Best hotels in the New Forest 2022: Where to stay for woodland roaming and rural adventure
Fancy waking up to deer outside your window? Choose one of these sublime hotels in the New Forest for your next trip
Koichiko
Spend a night or two in the New Forest and you’ll begin to get used to waking to the sight of deer grazing outside your window, having to put your foot on the brakes as free-roaming ponies trot carefree across the road and stopping every few minutes while on a walk to take photographs of donkeys grazing under ancient oak trees.
But where are the best places to stay? Whether you’re looking for a boutique room above a pub, a smart townhouse with top-notch food or a grand country pile with roaring fires, all these New Forest hotels have character, style and super service for a memorable mini-break.
The best hotels in New Forest are:
This hotel is right in the thick of it at New Forest’s centre
(The Crown Manor House Hotel)
Neighbourhood: Lyndhurst
Situated right on the High Street in Lyndhurst, the “capital” of the New Forest, this is a great place to stay if you want easy access to the independent boutiques and bars that make up this vibrant town. Occupying a striking half-timbered building at the top of the High Street, the Crown Manor House has plenty of historic flourishes in its design, including a kissing seat in reception and a two-AA-rosette restaurant bathed in the light from arched Victorian bay windows. The 50 rooms are all a little different in shape and size with period styling.
Price: Doubles from £89, B&B
You might just wake up to some animals grazing outside your window here
(Balmer Lawn)
Neighbourhood: Brockenhurst
Walk into the busy bar of this popular four-star hotel and you’ll find an array of furry friends curled at their owners’ feet having been thoroughly exhausted by excited romps across the 500 acres of low-lying woodland that makes up Balmer’s lawn itself. In winter enjoy the Saltus spa and indoor pool, while in summer head to adjacent “Brockenhurst beach” to splash in the river and lounge on the shore. Take a room overlooking the lawn and you might catch sight of a summer cricket match or a herd of grazing deer. Two AA-rosette Beresford’s restaurant serves up fine dining as well as afternoon teas and sunday lunches.
Price: Doubles from £129, B&B
Relax and unwind at the Chewton Glen
(Chewton Glen)
Neighbourhood: New Milton
For a private and exclusive New Forest hideaway, book one of Chewton Glen’s treehouses. Tucked away in the grounds of this five-star hotel, these bespoke lodges come packed with luxury, including wood-burning stoves, arcade game machines and outdoor hot tubs with views over the treetops. The hotel itself is full of country-house grandeur and its impressive list of facilities includes hydrotherapy pools, spa, nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, croquet lawn and cookery classes. Don’t be surprised if a celebrity or two lands on the hotel’s helipad.
Price: Doubles from £325, B&B
Neighbourhood: Brockenhurst
There’s a good dose of joie de vivre in this roadside inn on the route from Brockenhurst to Lyndhurst. The snazzy parquet floor with occasional turquoise tiles and tungsten bulbs in metalwork lampshades make you feel as though you might be in downtown Manhattan rather than on the edge of a somewhat sleepy New Forest town. The boutique rooms in both the main building and converted stable block have a similarly hip vibe, with diagonal metro tiles in the bathrooms and Orla Kiely-esque soft furnishings. Come at the weekend and hang out with the locals around a firepit in the garden or indulge in a Josper-grilled steak or wood-fired pizza.
Price: Doubles from £99, B&B
This historic building is thr perfect place for any season
(Master Builders House)
Neighbourhood: Beaulieu
This charming hotel is housed in the 18th-century home of the master shipbuilder Henry Adams and sits right on the river at the end of picturesque Buckler’s Hard village, where ships for Nelson’s Battle of Trafalgar were built. In summer, sit on the terrace with a G&T and watch the swans drifting by; in winter huddle around the fire of the wood-beamed Yachtsman bar with pots of Earl Grey tea. Rooms in the main house come with lavish period furnishings, such as antique wooden trunks and Turkish carpets, while those in the new wing are more contemporary in style and some are dog friendly. You can book watersports such as paddleboarding and kayaking from New Forest Adventures who have a concession outside the hotel.
Price: Doubles from £99, room only
Stay amongst the rolling hills that surround Burley Manor
(Burley Manor)
Neighbourhood: Burley
In the eight-acre grounds of this baronial manor-house hotel is an unbelievably cute oak shepherd’s hut for a discreet romantic break in the New Forest. Lounge on the bed and look up at the stars through the overhead skylight, soak in the free-standing bathtub and stoke your own fire in the wood-burning stove. Breakfast can be delivered in a hamper in the morning so you don’t even have to get dressed to go to the restaurant. For further pampering, book a Temple Spa massage or facial. In summer you can cool off in the outdoor swimming pool.
Price: Doubles from £109, B&B
Carey Manor’s spa provides the perfect treat
(Careys Manor)
Neighourhood: Brockenhurst
This grand dame New Forest Hotel is right in the centre of Brockenhurst, so it’s possible to make a car-free visit and get the train from London (1hr 30 mins). If you do arrive by car it will be quickly whisked away and parked for you by valet parking as soon as you’ve pulled up on the gravel driveway. The manor house is resplendent with 18th-century wood panelling, chandeliers and large stone fireplaces and rooms in this old part are the most characterful. You can choose between fine dining in Cambium restaurant or French cuisine in Blaireau, but the main attraction is the SenSpa, which has a range of hydrotherapy pools and an ever-evolving menu of treatments that often includes the newest trends.
Price: Doubles from £175, B&B
Neighbourhood: Lyndhurst
This wisteria-clad Georgian country house hotel is the perfect backdrop for photographs, whether you’re celebrating a birthday or anniversary or are plotting a place to propose. The attentive staff seem to have a limitless capacity for retaining knowledge of these things and you’ll get the VIP treatment, or heartfelt congratulations from everyone you encounter, during your stay. Even if you’re not celebrating, you can’t help but feel elevated out of the day-to-day druggery as you walk on the manicured lawns, sip English sparkling wine on the terrace or take a dip in the outdoor jacuzzi of the Herb House spa.
Price: Doubles from £405, B&B
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