For me, true luxury is in the detail. When a hotel offers personalised service and thoughtful touches, that’s when it’s really special and at Soho Farmhouse they’ve truly thought of everything. A drive from London to the hotel’s location in The Cotswolds, should have taken around an hour and a half but the inevitable Friday night traffic meant a slighter longer journey but as soon as we drew up to the gorgeous countryside location we could begin to relax. We were swiftly checked in at the gatehouse at the entry, given bottles of water, and a valet took Mr S’s car keys with a smile, ‘We’ll park it for you, and we’ll give it a clean too…’
Our luggage was piled into a cool retro milk float where we sat comfortably to be driven to our cabin. Located on a 100 acres of farmland, Soho Farmhouse is so much more than a hotel, it’s a country retreat, almost village-like in its size. There’s 40 cabins, a main house with seven bedrooms and a four bedroom cottage available for private hire and they’ve also recently added a campsite of bell tents.
Our large studio cabin was utterly gorgeous! The perfect mix of rustic and cosy but also elegant and stylish, I’ll give you a proper tour later in the post as when we arrived it was already dark and the room had been turned down.
Hungry after our drive, I can’t tell you how excited I was that they’d left of a warm loaf of fresh bread (you had me at fresh bread…) as a turn down amenity. There was also a delicious block of cheese in the fridge and as Mr S found a bottle of champagne I set about slicing the loaf, as a pre-dinner snack you understand…
The cabin has a well-equipped kitchenette so you don’t ever really need to leave the comfort of your gorgeous log cabin as you can stock up on fresh produce from the hotel’s deli. However, Mr S and I were excited to explore the different restaurants that Soho Farmhouse has to offer.
The Farmyard is the central hub of the resort and contains the Main Barn restaurant and bar serving locally sourced Farm Food all day. If you’re looking for something more special, there’s Fancy Farm, located on the mezzanine level of the Main Barn. The low lighting and white table-cloth dining was the perfect venue for a romantic dinner date on the first night of our mini break. Mr S and I got dressed up for our night but it’s acceptable to be as casual as you like really, anything goes!
Our cabin was a short walk to the Main Barn but with heels on we took the option of a lift from the Farmhand, who’s there to help you at anytime! A retro milk float or a more modern BMW will you whisk you away to any location in the resort so you’re welcome to be as lazy as you like! Now as Soho Farmhouse is a private member’s club and part of the Soho House Group as well as a hotel, there are rules on photography in the public areas but honestly it was quite liberating to leave the DSLR in the cabin and enjoy a date night without the camera lens poking into our food!
Though the restaurant is called Fancy Farm, the food is still delicious classics, simply cooked but with fantastic produce, we shared starters of dressed Cornish crab and spatchcock quail and both had Dover sole for mains as well some really lovely and reasonably priced wine. When we were finished the Farmhand was there to drive us back to the room before we collapsed into the comfiest of beds with huge marshmallow pillows!
The next morning, I couldn’t wait to get up and explore more! A pint of milk had been delivered to our room first thing so we could get going with coffee in the morning.
The cabin has a beautiful position right on the water and there’s a wrap around balcony…
The perfect place to enjoy coffee in the morning or to sip a glass of wine as the evening sets in.
But super keen to take a proper look around, we said goodbye to cabin 15 for the morning and headed to the Farmyard.
If you don’t want to walk but you’re not lazy enough to be driven around by the Farmhands, there are bikes provided for every cabin. Personally I’m rubbish at riding bikes so I stuck to my own two feet this time around!
Here’s a view of the cabin from outside, you can see how spacious it is as well as that stunning terrace. Our own little log cabin for two!
The weather wasn’t exactly on our side and the skies were tinged with grey but the grounds of the hotel were just beautiful and we took in huge gulps of the fresh country air on our walk to breakfast. There’s a couple of choices for breakfast, you can eat a la carte at the Main Barn or enjoy fresh produce from the farm table. Or there’s the Deli and Farmshop for fresh bakery bits, fruits, grains and egg pots. Alternatively, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your room! There’s a milk float that comes around each morning to deliver breakfast, or you can simply open up the complimentary homemade granola that comes in your room and enjoy it with that pint of milk!
Mr S and I ate in the Main Barn for both days of our stay, with a full English for him and hand carved salmon, fresh bagels and delicious salty butter for me!
Now it was time for a proper look around. The Farmyard is like an outdoor living room with plenty of seating to relax and enjoy cocktails or a hot chocolate. There’s shade for when it’s hot and a large open fire for when it’s cool and plenty of games and activities located throughout the courtyard. On one side is the Main Barn, made up of the all day dining area and bar. There’s also two mezzanine levels with Fancy Farm on one side and Comfy Farm on the other. Both are child free area, the latter being a relaxation area with sofas and fireplace, somewhere to play board games or just sit for a cosy chat in a quieter area.
The Farmshop and Deli serves food to eat in or take away with fresh produce, cakes, wine and preserves…
There’s also a cheese room! Ok you can just leave me here…
Also located in the Farmyard is the Mill Room which resembles a country pub serving local beer, cider and ales and stays open late with live music and a clubby atmosphere. There’s also a couple of shops selling the Soho House homeware, clothes, linens and sumptuous blankets.
Across from the Farmyard there are more beautiful acres of country side filled with sheep.
And there are stables with horses for pony rides and hacks available for adults and children. Also adjacent to the stables is the Teeny Barn, an adorable play area for children, here there’s a mud kitchen, a TV, arts and crafts and a library. Outside is an adventure playground and a chicken coop to collect freshly laid eggs, the hotel is very child friendly and really ideal for the whole family. You can even bring your dog along!
