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Review: Babington House
The Somerset outpost of London's trendy Soho House, Babington House actually seems glad you're staying
The swan set the tone for the whole visit, really. I was transported from my London mindset by driving through miles and miles of rural Somerset that surround this grade II listed country house. But Babington House's resident swan decided that he, and not my car, would be occupying the spot right outside the front door. Edging right up to the entrance, I waited for the swan to move. He eyeballed me. I revved the engine. The swan sat down. 'This,' he was saying, 'is the way we do things round here.'
For an establishment that forms the country arm of Soho House (the club for London's high-powered media elite), you might expect Babington House to buzz with the sound of trilling mobiles and deals being clinched. How many hotel websites, for instance, include 'where to land your helicopter' instructions? But air kisses and 'ciao darling's are definite no-nos. The only sound you'll hear is the lapping of the lake, and an occasional quack from one of the ducks.
Since the 1370s, the property has been home to such splendidly monikered notables as Sir William Botreaux, Henry Monpesson and Major Norton Knatchbull. Now, for a couple of nights at least, it's home to you. No hideous 'mock-Georgian' wings have been added here. All the rooms are in either the main house itself, or outbuildings such as the Stable Block or Coach House. As you climb the mahogany staircase, pass the 15th-century stained glass window and gaze up at the Queen Anne ceilings, you feel very much at one with Major Norton.
'Luxury', in the hotel world, too often means a fake mahogany desk and a bowl of fruit. At Babington, it means what it should: a stylish, comfortable-beyond-your-dreams room, each with its own touches. You might get a Bond-villain black leather chair, or a clear plastic hang-from-the-ceiling one; a snow-white rug, or one blooming with huge red roses. The rooms' hi-tech entertainment systems (150 Sky digital channels, a selection of DVDs and CDs available from reception) are all the more fun for being housed in such a traditional setting. Surreal experiences await: until you've gazed out on the rolling lawns of an English country house while listening to Bengali FM, you haven't lived.
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Created: 15/10/2004 Updated: 09/08/2006
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