Hillaire
Belloc described the Spread Eagle in one of his farragoes as "that most
revered of all prime inns of this world" – high praise indeed from one so
well-acquainted with the subject, having stayed at innumerable establishments
whilst famously walking from the midwest of the United States to northern California
in the courtship of his wife.
An inn has stood on
this site since the early 17th century, when Midhurst was a popular resting
stop for stage coach passengers. The hotel has a fascinating history that
includes tales of smuggler's hideaways, royal visits and the “ghost of the
Golden Lady”. Evidence of the hotel's past adorns the walls in framed letters,
oil paintings and drawings, as well as the architecture. There’s even a history
book about the hotel that you can buy at reception, but you would do just as
well to talk to the ebullient General Manager, Ted James, whose knowledge of
the hotel’s heritage is encyclopaedic.
Exposed beams, wood
pannelling, wonky floors and doors and curious features abound. At one point
upstairs, the hall splits into three corridors with a balcony looking over the
hallway occupied by a huge suit of armour. In a couple of places you can still
see the wattle and daub of the original walls, while in many of the rooms,
uneven leaded windows overlook the pretty streets of Midhurst. The oldest part
of the hotel is the bar, which dates to 1430 and has all the hallmarks of a
hostelry that has been honing its charms for centuries. In the Queen's Suite,
the hotel's largest, and oldest room, a huge four-poster bed stands on a
crooked polished wood floor and an ancient door leads to a wig room, the polite
name in Georgian society for a toilet, and the only one of its kind remaining
in Britain.
Notwithstanding its age,
there is nothing geriatric about the Spread Eagle. Under Ted’s able
steermanship, the hotel is just as relevant in the 21st century as
it was in the 17th. "We're very much the heart and soul of the village,"
Ted explains. "Local people get married here, celebrate christenings and
birthdays, or just come here for a drink."
As part of its effort
to remain contemporary, the hotel offers a number of packages. I was asked to
experience the ‘Ladies Who Golf’ experience, which includes an hours’ golf
lesson with Katie Dawkins, a former England player-turned-PGA teaching
professional based at Cowdray Park Golf Club, lunch and a hour’s spa treatment.
To date, my golf experiences have been somewhat below par, including being
banned, age 6, from a golf-course in Derbyshire (after hijacking a golf buggy whilst
on a family holiday), and a similarly ignominious experience in Morocco when I
managed to overturn a golf buggy – no mean feat). Despite my lack of experience,
Katie was incredibly patient, and taught me creative and helpful ways to
approach putting and chipping, to the extent that I now feel that I would be
able to hold my own on a golf course.
After golf, we returned to the hotel for a quick and delicious lunch
(morel soup and crab cakes), then it was time to be pampered. Extraordinarily, for a hotel of its age
and style, the Spread Eagle has a spa, plus a pool, sauna, steam room and hot
tub. Built in 1997, it offers a modern departure from the historic surroundings
of the inn. Treatments using Elemis products and techniques cost from £37 for a
facial or a massage, and there's a host of beauty treatments including waxing
and manicures and pedicures. As part of the Ladies Who Golf package, I enjoyed
a 55 minute deep tissue massage, which was pure, unadulterated bliss.
Packages can be enjoyed intraday or with an overnight stay. We
stayed the night beforehand; I was delighted to find, besides the usual
creature comforts (plasma screen, WiFi and roll-top bath), that The White Room,
which I had been allocated, contained a cubby hole, used to hide priests during
the English Civil War.
At dinner, far from
encountering a moribund mid-week evening scene, we found the restaurant to be
packed, and was, if not exactly buzzing (the sotto, elderly atmosphere precludes
this), at least lively. The menu is changed quarterly
and has a succinct but appealing offering including fish, vegetarian and meat
options. I had the home-smoked salmon with warm potato bread and sour cream,
which was good, and the grilled lemon sole, which was excellent. The only
disappointment was the pudding; the strawberries were stunted, semi-frozen and
sticky; not at all as I had expected, given it was June, after all. Three
courses cost £39.50, which was good value, and the portions are big enough not
to need any side orders, offered at £2.50 each.
Breakfast in the same
room was hearty, with a big buffet of delicious fresh breads and pastries,
fruit, muesli and cereals. I particularly enjoyed the poached eggs and home
smoked salmon.
I would unreservedly
recommend the Spread Eagle, and the Ladies Who Golf package in particular. It
would suit any group of women keen to escape London or the daily routine, and
the whole experience is a perfect cocktail of pampering, activity and (by
virtue of the hotel’s unique history),culture.
