Sometimes, Mrs Stowy can be a stubborn old bird. “Are you kidding?” she cried,
when I suggested she join me on my latest assignment. “You want me to go all
the way to Cornwall with you, FOR ONE NIGHT IN A STUPID B&B?! Slog 550
miles in a car to test polycotton sheets and dodgy plumbing?”
Well, that’s not quite how I’d put it. The proposition had, I thought, been a
little more enticing than that. St Ervan Manor, the B&B I was heading
for, has just bagged one of English tourism’s most prestigious awards. It
is, officially (and you’ll need to take a deep breath for this one), Bed and
Breakfast of the Year in the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, 2006. As
the Travel section’s hotel inspector-in-chief, I’ve been testing the winners
of this particular accolade for a couple of years now, and if previous
entrants were anything to go by, St Ervan promised to be a humdinger.
None of this information had the slightest effect on my wife, though. She
heard the three dread words — Bed and Breakfast — and in an instant was
transported back to a dimly remembered world of damp, underlit rooms,
sagging mattresses and advertisements that made a big deal of “hot and cold
running water”. I might as well have asked her to go camping in the shadow
of Sizewell B.
Pity, because since she last looked, there’s been a quiet revolution in the
world of homespun English hospitality. Just like the rest of us, many B&B
owners have spent the past few years jetting off round Europe on EasyJet,
checking out state-of-the-art restaurants, bars and museums, and dreaming of
a starring role on Grand Designs. In short, they’ve caught the style bug
just as badly as we have, and they don’t see why their property shouldn’t be
as luxurious as the supercool hotels they stay in on their city breaks. The
most ambitious among them have created mini five-star hotels.
And that’s exactly what’s happened at St Ervan Manor. The owners, Allan and
Lorraine Clarke, bought the 19th-century, stone-built rectory back in 2002,
and immediately embarked on a top-to-bottom renovation. In March 2005, they
appointed Nathan Outlaw as head chef in their new fine-dining restaurant.
Outlaw was only 26 at the time, but he’d already won his first Michelin
star, at the Black Pig, in nearby Rock: and in January this year, he was
awarded the accolade all over again for his work at the Manor. Yes, this B&B
has a restaurant as highly rated as those at The Connaught and Claridge’s.
You can forget the polycotton sheets, too. The night I checked in — without
Mrs Stowy, sadly — the house was all but empty, and they immediately
upgraded me to their best room (the Betjeman), at no extra cost. I can’t say
the style of it was entirely to my taste — a little too chintzy and
elaborate, given it’s just three miles to the Atlantic (I’d have preferred a
more minimalist, beachy look). But there was no doubting the quality of the
raw materials, or the care lavished upon them. One of my other assignments
for Travel is an inspection of the 10 winners of The Good Hotel Guide’s
César awards, given each year to properties that, the guide claims, are
“outstanding in their own class”. Last time round, not one of them could
match the Manor for the quality of its bedrooms.
The same could be said of their restaurants. At St Ervan, young Nathan Outlaw
cranks out two six-course tasting menus each evening, and mine was almost
flawless in execution. I’d have liked the foie gras, which came with roast
pigeon (course number four), to have been cooked a little longer, but other
than that, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. There were two highlights — a
tangy watercress soup served with charcoal-crusted quails’ eggs (course
number one), and sea bass, chicory tart, pink grapefruit and pistachios
(course number three). On this evidence, Outlaw is clearly destined for
stardom.
St Ervan Manor is pretty much perfect. It’s so good that it seems to belong in
some parallel universe, where every backpackers’ hostel has an Aveda spa
attached and airline check-in queues are limited by law to no more than
three people: the kind of universe, in fact, where hotel inspectors are
completely redundant. And that’s how I felt when I checked out the following
morning after a night wrapped in exquisite bed linen and having enjoyed a
superb breakfast. What can I say? If you’re heading down this way, you’d be
nuts not to stay here.
I would, however, like to make one suggestion to the VisitBritain brigade.
Next year, how about changing the name of this particular category of your
awards? “Bed and Breakfast” doesn’t come close. There’s Nathan Outlaw’s
restaurant, for a start — which on its own seems to invalidate the B&B
moniker. Then there’s the small question of the price. Double rooms at St
Ervan start at £140 for two, including breakfast. The cheaper of Outlaw’s
two menus is £45 a head, not including wine. And my bill, for one person,
for just one night, was a whopping £198. For most of us, “B&B”
still suggests a world of low-cost accommodation. Clearly, places such as
the Manor should be judged in an entirely new category.
So how about something like “Boutique accommodation of the year”, or
“Luxury-grade mini-hostelry, 2007”? They’re not quite as catchy, I know, but
at least they’d give the public a better idea of what to expect.
They’d give me a better chance of persuading Mrs Stowy to come along next
time, too.
St Ervan Manor, near Padstow, Cornwall PL27 7TA (01841 540255, www.stervanmanor.co.uk).
Walter F Stowy’s hire car was provided by Carrentals.co.uk (0845 225
0845, www.carrentals.co.uk).
From May 5, prices for a three-day rental in the UK start at £68 for a mini-category
car
The runners-up
PARK HALL COUNTRY HOUSE, St Osyth, Essex
Pipped at the post by St Ervan, this is a former monastery, founded in the 14th
century and set in a 600-acre working farm. Doubles from £125, B&B
(01255 820922, www.parkhall-countrycottages.co.uk).
HAWTHORN COTTAGE, Elton, Derbyshire
A 400-year-old, cruck-beamed cottage, complete with immaculate garden, in the Peak
District village of Elton. There’s only one room for guests: a self-contained,
ground-floor suite that costs just £54, B&B (01629 650372, www.hawthorncottage-elton.co.uk).
KATESHILL HOUSE, Bewdley, Worcestershire
A Grade II-listed, brick-built manor house, within day-tripping distance of Ludlow.
All the rooms have been recently refurbished. Doubles start at £70, B&B
(01299 401563, www.kateshillhouse.co.uk).
BB BELGRAVIA, London
A big hit since it opened in 2004: hardly a surprise, given that it offers sleek,
contemporary accommodation in one of London’s poshest postcodes —
for less than £100 a night. Doubles from £99, B&B (020 7259
8570, www.bb-belgravia.com).
WALKER GROUND MANOR, Hawkshead, Cumbria
Another house with history — this time dating back to the 16th century —
and also recently refurbished. It has a private wooded garden and is
perfectly placed for the hills and forests of the southern Lake District.
Doubles from £58, B&B (015394 36219, www.walkerground.co.uk).
THE KINGS HEAD, Newton-under-Roseberry, Cleveland
Home to one of the area’s best restaurants, the Kings Head sits beneath Roseberry
Topping, a crag rather fancifully described as the Matterhorn of Cleveland.
The North York Moors run south from here, and the Cleveland Way footpath
passes close by. Doubles from £69.50, B&B (01642 722318, www.kingsheadhotel.co.uk).
FAIRACRES, Broad Oak, East Sussex
A pretty pink cottage, with just three bedrooms, on the north side of the Sussex
Weald. Rye, Battle and Hastings are all close at hand. Doubles from £90
a night, B&B. (01424 883236, www.smoothhound.co.uk/hotels/fairacres).
GALLON HOUSE HOTEL, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire
Billed as the smallest hotel in Knaresborough, Gallon House has just three rooms,
a well-regarded restaurant and striking views across the Nidd Gorge. Doubles
cost £99 a night, B&B (01423 862102, www.gallon-house.co.uk).
