A luxury 49-bedroom hotel in Oxfordshire has re-launched following a multi-million pound refurbishment.
The four-star Sudbury House Hotel has been undergoing improvements ever since it was acquired by businessman Roger Hancox. He bought the property from Cranfield University for around £2m two years ago.
General manager Ulrike le Roux has overseen the transformation of all the bedrooms and public areas.
Located on the edge of the Cotswolds in the picturesque market town of Faringdon, the hotel now includes Restaurant 56, an elegant 28-cover fine dining restaurant, which launched in February 2014, and the new 160-cover, all-day dining Magnolia Brasserie.
Restaurant 56, which is adjoined to the hotel in a Grade II listed building, is open for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. Executive head chef is Andrew Scott, who previously retained a Michelin star at the Curlew restaurant in Bodiam, East Sussex. He has devised both an A La Carte and Tasting Menu with the promise to “showcase the best of British”.
His signature dishes include pigeon carpaccio, white truffle custard, Madeira jelly, salt-baked Jerusalem artichokes; and roasted medallion of monkfish, curried red lentils, cauliflower fondant, lemongrass and ginger sauce.
Wines from both the old and new worlds are available from countries as diverse as Austria, Chile, France and Lebanon. Wine pairings are offered with the Tasting Menu. Main courses on the A La Carte are priced from £26 per person and Tasting Menus from £75 per person.
“Restaurant 56 was designed with fine dining in mind to offer Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds an alternative special dining destination with accessible accommodation to enhance the experience,” said a spokesman for the hotel.
He added: “The setting allows diners to relax in a lounge bar filled with art and antiques before and after dinner and enjoy meals in an elegant wood panelled classic dining room setting.”
Guests staying at Sudbury House Hotel can also dine in the casual Magnolia Brasserie, which offers a more relaxed atmosphere overlooking the gardens serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu features British and European dishes prepared in the wood oven, from the char grill and also stone baked pizzas. A brunch and all day menu is also available.
Next door to Sudbury House Hotel is Folly Hill featuring the imposing Faringdon Folly. Lord Berners was a larger-than-life man and built the tower to tease his neighbours. At the time he insisted it would be entirely useless but today the views from the tower are remarkable and well worth the 104 stairs. The stunning views include the oldest chalk carving in Britain and the Uffington White Horse. At Folly Hill and indeed across the town of Faringdon, visitors will spot brightly coloured doves, these follow the eccentric behaviour of Lord Berners who himself dyed his flock of doves in colours of the rainbow. Folly Hill rises 300 feet above the surrounding countryside and is perfect for short walks and also for discovering some wild and somewhat whacky creatures carved out of wood.
On the edge of the Cotswolds, Sudbury House is the ideal base to explore the wider area taking in such visitor attractions as Cotswolds Wildlife Park, Steam Museum, Kelmscott Manor and the beautiful Cotswolds villages of Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Norton.
Address: 56 London St, Faringdon, Oxfordshire SN7 7AA
