Best Sussex Hotels: Leonardslee House, West Sussex
What a better way to spend the night
After a Michelin-starred dinner at Restaurant Interlude in Leonardslee House, what better way to spend the night than in the new luxury overnight accommodation on the first floor of this beautiful Italianate building?
The owner’s stated aim is to be the best restaurant with accommodation in England.
Each of the ten individually designed bedrooms, opened at Leonardslee House in 2021, provides a luxurious experience that guests say they will always remember, and the interior design is a big part of that. The owners wanted to create a memorable evening and one where both local guests and visitors from afar could stay and enjoy the entire Leonardslee experience, which includes garden walks, classic afternoon tea, and wine tastings.
The new suites and Restaurant Interlude, which serves multi-course tasting menus created by Executive Chef Jean Delport, preserve many original features of the Grade II-listed Italianate mansion, inspired by the historic woodland gardens estate.
The owners commissioned ten individual designers for the ten luxury bedrooms, so each is stylistically distinct. Every unique bedroom incorporates the fabric and wallpaper style of a top British interior design firm, with classic themes by some of the greatest known and loved British designers, and the bathrooms are all gorgeous too!
“The Johnston Parke Interiors firm and architects Gould Baxter were appointed to manage the design project. To get the absolute best in interior design, we needed experts whose tastes complemented our own, who could obtain the finest designs and materials, in harmony with the beautiful gardens,” says estate owner Penny Streeter OBE.
“Commissioning and supervising designers for each of the bedrooms demanded extensive knowledge of the British design scene; to decide who could best fulfil this highly ambitious project and be able to understand and assist us in realising our goals.”
The collaboration included designers Lewis and Wood (the Deluxe Magnolia Suite); Penny Morrison, Veere Grenney and GP J Baker (Superior Rooms); Sanderson and Soane Britain (Superior Classic Rooms), and Nina Campbell, Rapture and Wright, Colefax and Fowler and Christopher Farr (Classic Rooms).
Deluxe Delightful
The Deluxe Magnolia Suite includes a separate sitting room, a super king-sized bed with 300 thread-count bed linen, and a generous, en-suite bathroom with a walk-in rainfall shower, roll-top bath and his and hers individual sinks.
The Streeter family, like other owners of famous historic properties, consider themselves to be conservators and temporary guardians of these very special gardens at Leonardslee. The family’s mission is to preserve the natural beauty of this great English garden estate, a valuable national asset, with many endangered plants threatened in the wild. This included extensive restoration work to enable the reopening of the estate in April 2019, after eight years of closure and neglect. It was the largest UK garden restoration project since Heligan some 30 years before.
The interior design of the accommodation reflects this passion, in the pastoral-themed materials and fabrics, in the paintings and prints in the guest rooms and in the magnificent hallway and galleried landing, which is bathed in natural light from an original domed atrium.
To minimise environmental impact, the designers sourced antiques and commissioned furniture suppliers who make their products in the UK. This includes David Seyfried for upholstery, Hypnos for beds, BTC Original for lighting, as well as Edward Bulmer, and Farrow and Ball for paints.
Both the interior and overall experience created at Leonardslee House were carefully considered, to reflect the needs and tastes of diverse guests, whether they are visitors looking to explore the internationally famous 240-acre gardens with their seven interlaced lakes, couples looking to dine at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Interlude and stay overnight in the luxury bedrooms for a special occasion, or overseas guests seeking a quintessentially English experience.
The owners kept many of Leonardslee House's historic features, especially in the hallway and dining areas, including the rooms for classic afternoon tea, which guests love and come back for time and again. The goal was to keep the distinctive environment; the hospitality, warmth, and charm you might expect from a stay in a stunning private country house estate.
With exquisite décor and stunning attention to detail, all of the luxurious hotel rooms transport guests to a bygone period of country house interiors and old school British grandeur. This is paired with thoroughly up to date features, for maximum convenience - from each superbly equipped bathroom, to the softly glowing light trail that comes on automatically in the night to guide you.
You’re Welcome
The extra touches, such as the self-playing piano in the hallway evoke a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere to greet guests; together with the bottle of Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate wine from the owner’s South African vineyards waiting for each guest in their rooms. These personalised touches are then reflected in the detail of the bespoke interior of each of the ten rooms.
The following morning, guests can enjoy a stroll through the lovely Grade I Listed gardens. They are usually awestruck by the rare flora and variety of wildlife, including a colony of wallabies grazing and numerous species of deer. There are unique attractions to discover, such as the Dolls' House Museum and Sculpture Park by South African artist Anton Smit - the largest exhibition by a single artist in Europe this year.
The gardens are the legacy of Sir Edmund Loder, a notable Victorian plant collector who purchased the estate in 1889 and developed the 240-acre woodland gardens that gives the house its unique charm. The aim of the new owners has been to protect, conserve, and enhance, and it was critical that the interior of the house reflects this devotion.
“Understanding the needs and choices of guests was central to the design of the accommodation, to ensure the most comfortable and relaxing of stays; we continue to carefully consider who they are, what they enjoy, and what they want – and the interior design reflects this,” says Penny Streeter.
“Our guests expect the very best in five-star hospitality, whether they're visiting for a luxurious short stay or a memorable anniversary, where they can enjoy the finest food in an English rural idyll and a relaxing overnight stay in exquisitely designed bedrooms that reflect the luxury experience.”
Guests also want to participate in interesting leisure activities, she says, such as the wine tastings and tours of the Pinotage vineyard at Leonardslee as well as events at the larger vineyard at the neighbouring Mannings Health Golf and Wine Estate.
“The best restaurant and best hotel in England? That is certainly our ambition,” says Penny.