richarddd

We would like to visit some properties about two-thirds of the way from London to Heathrow, Syon House, Hampton Court Palace, Osterley Park and Strawberry Hill House. Are there any luxury properties in that general area?

ABG

Cliveden House and Coworth Park are both near Heathrow

RichardInSF

There is a Landmark Trust flat you can rent at Hampton Court Palace, by either the half week or full week. It's not super-luxurious but it is nice and the experience of wandering Hampton Court when the grounds are closed to the public is unique. However, it is popular and has to be booked well in advance typically.

https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/sea...7805/#Overview

richarddd

Alas, those are as far from Syon House, etc. as Syon House, etc. is from London. They do look nicer than anything I can find closer.

That would be ideal if it had availability and didn't have minimum stay requirements.

Pausanias

These places are rather awkward to get to - whether by public transport or by private car when parking would prove to be a nightmare. If you plan getting a limo/chauffeur you may just as well stay in Central London or the Kensington/Knightsbridge area. On the outer fringe there is the Beaverbrook and I think there was a Waldorf Astoria in the Syon Park area but I seem to think it was demoted to Hilton status. Near to Heathrow is Great Fosters, contemporaneous with Hampton Court, where I have stayed a few times. The garden there is beyond spectacular, one of the great gardens of Europe, which hardly anyone knows about. The hotel also has a rather splendid restaurant, recently reviewed by Andy Hayler.

Antonio8069

Check out The Savoy.

richarddd

There's a Hilton Syon Park which is close to properties we want to visit - Syon House, Hampton Court Palace, Osterley Park and Strawberry Hill House. It's been our leading candidate. From the limited photos, the hard product looks good. It must be the demoted WA. Going back and forth from central London is a bit much, since these are too much to see in one day.

Great Fosters could be good, but it's on the other side of LHR and the Hilton is much closer to the places we want to see. But if Great Fosters has one of the great gardens and a great restaurant we might check those out. We're major fans of great gardens.

Great Fosters garden is reviewed very favorably in our Good Gardens Guide, which is a major plus, in addition to your review.

The one in London? We're looking for something closer to Syon House, Hampton Court Palace, Osterley Park and Strawberry Hill House.

EfficientTraveller

South West London is home for us so unfortunately it isn’t somewhere we stay regularly in Luxury Hotels but have you considered staying Richmond - it’s a beautiful town (where Ted Lasso is filmed) with great access to all those locations (and 10 minutes from Kew Gardens). The Richmond Hill Hotel (around the corner from where Mick Jagger lives) is the classic option and while not super luxury, is likely to offer more interest than a Hilton. Alternatively, the Bingham Hotel has a stunning location on the river and used to offer boutique luxury with a Michelin starred restaurant but has been through a couple of management changes so no idea what it is like now.

offerendum

Just outside the city😉

It's a shame WA Syon Park was let down, it was not bad after it opened. But no market and no support.

KatW

This sort of response is so helpful. A model for others of us here.

richarddd

Richmond Hill Hotel looks promising. If it has nice service it seems the best alternative, although the décor is not my favorite. https://bookings.travelclick.com/......h_enhanced.jpg

The largest room at the Bingham Hotel is 24m2, which is much too small for us.

The Hilton gets an interesting range of reviews - views certainly differ. Here's a FT thread starting with opening as a WA: Hilton London Syon Park (was Waldorf Astoria Syon Park) {GBR} The hard product could be good (perhaps similar to the RIchmond Hill), but service could be an issue. Some pictures at https://www.turningleftforless.com/s...and-many-more/ if anyone cares.

It's possible we're the only people who want a hotel convenient to Syon House, Hampton Court Palace, Osterley Park and Strawberry Hill House.

RichardInSF

I've stayed at Great Fosters (although not recently) and don't remember it as a luxury hotel at all. But that was at least a decade ago.

EuropeanPete

I can confirm that.

behuman

You can stay at the "big" properties with their overpriced rooms (Cliveden ) and "enjoy" the company of the British "nouveau riche chavs" or opt for the Waterside Inn at Bray on Thames (22 minutes from LHR terminal 2) and enjoy a three Michelin star dinner cooked by an European team. They have simpler rooms (where I stay in general), but also a couple of spectacular suites facing river Thames. And Maggie Fairbrother (the reservation manager) is as pleasant as it gets.

EfficientTraveller

Bray is a gastronomic heaven! Pleasant but not super luxury rooms at the Waterside Inn but you have 2 x 3* Michelin restaurants (Waterside Inn and the Fat Duck) within 3 minutes walk, the Hinds Head (1* Michelin - Heston Blumenthal’s smart pub) and the Crown (Michelin Bib Gourmand and Heston’s “traditional pub” serving great quality British dishes with a more local feel) all in the same village. It’s beautiful but if you want to see Osterley, Strawberry Hill House etc, it’s a long drive. If you don’t want to stay in Richmond, I’d probably think about somewhere like MO Knightsbridge, which (with the Piccadilly line tube) has great connections to Osterley and Richmond (change to District at Hammersmith) which will take c. 30 minutes. (Traffic around West London can be pretty bad so getting tube out of town and then a car can save a lot of time especially at rush hour.

To add, one of the nicest ways to get to/from Hampton Court is to go by river from Richmond - it’s a beautiful route and you arrive in the way the Kings and Queens would have done in its heyday.