Lime Wood

About Lime Wood

Lime Wood stands on Beaulieu Road about a mile and a half from Lyndhurst, surrounded on all sides by open forest. The Regency house was rebuilt and extended for its current life as a hotel, with architecture by Charles Morris and interiors that have been reworked over the years by David Collins and later Martin Brudnizki. The result is grand in scale but deliberately informal in tone; guests wander about in the robes provided and nobody minds muddy boots at the door.

The hotel has around 33 rooms and suites across the main house, the Pavilion and a set of separate lodges and forest cottages in the grounds. Rooms lean towards deep colours, roll-top or freestanding baths, and generous seating; several of the larger suites have their own terraces or private gardens looking straight into the trees. Dogs are welcome in many of the garden rooms, which matters in a place where most guests arrive intending to walk.

Herb House is the spa, spread over several floors with an indoor pool, a hydro pool, a rooftop terrace with sauna and outdoor showers, a mud house, a gym and a studio running yoga and other classes. Food is a serious part of the offer: Hartnett Holder & Co is a collaboration between Angela Hartnett and Luke Holder, serving Italian-influenced cooking in a bright, sociable room, while the Raw & Cured menu upstairs at the spa deals in lighter plates for people who have not changed out of a robe.

Lime Wood works best for couples and small groups of friends who want a weekend of walking, eating and spa time without much formality. It is popular, so weekends book well ahead and midweek rates are noticeably kinder. Ponies graze right up to the drive, the Beaulieu Road railway station is a short distance away for anyone arriving by train, and there are walking routes into the forest directly from the grounds.