Stay Here: Alexander House Hotel, SussexBy Angelica Malin
You could not find a more beautiful place to detox than Alexander House Hotel in West Sussex. Set within 120 acres of glorious Sussex countryside, Alexander House is a 5* luxury manor house with stunning grounds, fantastic restaurants, an award-winning Utopia Spa with Ila Spa products, and lovely rooms. Here’s why you need to visit:
Alexander House Hotel: The Lowdown
This is a hotel with history. The Alexander House Hotel property can be dated back to the 17th Century, with stone from 1608 in the boundary wall. It has a literary history; the house is famed for its connections to poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and the former Governor of the Bank of England who purchased the estate in 1909. It wasn’t until 1984 that the mansion was restored and re-named Alexander House Hotel. Fast forward today, and the property is the product of an 18-month redecoration process, which took place in 2002, for which it earned it its reputation. Come to Alexander House Hotel for the spa – in 2006, the hotel proudly opened its flagship Utopia Spa, cementing the hotel’s reputation as one of England’s finest destination spas in the UK. With its 5 stars, Alexander House Hotel is one of the highest rated hotels outside of London – step inside, and you’ll see why instantly. If you want things to do whilst you’re there, try this Ladbrokes bonus code, so you can have some fun during your relaxing holiday.
Alexander House Hotel: The Accommodation
The hotel has 58 bedrooms, including some amazing suites. Each room is individually designed – think modern finishes, classic charm and a sense of warmth – some with great outdoor terraces. There’s 19 brand new Cedar Lodge Suites, in a newly opened arm of the hotel, as well as a private two-bedroom luxury suite in the Gatehouse. The new Cedar Lodge Suites are surrounded by manicured gardens, each suite with its own south-facing private balcony or terrace, which is perfect for enjoying an al fresco breakfast in the sunshine during the summer months.
Come here for the views – there are picturesque views of the Sussex countryside from most bedrooms, and, with every room, there’s free WiFi, membership to the Utopia Spa, soft towelling robs and the softest pillows. For ultimate luxury, opt for the Duplex Garden Master Suite. This suite is spread across two floors, with an open plan lounge and dining area, cloakroom and floor to ceiling views that lead onto a private terrace. The upper floor bedroom has an emperor bed finished with a luxurious Mulberry silk filled duvet and a generous en-suite with oversized bathtub made for two. Heaven.
Alexander House Hotel: The Spa
This is where things get interesting. The Utopia Spa at Alexander House Hotel is absolutely divine; designed to take away life’s everyday stresses, you can lounge by the pool, melt away under the monsoon showers or plunge into the hydrotherapy pool, for total relaxation. If you feel like getting active, you can use the state-of-the-art gym, join one of their yoga classes or enjoy outdoor activities including tennis court, putting green, bike hire, trekking trail and garden games.
For something really special, you have to try the Cedar Outdoor private hot tubs – each tub has been named after a herb grown within the grounds of the hotel, such as lemongrass, thyme and peppermint. Each tub is able to accommodate a maximum of 2 adults, available to hire in 30 minute slots with their own concierge service, and you can pre-book online. For something really special, choose a Champagne Upgrade to sip bubbly amongst the bubbles.
Alexander House Hotel: The Treatments
In 2015, Alexander House Hotel introduced an amazing new spa partner: ila. If you don’t know, ila is a fantastic British spa brand, that represents a whole new era in the luxury organic experience. The spa at Alexander House Hotel is now offering 18 new ila treatments, ranging from facials, scrubs and pregnancy treatments – our favourite is the ila Gold Cellular Age Restore facial, which is totally divine. It’s all about natural goodness at ila; they combine pure ingredients, ancient traditions and sustainable processes to create world-class products, with exceptional inner and outer benefits. Ila has a beautiful story – founded by Denise Leicester, a qualified nurse, aromatherapist, yoga teacher and yogic healer, the brand’s success is down to its high standards of natural and ethical integrity. The products are great for sensitive skin, as the entire range is 100% chemical free and absolutely every ingredient comes from a plant or mineral.
What’s more, ila recently launched their ila Gold range, exclusive to Harrods, available at Utopia Spa. The much-anticipated ila Gold Cellular Age-Restore Collection harnesses the power of ethically harvested Ethiopian frankincense and a trio of pure gold minerals. The products are incredible – the luxurious ila Cellular Age-Restore Face Cream contains 24-Carat Gold, Homeopathic and Colloidal Gold to boost the production of collagen, whilst the potent ila Gold Cellular Age-Restore Face Serum contains ila’s natural plant based Hyaluronic Acid that penetrates easily into the skin rehydrating and softening as it is absorbed. To achieve the deepest hydration, ila have developed a bespoke Sonic Wave Therapy tool to be used in conjunction with the ila Gold Cellular Age-Restore Face Serum to further penetrate the skin, so that each individual cell is reached and benefits from these powerful ingredients – you can all ila’s range at Harrods here. Genius.
Alexander House Hotel: The Food
A detox trip wouldn’t be complete without some delicious food. Alexander House Hotel has a variety of dining options, including a sophisticated 3 AA Rosette restaurant, a champagne bar and Reflections restaurant, for casual, everyday dining. For a proper British experience, you need to try their afternoon tea, which can be taken in the gardens or drawing room. Each of their dainty desserts are handmade by in-house pastry chefs, sandwiches are served on beautiful homemade bread and all of their preserves are created in-house. Perfect after all those laps in the pool, right?
Alexander House Hotel: The Activities
If you need to fit some activity into your detox break, Alexander House Hotel is the place to come. They have tennis courts, giant chess sets in the summer months and a croquet lawn. If you fancy exploring, head to the 150-acre Kingscote Estate, set in the beautiful Kingscote Valley near East Grinstead, between the historic Bluebell Steam Railway and Weir Wood Reservoir in West Sussex. It has a vineyard, orchard, winery, 15th century converted barn visitor centre, holiday cottage and shop. Activities available on-site include vineyard tours, wine courses, fine art courses, clay pigeon shooting, fishing, foraging, birds of prey experience events and a cookery school. We say: it’s about time for a break to West Sussex.
Alexander House Hotel: Our Verdict
A beautiful home-away-from-home, with an award-winning spa, Alexander House Hotel is the perfect hotel for a weekend getaway with a wellness focus in the English countryside. The hotel’s new ila spa packages make it a world-class destination for those in need of a pamper, and the hotel’s facilities, including outdoor hot tubs, restaurants and swimming pool, make it an ideal weekend break this summer. Get involved.
Dinner, bed and breakfast packages, from £125 per person. Book online here or via the reservations centre on 01342 859702