The best hotels in Bath for a city break
Arrive in Bath for a daytrip, and the temptation is to spend your allotted time ticking off the big-hitting sites: the grand Georgian crescents of 18th century novels, the Roman Baths of our childhood history books and the plentiful Jane Austen memorabilia.
But stay a little longer, stray off the thoroughfare and a cooler side to the city soon emerges. On artsy Walcot Street, locals spill out of Landrace Bakery in the early morning armed with a cardamom bun; at the counter of Colonna & Small’s, laptop-wielding creatives nurse a perfectly smooth flat white, and by lunchtime small plates are firing out of the kitchen at the Beckford Bottle Shop to accompany its encyclopaedic wine list.
While away an afternoon in Topping & Company book shop, where ladders on wheels crane to reach the top shelves in an old Quaker meeting house; thumb through the neglected fiction of the 20th century in Persephone Books; and start making a wish list of ceramics and antiques at the newly opened Arte House on pretty Margaret’s Building.
As the evening draws in, the stools at the The Dilly Bar in Walcot House fill for pre-dinner negronis; weary workers refuel on bowls of fresh bucatini at Solina Pasta; and each of the honey-coloured alleys and their hidden pubs come alive as the coachloads of tourists disband. Here’s our pick of the best hotels to stay in to make the most of the city after dark-DEL: some a sliver of Bath’s Georgian grandeur, and others with a dose of that enviably laid-back West Country charm.
1/8The Parade Hotel
Three honey-coloured Georgian townhouses make up the newly-opened The Parade Hotel, Bath’s slickest base camp for a weekend exploring the city. A five-minute walk from the station, four minutes to the Roman Baths and three minutes to the Abbey, this is a place to ditch your bag, tighten your trainers and dust off your sightseeing
map. At breakfast in the hotel’s 1748 Bar & Lounge groups of chattering women – and couples who look on the cusp of a mini-break engagement – huddle of hunks of local Lynwood’s Bakery sourdough and Somerset honey, cheeses and charcuterie
from nearby Westcombe Dairy and coffee from Bath’s Colonna & Small’s, to plan their day’s itinerary. Returning after a day of pounding the pavements, its ace card is the Courtyard Spa
at the back of the hotel, surrounded by towering Bath architecture with a sauna, cold plunge and outdoor shower. Treatments use local Natural Spa Factory products (choose from a spellbinding facial to hot stone treatments) and there are yoga mats to decamp across the road to Parade Gardens with (the houses originally connected under the road to the Grade-II listed park, designed for fashionable spa visitors). Upstairs the 49 bedrooms are all muted greens, wood panelling and botanical touches (GP & J Baker fabric) with grand sash windows overlooking the gardens and the bubbling River Avon. Then it’s back down to the bar for a cocktail (try the Jubilee Cup made with Somerset brandy) and slivers of cured ham and local burrata before, before rejoining the throng to explore the city after dark.8-10 North Parade, Bath, BA2 4AL
From £150 per night for a double
Emberwood2/8The Francis Hotel
Overlooking Queen Square, where lazy picknickers watch heated games of boules, is the newly revamped The Francis Hotel. Once the home of local 18th century architect John Wood the Elder, who designed the Circus, there are now nearly 100 bedrooms spread across what were a series of townhouses. Masterminded by design practice 3DReid (the designers behind the Gleneagles Townhouse in Edinburgh), there’s a Regency decadence to this set-up, with rich plum-coloured panelling, upholstered headboards, velvet banquettes and a liberal smattering of chandeliers. In all the bedrooms are Roberts radios, luxuriously oversized pillows and Townsend Farm apple juice to quench your thirst on arrival. But the one to book is the John Wood suite with a bathtub in the bedroom to soak in overlooking Queen Square. Downstairs, a spa – complete with a thermal suite and treatment rooms – is set to open by Christmas; there’s the low-lit snug that transports you to an 18th century gentleman’s lounge; as well as the new lavish Emberwood restaurant. Here, the open kitchen and charcoal-fired hearth take centre stage, with guests starting with hunks of sourdough from the local Bertinet bakery, crispy Porthilly oysters with Somerset lardo and Cornish crab with crab oil mayonnaise, tarragon and pickled lemon. Then there’s the Westcombe Farm côte de boeuf to follow, cooked over flames from the hearth, and a deliciously retro sweet trolley where each drawer reveals another delight – a yuzu curd choux bun perhaps, or a perfectly pink strawberry macron.
Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2HH
From £139 per night for a double
Owen Gale3/88 Holland Street
Above Tobias Vernon’s gallery 8 Holland Street, with its mix of lust-worthy contemporary art, vintage furniture, ceramics, textiles, and lighting is its townhouse: a design-lover’s sanctuary. Sandwiched between the Royal Crescent and the Circus, each of the three en-suite bedrooms have been meticulously curated with a rotating pick of Italian cane armchairs, Svenskt Tenn headboards, vintage Peggy Angus wallpaper and Berber rugs. There are original pieces by Man Ray, Richard Cook, Diane Arbus, Terry Frost and Elisabeth Frink to marvel at, and in the bathrooms are Le Labo refills, Tekla towels and Hay gowns. A deliciously laidback Scandi breakfast is served in the kitchen (cafetieres of ground coffee, fruit, compotes, yoghurt and granola alongside a Swedish smorgasbord) and the drawing room, with its grand Palladian window looking out onto Brock Street is the perfect spot for a pre-dinner drink before you strike out to explore the city.
