Review: The Swan at Lavenham Hotel and Spa, Suffolk, UK /

Three medieval half-timbered houses and a coaching inn have combined to create the irresistibly historic Swan at Lavenham Hotel, creaking through the past six centuries in what is often described as England’s prettiest medieval village.

The Swan Hotel features wooden beams, undulating floors, exposed brickwork, roaring fires and a wealth of history. Even the bar’s brick floor is ballast from ships that once exported the city’s famous woolen cloth.

But is Lavenham a town? A 1257 market charter grants town status, but as it covers less than a square mile an Ordnance Survey criterion classifies Lavenham as a village.

Since Lavenham’s woolly days in the 15th and 16th centuries, the quiet little town has been remarkably well preserved. There are more than 300 listed buildings. Wonkily idiosyncratic, The Crooked House was probably the inspiration for the nursery rhyme “There was a Crooked Man”. It’s no surprise, then, that quaint Lavenham was modeled on the film set as Harry Potter’s birthplace in The Deathly Hallows.

The Swan is perfectly positioned for exploring Suffolk from the Sunrise Coast, through both Constable country and Gainsborough territory, to winding slow travel between Suffolk’s 500 hundred medieval churches.

The welcome

Fortunately, in a town with narrow medieval streets, The Swan has two large parking garages, one of which is secured against parking poachers.

After the front desk issues a traditional large room key with a metal tag and checks restaurant reservations, a porter takes our luggage and escorts us on a labyrinthine journey to our suite, warning us to keep our heads up on stairs built for more lilliputians.

The room

The wood of our suite, on the other hand, rises to a high ceiling. Built at a time when glass was an expensive luxury, the bedroom has windows on three sides. Curiously, a window looks into the interior of the great Wool Hall where merchants displayed their wares and held their trade meetings.

The lounge is more than big enough for a two-seater sofa, two sumptuous armchairs, a coffee table with glossy county magazines, a dining table and also a wardrobe. Now that radiators provide the warmth of the 21st century, the large fireplace is purely decorative. Numbers on the beams reveal the logistical care that was required when removing wood during renovation and restoration.

The bathroom

In a historic curved building that is rarely straight, the bathroom also has a crooked wall. But that doesn’t stop this oasis of cleanliness with white tiles and dark beams from offering plenty of shelving.

Temple Spa toiletries await at a large, deep soaking tub, which also features a rain shower and handheld shower head.

The facilities

Surprisingly, The Gallery restaurant was founded in the 1960s, although it seems it should have hosted grand Henry Vlll banquets with musicians playing their lyres in the minstrel gallery above.

Every day, a good chunk of meat, maybe a 16-ounce T-bone steak, and the catch of the day are at the top of the menu. Immediately below, roasted onion, cleverly stuffed with the local black bomber cheese, straightens the balance for vegetarians, while orzotto with spring vegetables and lovage offers a vegan option.

At a time when many restaurants are cutting back on choice, The Gallery has eight main course options including halibut, pork loin, plaice, pork and pousin that draws diners from afar. Slightly more casual, The Brasserie shares many of the dessert options on the Gallery’s menu.

The soothing Weavers’ House Spa welcomes guests with an invisible hug and has a heated outdoor vitality pool for guests to use before or after treatments. In the six treatment rooms there are hydrothermally heated water mattresses that are warm in winter and cool in summer. In addition, there is also a sauna and a steam bath.

Rent

Lavenham is in pole position for exploring Suffolk, from the racing charms of Newmarket to the north west and Sutton Hoo less than an hour to the east.

The movie from Netflix The excavation, focusing on the relationships behind the Sutton Hoo dig, racing against the onrushing war in 1939, has revived interest in the Anglo-Saxon burial mounds. A fascinating guided tour reveals how the discovery of the ghostly remains of a royal burial ship has finally shed a light on the unknown Dark Ages. Although the main exhibit, the restored helmet is now in the British Museum.

In West Stow, the Anglo-Saxon village once again highlights an era deliberately dismissed as primitive Dark Ages by Norman propaganda. In 1973, to a Pink Floyd soundtrack, students painstakingly recreated a village that had stood there between 420 and 680 AD. Studying decline is all part of this ongoing experimental archeology project.

Nearby Bury St Edmunds has the Abbey Gardens where you can see the remains of the millennium old abbey and spend time in the nearby cathedral. It’s also worth booking tours of the Greene King Brewery and Regency Theater Royal, as well as a visit to Moyse’s Hall Museum.

Nature grew up in Sudbury and was Thomas Gainsborough’s tutor. His home and museum show how though portraits paid the bills, including one of Admiral Vernon who reportedly diluted sailors’ daily rum rations, Suffolk landscapes were his first love. A room in the museum focuses on the Suffolk silk industry that contributed to Queen Camilla’s coronation gown.

On Wednesdays and Sundays, a guided walking tour tells the story of Lavenham. As the huge church suggests, this was once England’s 14th wealthiest city.

At Lavenham Guild Hall, the timber now limewashed and preserved by the National Trust, the tour focuses on a time capsule of an era when the Dyer, Fuller, Skinner and Webb families made their living from wool.

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Other nice keys

The gardens of a cloister-sheltered courtyard are reserved exclusively for the use of residential guests.

As well as the famous Butchery Breakfast, The Gallery restaurant has an unusually cosmopolitan menu for an English hotel: poached eggs paired with avocado and feta cheese on sourdough toast, shakshuka brings Middle Eastern flavors to Suffolk. There are also warm ricotta cookies with honeycomb butter and fruit compote or breakfast scone with chia seeds and oats, again with berries.

Numerous nooks and crannies form a lounge that winds through and around the ground floor, providing many a quiet spot for coffee, afternoon tea or drinks.

cost

Rooms start from around £170 per night sharing for two, including a full Suffolk breakfast.

Overnight guests can also enjoy a complimentary one hour session using the facilities at Weavers’ House Spa, including the courtyard vitality pool (heated to 38-40 degrees), sauna, steam room and relaxation suite.

The best bit

A tour of the hotel shows the little shoes that were buried in the foundations 600 years ago to bring good luck to the building.

In the Airmen’s Bar, which tells the story of more recent history, graffiti on the walls recalls the American airmen who served at the nearby Air Force base during World War II.

Another wall poignantly records the words of airmen, or their families, who have subsequently returned to Lavenham.

The final verdict

Going from strength to strength, The Swan is constantly restoring and redecorating, currently working on one of its 45 rooms each month. In a sprawling, higgledy-piggledy building, each room is unique, from the compact to the spacious luxury suites. Historic charm, fine dining and impeccable service make The Swan the place to stay to discover Suffolk.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by The Swan at Lavenham Hotel and Spa.