Location: Suffolk gay friendly luxury hotel in suffolk
Perfect for: Romance and superior cuisine
Set on the Suffolk Heritage Coast this luxury hotel in Suffolk dates back to the 12th century and retains the character and rustic charm of its coaching inn past but has been updated in all the right places. Its warm staff and ambient welcoming local pub atmosphere makes it a relaxing retreat, whilst its double rosette menu offers superb dining. In the winter, curl up by it crackling log fires with a pint of real ale or soothing red wine; in the summer dine alfresco in its gorgeous terraced garden. romantic weekend breaks uk
Main Review
Monday 12.25
“Left!” cries Msr 2 as we almost miss our turning into Westleton from Yoxford. Not that we’d mind; we’ve (purposefully) had quite the scenic tour of mid-Suffolk en route to our stay for the night; its undulating pastures are straight out of a Constable painting, and we got to see the magnificent Framlingham Castle (a 12th century fortress), which we intend to return to for a proper visit tomorrow. “Ah ha,” squeals Msr 2, “there it is, The Westleton Crown”
12.37
Our arrival at The Westleton Crown is more a ‘stumble upon’, rather than a grand sweeping gesture. It is, after all, a local pub and as you enter the small village of Westleton, we just happened to stumble upon it. It looks rather lovely from the outside, and as soon as we enter, we’re smitten.
The crackle and calming smokiness of the fire makes us feel right at home and as we walk through the bar, past the lunching locals, and into the tiny reception, we smile at each other.
12.39
We’re greeted by Jemma, who we spoke to earlier when we rang ahead. Her personable charm and friendliness are a definite nod to the warmth The Westleton exudes.
12.55
“Hungry?” I ask to a now salivating Msr 2. “Yes,” he replies, “and I want one of those.” He points to the most enormous doorstop sandwich. It looks decidedly tempting and, as check-in isn’t until 3pm, we leave our bags in the car and eat.
13.23
Lunch is a simple, but oh-so-delicious affair. Tarragon chicken sandwiched between two doorstep wedges of homemade bread and served with a garnish of crisp salad and red coleslaw. Like every other dish on the menu here, everything’s made in the kitchen from ethically sourced, local ingredients. Washed down with a pint of local ale, it certainly hits the spot.
14.10
With time to spare, we wander through to the snug and cosy up next to the log burner, with fresh coffee and complimentary homemade ginger biscuits.
“Snakes and ladders?” Msr 2 asks, as he spies it from a selection of games available for guests to play. “So long as I can thrash you at Scrabble afterwards,” I reply. Msr 2 smirks. He knows the chances of me beating him at Scrabble are slimmer than a stick insect, but he likes to keep me amused.
15.50
Literally defeated, I suggest we put the Scrabble away and head to our room, the Marsh Harrier suite. All the rooms – which The Westleton categorise as ‘good’, ‘better’, ‘best’ and ‘suites’ – are named after birds, perhaps a tribute to the nearby bird reserve – and ours is certainly pretty special. Spread over two floors, our suite has decent lounge area complete with sofa, coffee table, TV, DVD player and a desk and a soft stone tiled wet room.
“Come upstairs!” beckons Msr 2. As I climb the stairs, I see our bedroom; it’s heavenly white and flooded with bright sunlight; we have a balcony and a claw-foot roll-top bath by the bed. Whilst Msr 2 makes coffee, I start running the bath, making full use of the White Company products provided.
20.15
We’ve had a wonderfully lazy afternoon, and as we head down for dinner, we’re feeling pretty blessed out. If it were summer, we’d head outside for dinner, but instead, we take our seats in the candle-lit conservatory and enjoy a drink as we peruse the very reasonably priced ‘winter warming’ menu. Msr 2 plumps for the Southwold herring tart with apple salad and I choose the goats cheese with cranberry and pecan salad for starters – both of which sound sublime.
21.43
There are certainly some talented folk in the kitchen. Our starters were, frankly, delicious, and the courses we enjoyed afterwards –Bunwell Wood venison casserole with crushed roots and braised red cabbage, followed by apple and cinnamon crumble with brandy custard – were incredible. We (or I, as pointed out by Msr2) virtually had to roll ourselves out of the conservatory and into the snug for coffee.
23.22
A few whiskies later, and we’re ready for bed. We climb the stairs back to our beautiful bedroom, and sink into our bed, wrapping ourselves up in the cloud like duvet.
Tuesday, 9.20am
A blast under the shower washes away any fuzziness from last night and we head downstairs, eager to enjoy a hearty breakfast before the full day of sight-seeing Msr 2 hasn’t got planned. And boy, what a breakfast. Succulent sausages, lusciously thick slices of bacon and perfect poached eggs served on wedges of granary toast.
10.04am
“Ready?” I ask Msr 2, who is busy annotating his visiting list. “Minsmere bird reserve first, then Aspall for some cider, back here to sample the chef’s Blythburth Pork Belly,” he replies, pausing for breath, “and then Framlington.” That’s our day sorted then.
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