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WARWICKSHIREMALLORY COURT, LEAMINGTON SPA
Stratford itself is often so full of people that it is not the ideal overnight choice for those of us who value peace and quiet. So let me recommend a marvellous place I have just visited, on the leafy outskirts of Royal Leamington Spa, about 10 miles away. England is fortunate to have many fine country house hotels. Mallory Court is one of the best.
I felt all was well when I drew the Royce to a halt on the small circular drive before the main entrance. The new Bentley Arnage parked nearby looked at home, but what impressed me even more was the tiny piece of lawn around which I had driven. It was well nigh perfect. Life has taught me that quality is a seemless robe: if it is not everywhere, it is nowhere. Anyone, I reflected, who could make sure that this small patch of grass was so immaculate would be equally determined to make the rest of this establishment adhere to the same high standard. And I was right.
The person in question is the owner, Jeremy Mort – efficiently assisted by the young manager, Jason Freezer. For 25 years (together with the joint owner, Allan Holland, who sadly died a year or so ago) Mr Mort has been striving to make Mallory Court better and better. Note that this does not mean bigger and bigger. Despite the recent addition of 8 new rooms, the scale is still delightfully modest – allowing the chap dozing in the chair before the open fire in the sitting room (yes, it was me) to awake with a start and wonder for a moment in whose home he was staying. The architectural style I would describe as 1920s neo-Jacobean, in the manner of Lutyens. I am pleased to report that the new extension has been designed in exactly the same style, with stone-mullioned windows and pitched roofs, and has been built with high quality materials. With the patina imparted by a few more winters, it will be indistinguishable from the original building. This is what can still be achieved when someone really cares.
And the same care was evident inside my room, named Eastcote. At £295 a night, bed and continental breakfast for two (which rises to £320 at weekends), this is one of the more expensive apartments. On the corner of the new building, its windows look out on both the croquet lawn and the vegetable garden. I loved its sense of space, which was reinforced by the provision of a proper hallway, a bathroom of decent size and a separate loo with a wash basin. Everything (from the bugundy and cream tiles of the bathroom walls to the polished wood of the writing desk) was, of course, spotless – for the housekeeping at Mallory Court is as good as the gardening. I could find only one fault – a noisy extractor fan in the bathroom – but I reported it to the manager, so I am sure a cure will already have been effected.
Thoughtful features were everywhere. I appreciated the shoe horn, the glossy magazines, the local guide books, a bedside clock with hands (a rarity in these days of digital ubiquity) and a cd player with a dozen discs. These last included one of Elgar, so I was able to soak in the tub to the strains of Nimrod from the Enigma Variations – brought to me via a loudspeaker handily situated directly overhead. Fine English music in a fine English house. A spot of jingoism before dinner.
I could even have maintained the national theme in my choice of wine in the dining room, for there is a Gloucestershire white on the list. But one can only push patriotism so far. The cellar offers about 200 choices, many in the £30 to £50 range. It tempted me towards France with some good, older vintages at attractive prices (like 1966 Cod d’Estournel at £180 and 1981 Margaux at £290), but in the end I was seduced by the New World. Two Australians afforded much pleasure. An oaky chardonnay from the Hunter River Valley with hints of sherbet was good drinking for £25 (Allendale, 2000); and a Barossa shiraz had a fruitcake nose and was full of alcohol and black cherries in the mouth (Rossco’s Shiraz, Steve Hoff, 1998 - £38). The following evening I skipped with equal success to California for my white – a toasty, well-structured chardonnay (Diamond Series, Niebaum-Coppola, 1999 - £50) – and to South Africa for my red – the full-bodied, damson-laden 2000 Oscar’s Reserve Pinotage/Shiraz from the Western Cape at £32. For these excellent recommendations I thank Jason Freezer.
The two dining rooms are comfortable, panelled spaces with upholstered armchairs, well-spaced tables of good size and light yellow tablecloths. One feature could be copied to advantage by many other establishments. From the sitting room drifted in pleasant tunes from the baby grand piano. ‘Stranger on the shore’, composed by Mr Acker Bilk, was one. I could not see the piano, but it occurred to me that the pianist must be a fine fellow, for he played and played without a break. Only the following day did I learn that I had been listening to an automatic piano, played by a machine. What a wonderful alternative to the canned music employed by so many restaurateurs! If human musicians cannot be found, let us have more of these devices.
So what of the food? The new chef is Simon Haigh, whose experience includes 8 years at the splendid Inverlochy Castle near Fort William. He offers a different three-course menu each day for £37.50 (including coffee and petits fours) and an unchanging carte with 6 starters, 6 main courses and 6 puddings, from which a 4 course meal will cost £50-£60. During my two enjoyable dinners I tried dishes from both.
Let me start at the end, and congratulate Mr Haigh on his soufflés, which he serves with a scoop of sorbet of the same flavour. Both the raspberry and the passion fruit were excellent – individual, but of generous size and wonderfully luscious. My meats – fillet of beef and mallard breast – were the least successful elements of the meals: good, but their sauces (madeira for the beef, orange and armagnac for the mallard) were overpowering. Still, the opening shots were right on target. Roasted scallops, red mullet and cold foie gras were all full of taste, and the last was set off by the gorgeous accompaniment of sultanas steeped in calvados. Utterly delicious. And I must mention a marvellous new combination I tried at breakfast: kippers with mushrooms. I commend it to you.
As I do the whole of Mallory Court. I love to see folk striving to create beauty – whether it is in the tending of a garden, in the decorating of a sitting room, in the caring for a bedroom or in the serving of food and wine. It is the aesthetic approach to life and to hotel-keeping. It makes Mallory Court a place most definitely worth a visit – even if you are not going to Stratford for the Shakespeare. | ||
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© Francis Bown 2003
Even if the current rulers of the Royal Shakespeare Company are determined to demolish the Memorial Theatre and create a ‘Shakespeare Village’ (ugh!), we shall still need to visit Stratford-upon-Avon to see the plays performed in their home town. But where to stay?