British hotel pools have taken a long time to evolve to suit their climate.
The Seventies incarnation was usually dank and sweaty, hidden away in a
weatherless basement that reeked of chlorine.
Outdoor ones were a suspiciously livid colour, with the odd dead frog at the
bottom, surrounded by plastic loungers that chafed your goosepimpled skin.
Fortunately, better design and the fad for the health spa has changed all
that.
Hotels now have bigger, swisher pools that sit within vast conservatories or,
if they are outside, are heated to withstand the vicissitudes of the great
British summer, which can turn from blistering heat to chilly rain in the
time it takes you to swim a length.
Really posh ones even sit on LA-style rooftops, or enjoy a decidedly tropical
feel, with views over forested hills and an azure sea. So, if you fancy a
dip this summer, here are the ten best British hotels with beautiful
all-weather pools to bust the cold, the rain and, if we’re lucky, maybe even
the heat, too.
Maison Talbooth
Dedham, Essex
You can ignore the weather forecast at Maison Talbooth’s Pool House. Its
pale-blue outdoor pool is heated, all year, to a nicely tepid 29C (85F).
There’s also a sunken hot tub and a covered patio with log fire, sofa and
blankets to ward off chill winds. At 14m x 8m, the pool isn’t huge, but is
perfect for lazy lengths and basking on your back. Inside the house there’s
tea, coffee and a well-stocked honesty bar.
Light meals can be ordered from the hotel and served by the pool on timber
loungers with decent mattresses. It’s attractive, clean and simple, with its
untreated woods, grey tiling and Ibiza-style white furniture. It’s also very
secluded, sitting in a walled area at the end of the house’s immaculate
lawn, and strictly open to hotel guests only. This is a big bonus: hotels
with membership spas often acquire a grubby, overused look, and lack
privacy. Maison Talbooth has only 12 rooms and if, like us, you book a
sneaky mid-week visit, you will have the run of the Pool House.
Even late at night during a raging summer thunderstorm it was hard to stay
away. The pool was lit, the log fire blazed and the hot tub provided a
decadent spot in which to stare at Constable’s sky, illuminated by
lightning. Staff didn’t bat an eyelid. The pool stays open as long as you
want. We retired to a bed as big as the Titanic and woke up to a postcard
view of Dedham Vale from our top-floor room.
In the late Sixties, Maison Talbooth, under its late founder, Gerald Milsom,
was at the vanguard of the trend for indulgent country-house hotels. Forty
years later it’s good to see it not resting on its laurels. Service is
faultless; the hotel has a cushioned, well-upholstered comfort, and prices
remain fair, despite its recent £1.6m refurbishment. Combine your stay with
dinner at Maison Talbooth’s ever-popular sister restaurant, Le Talbooth, and
you won’t need the sun to enjoy a break here — in or out of the water.
Maison Talbooth (0800 089 3929, www.prideofbritainhotels.com),
Stratford Road, Dedham, Essex CO7 6HN. Doubles from £186 a night.
Kate Quill
The Cove
Lamourna, Cornwall
Pools, particularly British pools, don’t come with much better views — swim
through this setting and your soul soars as you gaze out at the west Cornish
coast in all its rugged beauty. The deep green slopes rise around you while
the cliff drops off steeply below; the figure-of-eight pool is perched
dramatically above Lamourna Cove. The infinity edges of pools in Mauritius
and the Maldives simply don’t compare. Yet squint through sun-drenched eyes
and you might imagine you were in the Tropics.
This 12mx4m heated pool is not for serious swimmers — those in it are more
wallowers and toddlers, the 15 selfcatering apartments clustered around it,
clinging to the cliffside, aimed at parents loth to give up luxury travel.
So there’s a distinct boutique hotel feel about the sleek modern interiors,
done out in turquoise and taupe, with flat-screen TVs. Kitchenettes have all
the goodies to make life easy, but you’d be crazy not to enjoy at least one
meal by the poolside restaurant — I thoroughly recommend the delicious crab
pasta followed by chocolate pudding.
Because The Cove has baby listeners, my friend and I could enjoy the meal
without our children, who had enjoyed the gastronomic kiddies’ high tea
earlier. To help work off the food there is a scenic walk along the coast
from the rocky cove of Lamourna to Mousehole.
The Cove (01736 731411, www.thecovecornwall.com),
apartments from £170 a night when booking four nights. For the best deals,
currently 20 per cent off, www.i-escape.com
is worth checking.
