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The hotel: the stylish application of industrial-heritage chic has
converted the Georgian buildings of Brakspear’s Brewery, which closed in
2003, into Henley’s Hotel du Vin.
The four public rooms – champagne bar, “snug”, billiard room and bistro – are
a testament to the transformative powers of bare brick, leather, glass and
metal, though the bistro does look very French, albeit with a frieze of
modernism’s greatest nudes, from Matisse and Picasso to Munch, and a couple
that are naggingly familiar but you’ll never remember their names. It’s
exactly the right kind of setting for the grey trendies (the people who wear
grey cashmere over grey linen and grey silk, perhaps with a splash of taupe
to offset it all) who seem to make up the clientele.
It’s actually very comfortable, reminiscent of a London media club. As there
is a serious cigar menu (78 different types, no less), the courtyard is
given over to making life comfortable for smokers, with a startling
polygonal wooden structure, apparently beamed in from Rivendell, replete
with armchairs and heating but with open sides.
The rooms: there are 43 rooms, individually named on a wine theme. All
are beautifully finished, with a stripped-wood, grey-and-white aesthetic
that is both corporate yet still something you might aspire to at home (then
again, if you are grey-trendy, your home probably looks like this already).
Helpfully, every room has a complete list of where you can buy the fixtures
(yes, of course, those are Aston Matthews taps), fittings, linen and
furnishings.
We booked a basic room, then thought we might upgrade, so we checked out a
suite when we arrived. The big deal here was the bathroom on the floor above
the bedroom. This had a view out to the river and a balcony with another
bath on it. I’m quite partial to a bath, but don’t really need one with a
view; and as for performing my ablutions outside, it smacks of unnecessary
Scandinavian practice, and on a drizzly March day was not an inviting
prospect.
Access to the bathroom also involved negotiating a steep, twisty staircase and
I rather quailed at the thought of it in the dark, small hours, given that I
intended to bash through some of the wine list later.
The basic room, then, is more than adequate for all but the most determined
hygiene freak. Ours was a large space with windows on both sides, a bed at
one end and a cast-iron rolltop bath at the other, as well as a shower room
and separate loo. All rooms have broadband internet and WiFi connection,
though nowhere to place a cup of tea (or, indeed, a glass of wine) while you
are in the bath. Surely an oversight in such a determinedly sybaritic setup?
The food: for all that indulgence is the game here, the food,
essentially basic French-bistro fare, is a bit of a disappointment.
Politically correct timidity probably led to pork osso bucco, as the dish
doesn’t work as well as it does with veal. We had a long wait between
courses, too, and the mains (about £16) were none too hot and slightly dry,
as if they had been sitting around for a while.
This may be due to the huge popularity of the bistro (they served 107 dinners
that Saturday night). It’s not that the food is bad, just that because the
wines available are so spectacular, you expect something a bit better on
your plate. Perhaps they would do better to offer six main courses rather
than 11.
The wine list is huge and mostly French, extending into listing clarets by
their particular appellations rather than just lumping them under Bordeaux.
Yet, unlike most establishments with lists of this breadth, it is not
blingingly stupid: the most expensive wine is a Pomerol – Le Pin 1990 – for
£900.
At the other end of the scale, the house wine is £14.50 a bottle. They also
have a clever American machine that means they can offer 16 different wines
by the glass.
Is it worth venturing outside the hotel?
Henley is a typical, small, quite pretty English town, looking rather tired in
places. There’s a terrific walk along the Thames path, but be warned: it can
get very muddy after Marsh Weir, and clogged with toffs during the Regatta.
There are some agreeable historic houses, such as Stonor, nearby. Boats can be
hired and river trips taken. Personally, having got shot of the children, we
were more than happy to loll around, sampling les vins. Oh, and the
extensive range of eaux de vie, and surprising variety of cognacs,
calvados...
Hotel du Vin: doubles from £145 (£150 at weekends) to £295 (£425 at
weekends); 01491 848400, www.hotelduvin.com
