Glazebrook House in South Brent, Devon is a 17th century former manor house that was transformed into a lovely boutique hotel four years ago by Pieter and Fran Hamman. Glazebrook has been a hotel since 1972 but it had seen better days before the Hammans completely refurbished the faded guest lodging, creating a luxury hotel. It’s their first hotel and they’ve done a fine job, both with the gorgeous gardens outside and with the interiors so it’s no surprise that Glazebrook House won Visit England’s best boutique hotel award last year.
Located just outside the Dartmoor settlement of South Brent, the area known as Glazebrook is a collection of properties surrounding the beautiful Glaze brook. In 1650, a farmhouse was built on the site now occupied by the hotel, part of which still encompasses three existing rooms within the hotel (the vestibule plus the rooms on either side – the tasting room and the library). The house was converted into a manor house in 1865 and while Georgian in design, Glazebrook includes some early Victorian elements (the granite entrance portico and stained glass windows in the stairwell).
The interior design is by British designer Timothy Oulton, admired for his modern take on traditional British design. His style has been described as ”British revival”, a mixture of handmade furnishings with vintage and retro curios. Leather sofas, handmade chandeliers, old maps, walls of musical instruments and vintage signs are all part of the playful decor within Glazebrook House. On the main floor, a stuffed flamingo, an emu skeleton and a bulldog sculpture are on display and the reception desk is in the shape of a Spitfire wing. Outdoors, three acres of beautifully manicured gardens with a secret Victorian fern path make for a relaxing pre-dinner stroll. There are plans to add a petite spa which would make a stay at Glazebrook House even more attractive.
The hotel has nine guestrooms, each unique, with the owners and designer Timothy Oulton choosing an Alice in Wonderland theme. Downstairs, continuing the Alice in Wonderland theme, are images and text from the book in a fun installation of magnifying glasses. We stayed in the Jabberwocky themed room, equipped with a telescope and wacky circular aircraft engine mirrors behind the bed. All the rooms have gorgeous crystal chandeliers, each unique.
The Mad Hatter room features a collection of top hats and a group of dollhouses are on the wall above the bed. Large framed 19th-century German playing cards decorate the White Rabbit guestroom. An unexpected bonus, aside from a bedside iPad, is that the entire contents of the minibar, including chocolates, biscuits, drinks from local drinks company Luscombe and small bottles of wine, are complimentary.
The fine dining restaurant run by Executive Chef Ben Palmer, a former Master Chef finalist, alongside Head Chef Josh Ackland, is open all day and offers tasting menus and a la carte dining in the evening. The dining room at Glazebrook has become a “destination restaurant” and it’s not difficult to understand why it also attracts diners who aren’t staying at the hotel.
An impressive whisky and wine room where 20 minute tastings with the hotel’s sommelier can be booked before dinner. The taster dinner menus of six or eight courses, paired with wine, are created from products from local suppliers, all within a 50 mile radius of the hotel. Market fish, local lamb and duck feature on the menu, along with a delicious passionfruit sorbet on a bed of creamy lemon curd topped with three tiny meringues.
Glazebrook House, South Brent, Devon TQ10 9JE Tel: 01364 73322
Standard Double rooms with breakfast start at £149 and this summer there’s a special offer from £259 for welcome drinks, a three-course dinner and breakfast. At just under three hours from London by train to Totnes, the nearest station (15 minutes to Glazebrook), this is a easy mini-break destination.