We headed back to the Farmyard as we had a spa treatment booked in that morning at Cowshed, the signature spa at Soho House. Like the rest of the hotel, the spa is a home away from home, with a comfy relaxation area and huge sofas for lolling around on and beautiful private treatment rooms. We loved our couples massage which used the special signature Cowshed mood oil, to relax, rejuvenate or lighten your up life.
After our treatment we headed out to the spa’s island located on the lake which houses as sauna, ice room and two hot tubs…Of course we knew which one we were choosing…
But wait…there’s something missing…not to worry this is a hot tub with a hot line…
The perfect push for champagne button…
Now that’s better!
After our drinks we headed to the Main Barn for lunch, food is simple and rustic and will honestly please anyone. We shared a pizza fresh from the pizza oven to start and I followed with a light main course of sea bream and vegetables whereas Mr S had one of his favourites, lamb cutlets. Rhubarb crumble and vanilla custard was the perfect way to round off the meal before heading back to our room for a coffee.
We went back via the hotel’s other main activity area, The Boathouse.
The Boathouse sits on the lake with the indoor / outdoor pool rising above it. Sun loungers surround the pool, the perfect place to laze away sunny days.
Or you can go for a spin in one of the boats.
The Boat House is also the location for the gym and the resort’s Japanese restaurant Pen Yen which serves lunch, dinner and cocktails with an Asian twist.
Adjacent to the Boat House and with use of their facilities is the hotel’s campsite. The Bell Tents are the more affordable option offered by the hotel but they are still luxurious with a six-foot, wood burning stove, armchairs and rugs.
Back to the room and the cabin comes equipped with a coffee machine and coffee capsules according to your preference, everyday the Treats jar is refilled with fresh homemade cookies to accompany your hot drink.
Right are you ready for the room tour?
Our one bedroom cabin is built on a split level with stairs leading up to the bed and a seating area below.
The seven foot bed is just perfect to starfish across and there is a chest at the bottom of the bed from which a TV magically appears when you need it. A cool retro phone next to the bed gives you direct access to the Farmhand for lifts, laundry and things or the kitchen so you can order food to the room.
The desk drawers contain everything that you could need, hairdryer, straightening irons, chargers and adapters. Also plenty of plug sockets which is always something that I appreciate.
And if this room couldn’t be any cosier, there’s a wood burning fireplace for the cooler nights and plenty of comfy seating to relax and enjoy all the reading material provided.
The kitchenette in the entry way is fully stocked with cutlery, crockery and a drawer full of treats and while you can’t really cook here there’s a Dualit oven to heat things up. If you’re coming here as a family or keen to do your own cooking some of the larger cabins have more fully functioning kitchens. But this was perfect for us, the bar was stocked, there’s an ice machine and you can even make your own cocktails.
The entry area was also stocked with a picnic basket and blankets, boot scrapers for muddy days and board games for when it rains. You honestly never need to leave the cabin if you don’t want to.
Finally, the beautiful bathroom with a huge soaking tub for aching muscles after a country walk.
His and hers vanity…
The softest fluffy robes!
And a detail I loved, full-sized Cowshed products so you could choose your shower gel according to your mood whilst luxuriating in the powerful rain shower. Also don’t you just love the cheeky names of the products, that’s one thing I love about Soho House, everything is done with a sense of humour.
After a relaxing morning, good food, wine and with the rain pouring outside, it was rather inevitable that we would fall asleep but I was careful to set my alarm as I had an appointment for a blow dry at the salon.
We had a treat planned for when I got back, a mobile cocktail bar straight to our room!
Ok, so it was pouring with rain but we were determined to enjoy our cocktails outside so with a British stiff upper lip I shielded my freshly blow dried hair under the bar’s small canopy as the bar man made us drinks to order with fresh ingredients.
A Porn Star Martini for me and an Espresso Martini for Mr S…
Who cares about a little rain! It’s a fantastic service and you don’t even need to pay extra for the bar man, you just pay for your drinks.
After our heavy lunch, we decided to check out the resort’s Japanese restaurant for lighter dinner.
We enjoyed an assortment of delicious salad, sushi and grills at Pen Yen and again photos are prohibited but I did get this one during the day when it was empty. The food was perfect and as we didn’t want our night to end, we headed back up to the main barn for a few last drinks before turning back to our home away from home for the night.
Breakfast the next day was again in the Main Barn and we at, sad to think that we would be leaving soon. We had one last area to explore, the resort really is vast and there is so much to do, we really needed more than two nights!
Passing the Sunday morning Bloody Mary cart we headed uphill from the Main Barn to the pretty kitchen garden where some of the produce for the House Kitchen is grown. There’s also a cookery school where you can enjoy hands on demonstrations before enjoying your creations in the relaxing environment of the garden.
Also up in this little area is the hotel’s Electric Cinema which screens new release films in the plush environment of a comfortable screening room.
I think that you can tell from the length of this post and my gushing descriptions how much I absolutely fell in love with this place and as Mr S and I took a final walk through around the ground I felt close to tears to be leaving and like we’d only just scratched the surface during our visit to this beautiful place.
Every tiny little detail has been thought through at this incredible resort and I cannot imagine anyone not falling totally in love with it. It’s quite honestly the perfect countryside escape, for couples, families, girls on a spa break. You can dress up, you can dress down. You can sit all day doing nothing but eating and drinking or you can go for a hike in the hills. You can just sit in your cabin by the fire or enjoy the many, many activities that the resort has to offer.
We got into our sparkling clean car to head home with heavy hearts to be leaving…I think I’ve found my new favourite place and I’m already planning my return.
PIN FOR LATER:
Soho Farmhouse
Great Tew
Chipping Norton
OX7 4JS
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