Beaulieu village, Beaulieu River · Hotel
An ivy-clad country house hotel in the centre of Beaulieu, with panelled lounges, a walled kitchen garden and a long-standing reputation for its restaurant.
The Montagu Arms occupies the middle of Beaulieu, one of the prettiest villages in the park, a few minutes' walk from the Beaulieu River and the entrance to the Montagu estate and National Motor Museum. The building is ivy-covered and low-beamed, and the interior leans firmly traditional: panelled walls, open fires, deep armchairs and a bar that feels closer to a country house drawing room than a hotel lounge.
There are around 20 individually decorated bedrooms, no two quite alike, ranging from cosy doubles under the eaves to larger rooms and suites with four-posters and garden views. Furnishings are classic rather than contemporary — antiques, heavy fabrics, roll-top or claw-foot baths in some rooms. Several suites work for families, and the hotel is used to accommodating dogs.
Food is central to what the hotel does. The main dining room has held AA rosettes for years and sources heavily from the hotel's own walled kitchen garden a short distance away, along with New Forest venison, local pork and Solent seafood. Monty's, the adjoining inn, offers a more relaxed pub menu and is popular with walkers and non-residents. Afternoon tea in the lounge is a fixture.
This is a hotel for couples, food-focused breaks and anyone who wants a village setting rather than a resort. Buckler's Hard is a two-mile riverside walk away, and the quiet lanes around Beaulieu are among the best cycling in the park. It is less suited to families wanting swimming pools and activities — there is no spa or leisure club, and the atmosphere is deliberately calm.