Surrey


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-where"><strong>WHAT? WHERE?</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-071.jpeg" alt="Clarence Suite at Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey" class="wp-image-46850" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-071.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-071-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-071-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-071-400x267.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-071-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-071-788x525.jpeg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Great Fosters is a luxury country house hotel with two restaurants &#8211; including the Michelin-starred Tudor Pass.</p>



<p>Built as a royal hunting lodge in the 1500s, this former stately home-turned lavish and historic five-star hotel is set on 50 acres of gardens and parkland on the edge of Egham. </p>



<p>It’s a hotel with a rich 400-year history and a guest list that includes Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth, and later Orson Welles and Charlie Chaplin. At one point during the 1800s, Great Fosters was converted into a lunatic asylum, with King George III believed to have lived here as a patient. The original royal crest of Queen Elizabeth can be found above the main porch, with the date 1598.</p>



<p>Location-wise, it’s not far from the M25, Egham Station (London in 40 mins) is a five-minute taxi and Heathrow Airport is just 15 minutes by car.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>THE VIBE</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1001" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters_front.jpg" alt="Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey" class="wp-image-28661" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters_front.jpg 1001w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters_front-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters_front-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters_front-150x100.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters_front-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters_front-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1001px) 100vw, 1001px" /></figure>



<p>This is 16th century English grandeur at its best. Your first glimpse of this red brick Elizabethan mansion come as you turn in to the wide driveway flanked with an avenue of topiary yews. </p>



<p>The history is apparent &#8211; elaborate stone mullioned windows with leaded glass, chimneys and a double height arched oak door.</p>



<p>The interiors are heavily laden with period detail: dark oak panelled walls, elaborate Jacobean fireplaces, intricate moulded ceilings. But they blend comfortably with modern touches like sofas and chairs in vibrant cobalt blues, teal greens, and strawberry reds, shiny chrome light fittings and bold contemporary art.</p>



<p>There’s plenty to see and do in the local area – for grown-ups and kids – but Great Fosters is a destination in itself with a vast Arts and Craft garden that includes topiary mazes, a Saxon moat with a Japanese-inspired arched bridge, quirky yew rooms, a heated outdoor swimming pool and a tennis court. It’s quite magical. There are also three treatment rooms.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SCOFF &amp; QUAFF</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="857" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/07/Tudor-Room-GF-21.04.21-High-Res-24-web.jpeg" alt="The Tudor Pass restaurant at Great Fosters" class="wp-image-40963" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/07/Tudor-Room-GF-21.04.21-High-Res-24-web.jpeg 1200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/07/Tudor-Room-GF-21.04.21-High-Res-24-web-800x571.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/07/Tudor-Room-GF-21.04.21-High-Res-24-web-1000x714.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/07/Tudor-Room-GF-21.04.21-High-Res-24-web-400x286.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/07/Tudor-Room-GF-21.04.21-High-Res-24-web-768x548.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/07/Tudor-Room-GF-21.04.21-High-Res-24-web-735x525.jpeg 735w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption>The Tudor Pass at Great Fosters</figcaption></figure>



<p>There are two restaurants at Great Fosters &#8211; the Michelin-starred <a href="https://alexanderhotels.co.uk/great-fosters/food-drink/the-tudor-pass/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tudor Pass</a> and the two AA rosette <a href="https://alexanderhotels.co.uk/great-fosters/food-drink/the-estate-grill/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Estate Grill</a>. Both restaurants offer up something quite special and different. </p>



<p>The Tudor Pass is fine dining all the way in a luxe and intimate setting. It&#8217;s open from Wednesday to Sunday for both lunch and dinner. There are just seven tables which gives off an exclusive members&#8217; club vibe, and yet it&#8217;s still pretty chilled out. The dining experience is theatrical &#8211; with chef Alex Payne or one of his team presenting each course with an introduction. There&#8217;s the option of a four-course or seven-course tasting menu. My advice? Go the full seven if you can because the food is out of this world. <a href="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/review-the-tudor-pass-at-great-fosters-egham-surrey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read our full review here.</a></p>



<p>I&#8217;m lucky to have also dined at The Estate Grill, and while it&#8217;s not the high-end experience of The Tudor Pass, it&#8217;s a fabulous restaurant in its own right. The setting is lovely with vaulted ceilings, open fireplace, elegant mullioned windows and walls bedecked in bold contemporary artwork. The food focus is seasonal and local &#8211; with a promise for honest and straightforward dishes. The menu includes dishes like smoked trout and Cornish crab souffle for starters, quail, roasted venison, Cornish lemon sole, and of course selection from the grill which includes burgers, pork, lamb and steak.</p>



