One of them, not mentioned, must be the fact that’s he’s trying to run a house the size of Kent with apparently no more than twelve indoor staff. We never see the poor man who has to run the Flymo over the hundreds of acres outside, presumably he is confined to a small hut.
Turning into the drive of South Lodge Hotel from the old Brighton Road, you get the sweep of driveway and suddenly the view of the house itself. Massively enlarged since being turned into a hotel it has been done with sympathy and only the newness of the bricks really gives away where new wings have been grafted on.
The house was originally enlarged by Frederick Du Cane Godman back in 1883, a man with links to the Whitbread brewery fortunes. Now run by Exclusive Hotels Collection the hotel retains much of what he would have been familiar with, the main downstairs rooms easy to imagine as the library, drawing rooms, estate offices they once were. In fact the family only sold up in 1982, so the move from private to public is only relatively recent.
We got a bit lost on the way to The Pass, the fine dining room, and feared we might wander the corridors forever, until we were put right by one of the friendly Eastern European staff that are around every corner. No servant problem these days, not since the Wall came down.
The Pass has just earned a Michelin Star for head chef Matt Gillan and is an achingly modern room done out in lime green. Its name comes from the fact that is almost in the kitchen, but separate so you can get a good view of the team at work.
We went because it was a night of chefs – Matt had invited a mix of established chefs as well as aspirants to cook an All Stars Dinner – a nine course meal with a different group on each of three nights. A very nice idea and one which worked well as the relatively small room soon became a group event with tables chatting to each other.
The next day, after a full English in the breakfast room, I indulged once again in fantasies of butlers and chambermaids before wandering from room to room in a proprietorial way and then out on to the lawn with its fine views over onto the Downs. The hotel has bikes for hire so you can pedal down to the lake or just circuit the grounds. I went to admire the wonderful walled kitchen garden but golf is nearby for those who like to swish a niblick or two.
One of a boutique group of converted country houses, South Lodge is so near London and Gatwick that a short break or even one night is easy to achieve. The hotel is always putting on special events, some around food and some around other unique evenings. If you have a taste for tradition and a love of classic English service and style, then South Lodge is dream into reality.
South Lodge Hotel
Brighton Road, Nr. Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 6PS
www.southlodgehotel.co.uk
Rates per night
Traditional Guest Room – £260
Exclusive Guest Room – £295
Traditional Junior Suite – £345
Deluxe Junior Suite – £395
Exclusive Junior Suite – £465
Traditional Suite – £815
Bothy Cottage – £665