Jane Knight
The Berkeley
London, SW1
In a room on a rooftop in Knightsbridge, with Hyde Park stretching out below,
I am swimming up and down in a pool surrounded by marble columns that look
as though they belong in a Roman villa. A woman wearing a black
oriental-style outfit has just brought a coffee to my sun-lounger while a
man has offered to fetch goggles. The pool’s retractable roof has been
opened slightly, letting in a gentle breeze. It is 7.30am and I have the 10m
by 5m (1.2m deep) pool to myself. I stretch out on my lounger, feeling a bit
as though I have suddenly become some sort of multimillionaire ... The
Berkeley’s pool may not be as big as some others in London — the pools at
the Jumeirah Carlton and One Aldwych are longer and better suited to lap
swimmers — is definitely the most eye-catching. And you do not have to be a
guest to try it out: half-day sessions cost £35.
The Berkeley (020-7201 1699, www.the-berkeley.co.uk),
Wilton Place, London SW1X 7RL. Doubles from £258.
Tom Chesshyre
The Grove
Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire
There’s nothing unusual about children digging in a sandy beach, then casting
aside buckets and spades to plop into an adjacent pool, unless you consider
that this is within the M25, at Watford, where The Grove has shifted 500
tonnes of sand to create a beach in its walled garden adjacent to the 22m
pool. The sand was good and sticky for castles — my son and I dug deep but
still didn’t reach the bottom. There were nattily decorated beach huts and
deckchairs were lined up to watch the action on the volleyball court. When
we tired of digging, we joined other families in the warm pool waters (31C),
watched over by two lifeguards. And when it rained, we ran pathetically for
shelter through the potting shed to another — even warmer — pool indoors.
Other activities include treasure hunts, tennis, bike rides and golf.
Families come here for the fun, and staff are clearly used to children.
Let’s not forget the food: the Sunday spread is one of the best buffets I’ve
tasted.
The Grove (01923 296010, www.thegrove.co.uk),
Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire WD3 4TG. B&B doubles from £280 on
the Great Escape Package. Children under 12 stay and eat for free .
Jane Knight
The Rectory
Malmesbury, Wiltshire
Had I come here five years ago, the only chance of a quick dip would have been
in The Rectory’s ancient full-submersion baptism pool. But the days of
chilly ablutions are over and I have just scampered across the croquet lawn,
through a small parting in the trees, in search of the 12m by 6m heated
swimming pool. Hidden in its own Victorian walled garden, it is protected
from the wind and is bathed in sunshine. The water — heated to 26C —
is warm enough even for a coward such as me. What’s more, I have the place
to myself. I float in silence and think what a wonderful thing it is to swim
outdoors in the English countryside. Nestled on the edge of the Cotswolds,
the 12-bedroom period house is set in three acres of well-tended gardens and
was renovated four years ago by Jonathan Barry, who used to work for the
Hotel du Vin group, and Julian Muggridge, an antiques dealer. Their personal
touches make me feel more as if I’m staying in someone’s home.
The Rectory (01666 577194, www.i-escape.com),
Crudwell, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 9EP. Doubles from £105.
Megan Walsh
FIVE MORE WITH POOLS
Feversham Arms, Helmsley, North Yorkshire This former coaching inn turned spa
hotel has a lovely 12m x 4m pool surrounded by parasols and recliners.
Massages are about £80 an hour. (01439 770766, www.feversham
armshotel.com), DB&B doubles £198.
Bailiffscourt, Climping, West Sussex There are two pools: one in the spa and
one just outside. Both are 13m x 6m. Very relaxing setting, with pebble
beach and (slightly colder) swimming in Channel close by. (01903 723511, www.hshotels.co.uk).
DB&B £260.
Bedruthan Steps Hotel, Cornwall Several child-friendly pools, including a new
12m heated indoor pool and circular outdoor pools on terraces overlooking
the sea: terrific for sunrise and sunset swims. (01637 861206, www.bedruthan.com).
Doubles from £98.
Tylney Hall, Rotherwick, Hampshire Set in a superb sunken garden surrounded by
neatly clipped lawns and blooming flower beds, the 14m x 7m outdoor pool
feels fabulously hidden. There’s also an indoor pool. (01256 764881, www.tylneyhall.co.uk)
. B&B doubles from £170.
Sheraton Grand, Edinburgh Tucked away in the heart of Edinburgh, the Sheraton
Grand has a terrific 19m x 10m indoor infinity pool — great for doing laps.
It also has a rooftop “hydropool”. (0131-221 9131, www.sheraton.com/grandedinburgh).
Doubles from £135.
Tom Chesshyre
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