Review: The Bush Hotel Farnham, Surrey, UK

The Bush Hotel Farnham is unique. This 95 key hotel, dating back to at least 1618, has a High Street location yet sits in three tranquil acres of grounds.

This site has probably hosted a watering hole since the 11th century, with medieval landlords spreading straw across the floor for drinkers who wanted to stay the night.

These are good times for the ivy-clad Bush Hotel, privately owned since 2018. The majority of the rooms and suites have undergone a major makeover, with a refurbishment programme starting on the last 17 rooms. The Bush is now probably in better shape than it has been for the last 900 years.

Good times time for Farnham too, awarded the status of World Craft Town in 2020. It is just one of three such honoured towns in Europe. Also, Farnham has been identified by The Sunday Times as one of the best towns to live in England.  This thriving town has an annual craft month in October, a Literary Festival in March and a monthly market hosted in The Maltings.

Down in the south-west corner of Surrey, close to the Hampshire border, idyllic Farnham, with its chocolate box cobbles and timbers, is less than an hour by train from London and a mere hour’s drive from the South Coast.

Increasingly The Bush Hotel is hosting guests heading to Farnham for the arts and crafts, biking and hiking in the Surrey Hills or taking in the beauty of the Downs.

The welcome

Despite its town centre location, The Bush has ample parking. We took the lavender-lined path through the lawns and striped deck-chairs to a warm welcome at reception.

The suite

Each suite and room is unique, designed with original art, individual colour palettes and distinctive soft-furnishings. Within the original Grade 2 listed building, there is the grand Bush Suite, three other suites and vintage rooms.

Our suite looks onto the High Street but effective double-glazing reduces passing traffic to a whisper. A small-lounge featuring a two-seater sofa is the place to read the Surrey guide-book that is provided.

A coffee-maker, tea tray and fridge for chilled water all add to the make-yourself-at-home comfort.

The bathroom

A large shower takes up the width of the well-lit, grey-walled, wooden-floored bathroom.

The facilities

With exuberant glossy-leafed banana plants, four gilded chandeliers and rattan chairs there is a Palm Court feel to The Garden Restaurant with its slick service.

We were there for Sunday lunch, as were a number of knowing locals. A perfectly balanced carrot and coriander soup and a large salmon and cream cheese parcel made for promising starters. A wine pairing recommendation for each dish is a helpful.

We opted for succulent beef and the perfectly roasted cornfed half-chicken from a choice of roasts that included pork and a vegan wellington. A selection of roast vegetables, a ginormous Yorkshire pudding and rich gravy worked well with all the roast options. Beyond the Sunday roasts, fish and chips plus burgers were also on the menu.

As with so much at The Bush, the timbered bar, blends old and new. Croquet mallet heads decorate the walls, recalling the days when croquet was played on the hotel’s lawns. Yet with a nod to contemporary sports bars, the wide screen features TNT sports channels.

Or you can take your drinks outside  on a serene terrace featuring outsize terracotta planters of white hydrangeas. Deckchairs on the lawn look towards a church which once a month hosts the Spire Repair Cafe.

The location

Farnham is home to the University of Creative Arts. As well as onsite exhibitions, visitors will find the work of its students and graduates in the New Ashgate Gallery and at The Maltings.

Throughout Farnham makers create. With a red hot flame of creativity blacksmiths work on metals,  a puppet-maker brings new characters to life and weavers use a vast palate of colours and textures. Whilst potters continue and develop a tradition dating back to the Roman occupation.

Farnham Sculpture Park is a six miles drive away. Take two to three hours to meander through 650 modern and contemporary sculptures displayed over 10 acres of arboretum and water gardens. Every sculpture from dragons to a military tank, made from 20,000 pieces of reclaimed pallet and marine wood, is for sale or hire (subject to negotiation).

Biking, sensory, tree-line and walking trails at Alice Holt Forest make for another great day out from Farnham.

Other nice touches

Available from reception, the history of The Bush tells the story of the last 900 years.

In the Oak Room, frescoes only uncovered in 1931 are carefully preserved. Prudish Victorians had thought the naked cherubs too cheeky for public display. Look up to the ceiling and you will see the rarity of an indoor sundial. The sun’s rays, arriving via the gardens, helped long-gone generations keep track of the time.

Throughout the hotel there is an eclectic selection of art. Antiquarian maps, architectural plans, avant-garde portraits, Constable-like rural scenes, contemporary bursts of colour, formal 19th century portraits and satirical cartoons do their best to sum up nine centuries of history.

The neighbouring Petite Patisserie, owned by the hotel, is run by pastry chef Leyre Pedrazuela, featured in the 2019 Bake Off, The Professionals series. Few guests can resist calling in for a high-end exquisitely presented dessert with a coffee.

The cost

Rooms start with a Classic Double, inclusive of breakfast for two, from £161.

The best bit

Location, location, location.  From reception, you can step out through a cobbled courtyard into the very heart of Farnham. Art galleries, independent shops and even a Gin and Chocolate shop, selling 400 different gins, are all within a short stroll.

Farnham Castle is within walking distance too. The building dates back to around 1138, often hosting royalty in its early centuries. Though it should not be forgotten that Oliver Cromwell stayed at The Bush in 1648.

Alternatively, you can relax in The Bush’s spacious grounds or The Oak Room with afternoon tea.

The final verdict

The Bush Hotel and Farnham are both flying way under the radar. Visit this charming, historic hotel in a uniquely arty town before the crowds discover them.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by The Bush Hotel Farnham.

Michael Edwards

Michael Edwards is a travel writer from Oxfordshire, UK. Although Michael had his first travel pieces published nearly four decades ago, he is still finding new luxury destinations to visit and write on.