<p>There’s also a Cocktail Bar, and the Anne Boleyn drawing room where afternoon tea is served.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>STAY</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-075.jpeg" alt="Clarence Suite at Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey" class="wp-image-46851" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-075.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-075-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-075-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-075-400x267.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-075-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-AE-075-788x525.jpeg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>There are 56 suites and bedrooms at Great Fosters &#8211; each one one individually styled. The main house is where you’ll find the historic rooms, including the luxe Tapestry Suite, which was Anne Boleyn’s personal lounge during her courtship and marriage to Henry VIII. Rooms here styled in rich Renaissance with ornate antiques, rich tapestries and luxe velvet furnishings. In The Cloisters, Dower House, and the Coach House styling is more contemporary &#8211; but no less luxurious. There are suites for families and dog-friendly rooms too. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="714" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-31.jpg" alt="Clarence Suite at Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey" class="wp-image-46849" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-31.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-31-800x571.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-31-400x286.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-31-768x548.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/04/Great-Fosters-31-735x525.jpg 735w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>I stayed in the Clarence Suite in the Dower House, a beautifully restored 17th century building that opened in 2021. The Clarence Suite is part of the hotel&#8217;s range of Splendid Historic Suites &#8211; and it is indeed splendid, as well as stylish, sophisticated and super-spacious. There&#8217;s a super-king bed with luxe linens, extra squishy pillows plus cushions and throws. The ensuite bathroom features a free-standing bathtub, walk-in rain shower and a built-in vanity table. The room also includes are sofas and chairs in elegant rich velvet tones like burnt orange and purple, and a large flat screen TV. All rooms come with luxury bathrobes, slippers, lush TempleSpa toiletries and tea and coffee-making facilities.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>KID-FRIENDLY?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1072" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/04/Great-Fosters-Spacious-Superking-Suite-Walton-with-Teepee-whole-room.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-39043" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/04/Great-Fosters-Spacious-Superking-Suite-Walton-with-Teepee-whole-room.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/04/Great-Fosters-Spacious-Superking-Suite-Walton-with-Teepee-whole-room-800x572.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/04/Great-Fosters-Spacious-Superking-Suite-Walton-with-Teepee-whole-room-1000x715.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/04/Great-Fosters-Spacious-Superking-Suite-Walton-with-Teepee-whole-room-400x286.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/04/Great-Fosters-Spacious-Superking-Suite-Walton-with-Teepee-whole-room-768x549.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/04/Great-Fosters-Spacious-Superking-Suite-Walton-with-Teepee-whole-room-735x525.jpg 735w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Great Fosters is very family friendly &#8211; and the little people are given the same warm welcome as their parents are right down to the child-sized bathrobes, a welcome rucksack and dedicated children&#8217;s menus. There are family suites where children will sleep on comfy roll-away beds or super cute teepees, as well as interconnecting rooms.</p>



<p>During the school holidays, one of the private dining spaces is dedicated to children, with arts and crafts for them to enjoy and a space to call &#8216;their own&#8217; to hang out with new friends.</p>



<p>There’s also a child minding service for parents who might fancy some Michelin-starred dining sans kiddos.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>AND DOGS, TOO?</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="771" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/Great-Fosters_Dog-Friendly-Monty-the-Dachshund-exploring-the-grounds.jpg" alt="A dachshund at Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey" class="wp-image-32509" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/Great-Fosters_Dog-Friendly-Monty-the-Dachshund-exploring-the-grounds.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/Great-Fosters_Dog-Friendly-Monty-the-Dachshund-exploring-the-grounds-300x231.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/Great-Fosters_Dog-Friendly-Monty-the-Dachshund-exploring-the-grounds-649x500.jpg 649w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/Great-Fosters_Dog-Friendly-Monty-the-Dachshund-exploring-the-grounds-150x116.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/Great-Fosters_Dog-Friendly-Monty-the-Dachshund-exploring-the-grounds-768x592.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/Great-Fosters_Dog-Friendly-Monty-the-Dachshund-exploring-the-grounds-681x525.jpg 681w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>They love dogs at Great Fosters and have dog-friendly bedrooms that are furnished with stylish fittings, wooden floors and easy access to the great outdoors. Dogs are also treated to a comfy bed and two lovely bowls for their dinner, and treats from The Dog House.  Guests can dine in the lounge with their dogs. Cost is £40 per stay.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>DISABILITY ACCESS</strong></h2>



<p>There are rooms with disabled access, and the Tudor Pass, Estate Grill and The Cocktail Bar are all on the ground floor. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>OUT &amp; ABOUT</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1003" height="659" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters-Swimming-Pool.png" alt="The swimming pool at Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey" class="wp-image-28809" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters-Swimming-Pool.png 1003w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters-Swimming-Pool-300x197.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters-Swimming-Pool-720x473.png 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters-Swimming-Pool-150x99.png 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters-Swimming-Pool-768x505.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/Great-Fosters-Swimming-Pool-799x525.png 799w" sizes="(max-width: 1003px) 100vw, 1003px" /></figure>



<p>There’s a lot to see and do at Great Fosters including swimming and hot tub, tennis and a spa, but the hotel is also perfectly positioned for other great attractions. Thorpe Park, Runnymede National Trust, Windsor Great Park and Virginia Water are all less than 10 minutes’ drive away, while Legoland Windsor and the city of Windsor are both just shy of 20 minutes away.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>THE MUDDY VERDICT</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Good for:</strong> A romantic break, family staycay or girlie gathering. Foodies will love Great Fosters, as will history buffs.</p>



<p><strong>Not for:</strong> Those who want über-modern styling and a city location. Great Fosters is charm, character and bags of history.</p>



<p><strong>The damage:</strong> The Gastronomic Dinner, Bed and Breakfast package including the 7-course tasting menu at the Tudor Pass starts at £525 per room. Dinner, Bed and Breakfast (which includes £40 towards dinner at the Estate Grill) starts at £335 per room.</p>



<p><em><strong>Great Fosters, Stroude Road, Egham, Surrey TW20 9UR</strong></em>. <em><strong>Tel:&nbsp;<a href="tel:TW20 9UR">01784 433822</a>.</strong></em></p>



<p><a href="https://www.alexanderhotels.co.uk/great-fosters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>alexanderhotels.co.uk/greatfosters</em></a></p>


Review: Great Fosters, Egham

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