23 Brock St, Bath, BA1 2LW
From £220 per night for a double
4/8The Bath Priory
Meander through Royal Victoria Park and on the edge of the city you’ll find The Bath Priory, an oasis away from any of the tourist traps, set in a blissful four-acres. Until the 1960s this honey-coloured Victorian set up was a private home, having been built in 1835 on land once owned by The Priory of Bath Abbey. Park up in the library or drawing room to admire the 20th century art collection of owners the Brownsword family; head to the restaurant for a Regency afternoon tea (roast chicken with tarragon mayonnaise finger sandwiches, cheese scones, Georgian almond cheesecake…) or an old-school, white tablecloth-smart dinner; or book in a hamper packed with Bath blue cheese and Somerset charcuterie to hide away with in a corner of the garden. Ramp up the relaxation in the Garden Spa with its L’Occitane products and indoor pool (book in for the hot stone massage), before decamping to the terrace for a hearty salad and a glass of rosé.
Weston Road, Bath, BA1 2XT
From £275 for a double per night
Nathan Rollinson5/8The Yard in Bath
Tucked away on one of Bath’s refreshingly un-grand streets – but less than a 10-minute walk from the Circus and Royal Crescent – in a former coaching inn is this laid-back hotel. Set around a bustling courtyard, the coup is to bag the deluxe king room with its hidden rooftop terrace to peek across Bath’s skyline from, but any of the 14 bedrooms have been cleverly curated with rainfall showers, locally sourced wallpaper, Roberts radios and West Country brand Bramley products in the bathrooms. Breakfast arrives in a hamper outside your door with homemade granola, fruit, yoghurt, satisfyingly big croissants and freshly squeezed orange juice, and the bar is open for tea, coffee and local pastries all day (make a beeline for the Portuguese custard tarts). In the evening guests settle in for a local pint of cider and small plates of Somerset cheese in the yard, with owners Esther Newman and Ed Haskins on hand to help you plot the perfect Bath itinerary.
1 Monmouth Place, Bath, BA1 2AT
From £129 for a double per night
6/8The Royal Crescent
Stepping out of The Royal Crescent Hotel is the stuff of a period drama: a perfectly green lawn, with Royal Victoria park sweeping below and rows of golden Georgian terraces and the River Avon beyond. It was in the 1950s that No.16 became a guesthouse, soon joined by No.15 – and now in its guise as a hotel there are 45 rooms here, amongst them the palatial master suites, with their four-poster beds, views of the gardens through the towering picture windows, and sofas under chandeliers to collapse onto after an afternoon tramping across town. In the Montagu’s Mews restaurant opt for a blow-out six course tasting menu or more laid-back options to refuel (a sourdough croque monsieur perhaps, or a Caesar salad laden with 24-month-aged parmesan), as well as a showstopper afternoon tea (think Bath buns and Somerset cheddar sandwiches). But it’s the spa in a converted coach house that is the trump card here, reached at the end of a winding path in the garden with its Himalayan salt-infused sauna, steam room and heady menu of treatments.
16 Royal Crescent, Bath, BA1 2LS
From £410 for a double per night
7/8No. 15 by GuestHouse, Bath
If you recognise any street in Bath from the big screen it’s likely to be Great Pulteney Street: 1,000 feet long and 100 feet wide, it’s the city’s grandest thoroughfare, lined on either side with golden Georgian houses. And it’s here you’ll find No.15, a towering townhouse with a playful glow-up. Each of the 36 rooms are different – in one is hand screen-printed wallpaper by Tracy Kendall with a handwritten inventory of what might be found in a Georgian home and in another you’ll spot work by a graduate of Bath School of Art – but there’s a record player in each and a pantry to raid with popcorn, ice cream, fruit and drinks. In the spa is an oversized copper bathtub to kickstart your treatment; the cocktail list in the bar is reassuringly decadent (opt for the Somerset Old Fashioned); and there’s a menu of temptingly straightforward food that can make going out feel like too much effort. But it’s the pint-sized guests who are really triumphing here with mini tipis, polaroid cameras and Yoto players in their rooms – plus waffles piled high with bananas and salted caramel to scoff at breakfast.
15 Great Pulteney St, Bath, BA2 4BS
From £250 for a double per night
8/8The Pig near Bath
While Bath itself is certainly the perfect place for a city break, the Somerset countryside around it is equally beautiful, and a stay at The Pig will allow you to get the best of both worlds. This Pig is one of the earlier editions (it opened in 2017), but it shares with all the rest the ethos of local, uncomplicated food, stylish interiors, and a brilliant location.
The rooms are relaxed and informal, perfect for curling up in with their squashy upholstery, crackling fires, shelves of books and art-filled walls. The dining room, with its elegant conservatory and pizza oven on the terrace, is a real highlight, and you can head outside to see where your greens are coming from in the immaculate kitchen garden. There are 29 bedrooms, including two standalone buildings you can rent in their enitrety but like all Pigs, this place is wildly popular, so book in advance.
Hunstrete House, Hunstrete, Pensford, Bath, BS39 4NS
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