Red Carnation Hotels

PRESS ROOM

TripAdvisor Readers rank Summer Lodge service fifth among Europe's Top Ten

15/02/2008

Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, a luxury property in Evershot, Dorset, a Relais & Châteaux property and part of the Red Carnation Collection, is highly rated by TripAdvisor’s 2008 readers’ poll:  91st position for Best 100 Luxury Hotels in the World and a remarkable 5th place in the Top 10 Best Service Europe category.
 
This is a resounding endorsement for Summer Lodge, which adheres to the RCH motto:  “No request too large, no detail too small”.  And of special note, it is from the people who matter most – the guests.

Summer Lodge is two hours from London and readily accessible by train, where guests are met at the station by private car. Only a 30-minute drive from the spectacular World Heritage coastline, the exciting and varied history and culture of the area are a wonder for guests to explore.

Summer Lodge is a country house of immaculate taste and charm, located in the heart of Thomas Hardy’s Dorset countryside.  The main house dates from 1789 and was the long-time home of the Earls of Ilchester. Thomas Hardy himself lived here for some years.   It spurns the new generation of minimalist country hotels, being unashamedly old-fashioned while being totally up to date. Rooms have fabric-covered walls with zingy design and pillows to sink into for sleep without pills. There are new beds, new linens, superb plumbing, beautiful colours, romantic lighting, side tables stacked with brand new copies of the latest glossies and free WiFi. In the bathroom, guests will find enormous bath sheets, scented candles and Penhaligon’s products.  For total privacy, the fabulously restored Ivy Cottage, in the village, 20 metres from the hotel, is the ultimate in peace, calm, and overstated luxury.

Among the many offerings at Summer Lodge, the on-site spa includes a lap pool.  Available treatments and therapies include Reiki, Matis facials, Jessica hand and foot treatments and an extensive massage menu.  The restaurant, under the baton of Head Chef Steve Titman, continues to draw plaudits for its exceptional cuisine rooted in the seasons and local countryside. The room is Country House floral, but newly done, smart and up to the minute, while the adjoining conservatory has a New England lightness and airiness about it. Sommelier Eric Zwiebel has just been voted runner-up Best Sommelier in the World 2007.

Should guests tire of eating, walking, shooting or reading Hello! by the fire in the drawing room, close at hand are Hardy’s cottage at Brockhampton, T.E. Lawrence’s grave at Moreton, or Lyme Regis and the Jurassic Coast. 

For details and reservations call: + 44 (0) 1935 48 2000, or email: summer@relaischateaux.com.  Visit our website at www.summerlodgehotel.com.

Red Carnation Hotels is a collection of luxury family-run properties.  The Five-Star luxurious London jewels are The Milestone Hotel, overlooking Kensington Palace, and member of The Leading Small Hotels of the World; “41”, overlooking Buckingham Palace’s Royal Mews; and The Egerton House Hotel, in Knightsbridge.  Outside of London is Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Restaurant, and Spa, Evershot, Dorset, a member of Relais & Châteaux.  Other RCH properties and members of The Leading Small Hotels of the World, are The Five-Star Hotel d'Angleterre on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, and The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa in Cape Town, South Africa.   Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Retreat, a member of Relais & Châteaux, is in the heart of the Cederberg Mountains in South Africa’s Western Cape.

TripAdvisor’s  readers’ poll placed Summer Lodge  91st position for Best 100 Luxury Hotels in the World and 5th place in the Top 10 Best Service Europe category.

2008: TripAdvisor’s  readers’ poll placed Summer Lodge  91st position for Best 100 Luxury Hotels in the World and 5th place in the Top 10 Best Service Europe category
2007:   AA Hospitality named Red Carnation Hotels ‘Small Hotel Group of the Year’
2007: Master Sommelier Eric Zwiebel was ranked Fourth in World’s Top Sommeliers category; and in 2006 - Second – in Best Sommelier in Europe 
2007: Hardens: Top Scorer:  “…high praise for…’’sublime’ food; ‘superb’ wine list…”
2007:  Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report – Grand Award Winner, #1 in England.  
2007: Tatler Restaurant Guide: ‘ award-winning Summer Lodge is the place to dine’
2007: Daily Mail: “…be ready to receive… tender loving care from the capable staff“
2007: The Independent:  Summer Lodge one of the “50 Best British Hotels”
2007: Investment in People award for supporting and promoting staff
2006: Billionaire 500: “…perfectly relaxing…” 
2006: South West England: Silver Excellence Award 2006-7:  Small Hotel of the Year2006:  Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report (August):  “…impeccably decorated … The fine restaurant…makes superb use of local ingredients…guest quarters are individually designed…difficult to imagine a more agreeable base to explore this timeless region …”  
2006: Andrew Harper’s What’s Hot List” (November)…warm and welcoming…”first-rate restaurant”

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