A 1720 Palladian mansion at the end of a mile-long lime avenue, six miles from Bath in 500 acres of listed Wiltshire parkland — 42 rooms, the Michelin-starred Hywel Jones at Lucknam Park, a full spa, and one of the country's best private equestrian centres.
"You arrive down a mile of lime trees, the mansion appears at the end like a film set, and then a Michelin star handles dinner. Six miles outside Bath but on a different planet — the country-house version of the Royal Crescent."
Lucknam Park sits at the end of a mile-long lime avenue six miles north of Bath in the Wiltshire countryside near Colerne. The mansion was built around 1720 for a Bristol slave-trade family, expanded in the late 18th century, and remained a private country estate until 1987, when it was bought and converted to a hotel by John Hayton. The Hayton family ownership continued for thirty years; in 2022 the property joined Accor's Emblems Collection — the small group of independently operated luxury country houses curated within the Accor portfolio. The mansion, the listed parkland, the avenue, the walled garden and the cluster of estate buildings (the converted stable block now houses the spa and the equestrian centre) together form a single Grade II-listed estate of 500 acres.
There are 42 rooms and suites distributed between the main mansion (Manor and Grand Master rooms, with the named suites on the principal floors), the Court Yard wing (Country Rooms, lower-priced and quieter), and a few garden rooms. Manor Rooms in the original 18th-century building are the heart of the hotel — high ceilings, original cornicing, sash windows, antique furnishings; the Grand Master Suite occupies the corner of the principal floor with a marble bathroom and parkland view. The Country Rooms in the courtyard run smaller and are the practical entry point. Every room contains period antiques, and the bathrooms were rebuilt in stages during the 2018-2022 refurbishment programme.
Hywel Jones at Lucknam Park is the property's Michelin-starred dining room — Welsh chef Hywel Jones has held the star continuously since 2006, the longest single-chef Michelin record in the South West. The room is the original mansion dining room with the original fireplace; the menu is a contemporary tasting format using produce from the kitchen garden. The Brasserie is the casual all-day venue beside the spa. The spa itself is the country's most considered country-house wellness facility — a 20-metre indoor swimming pool, separate hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam, salt cabin, and twelve treatment rooms running ESPA programmes. The equestrian centre runs lessons, hacking and full livery; the Cookery School at Lucknam Park runs day courses with the Michelin team.
Lucknam is a fifteen-minute drive into central Bath — the trade is the address. In return you get the parkland, the avenue, the spa, the Michelin star, the riding, the cookery school and the most consistent country-house service in the South West. For honeymoons, milestone anniversaries, multigenerational gatherings and any visit where the country itself is the destination rather than the city, Lucknam Park is the obvious answer for the Bath area, and one of the strongest country-house propositions in southern England.
For English country honeymoons in southern England, Lucknam is in the same booking conversation as Cliveden and Chewton Glen. Manor rooms or the Grand Master Suite for the headline; the Michelin-starred Hywel Jones for dinner; the spa for couples treatments; the parkland for walks; the riding centre for a morning hack; the cookery school for an afternoon. The package rates including dinner and spa are well-priced for the estate as a whole.
Milestone anniversaries handled with country-house fluency — private dinner in a panelled room, helicopter transfers from London, walks down the lime avenue at dusk. The hotel arranges anniversary tasting-menu evenings with Hywel Jones, custom spa programmes, and private rides through the estate parkland with the equestrian team.
Lucknam works seriously for families — connecting Manor Rooms, two-bedroom Country Suites for grandparents-and-grandchildren, the equestrian centre with children's lessons, the kitchen garden, the cookery school's family days, and 500 acres of grounds for under-12s to actually disappear in. The Brasserie is the relaxed family dining choice; the formal Hywel Jones is reserved for the adult evening on the third night.
Colerne, Chippenham
Wiltshire SN14 8AZ
United Kingdom
Bath central 15 minutes by car; Bath Spa station 18 minutes; M4 Junction 17 (London-bound) 12 minutes; helicopter pad on the estate
42 rooms (incl. suites)
Country Rooms from £375/night
Manor Rooms from £550
Junior Suites from £750
Grand Master Suite from £1,400/night
Two-night minimum on Fridays May-August
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Mansion built c.1720; hotel since 1987; Emblems Collection (Accor) since 2022
Hywel Jones at Lucknam Park (1 Michelin star since 2006)
The Brasserie (all-day)
Full spa with 20m indoor pool
Equestrian centre with full livery
Cookery School
500 acres of listed parkland
Helipad on estate
From £375/night with two-night minimum stay. Manor Rooms and the Grand Master Suite book four to six months ahead for spring weekends; eight months for half-term and Christmas weeks.
Book This Hotel →Inside the centre of John Wood the Younger's 1774 Royal Crescent — Bath's defining address.
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