both within the Forest of Dean and further afield. The restaurant was crowned Cotswold Life Hotel Restaurant of the Year 2013, and is listed within Tatler’s 2014 Restaurant Guide, where it is described as a ‘Rural retreat and culinary oasis’. The restaurant is open for breakfast, set lunch and a la carte dinner, along with afternoon tea and light bites throughout the day. In 2013 Tudor Farmhouse Hotel launched a 7-course tasting menu featuring selected signature dishes from Martin and accompanied by a flight of matched wines.

Which are your most popular room types, and why?
Tudor Farmhouse Hotel houses 23-bedrooms, all designed and decorated to retain much of the hotel’s original character, and offer country-chic accommodation for the discerning guest. In 2012 we launched three new rooms and suites the most luxurious of which is The Loft suite, featuring a bathroom that exudes luxury and includes a characterful roll top bath, monsoon shower and is fully stocked with indulgent White Company toiletries, fluffy towels and comfort hugging robes. The Loft suite also has its own terrace overlooking the rear paddock, ideal for pre-dinner cocktails or an indulgent champagne afternoon tea.

What message would you like to give Hotel Guru readers?
Venture off the beaten track to the heart of the Royal Forest of Dean and Wye Valley and discover the beauty of this little known corner of the UK from a base where luxury and a warmth of welcome go hand-in-hand. Oozing with character and charm Tudor Farmhouse Hotel is an elegantly converted 13th Century former working farm, featuring 21 stylish bedrooms and 2 luxurious suites. At the heart of our hotel is the award winning restaurant, offering a varied and imaginative menu of classic British fare, crafted from the finest locally produced ingredients sourced wherever possible from within a 20 mile radius. Winner of the Hotel Restaurant of the Year 2013 - Cotswold Life Food & Drink Awards, and featured in Tatler’s Restaurant Guide 2014, Tudor Farmhouse’s restaurant excels in presenting an exquisite taste of the local area on diners plates. Set amongst 14 acres of beautifully landscaped garden, with breath-taking views across the rolling Gloucestershire countryside a stay at Tudor Farmhouse Hotel offers you your first fabulous introduction to the Forest of Dean.