View to the Main Barn, where breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are served. And at the bar you can taste local beer. Cheers!

Life in the big city can sometimes be quite exhausting. And the longing for peace, green and rural life is growing: many metropolitan residents want only one thing on the weekend: Get out of the noisy din. Nick Jones, British hotel entrepreneur and founder of Soho Houses, recognized the needs of the troubled urban man years ago when he opened his first country hotel, the Babington House, in the east of London in 1998. Three years ago, another country retreat was added to the Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, a 90-minute drive northwest of London, in the romantic Cotswolds countryside. Here, the big city-battered experiences country life by joining, touching or just diving in.

The Soho Farmhouse has a lot to offer for the city tired vacationer. Here you can see the lake overlooking the outdoor pool and boathouse

I’m not the fan of British left-hand traffic and opt for the convenient arrival on the regional train GWR, which stops from London Paddington in an hour and twenty minutes at the station of the idyllic village Charlbury. From here, another 15 minutes by taxi through the hilly landscape of Oxfordshire, which even in January is lit up in green. In addition a bright blue sky – which is not natural for local weather conditions. Almost a shameless luck!

On the left the steam sauna with whirlpool, in the background boathouse and gym

Past the stately, (currently still visible) property of football star David Beckham and fashion-creating wife Victoria, I get to the hidden grounds of Soho Farmhouse. Nick Jones, visionary and inventor of private Soho House membership clubs, is opening his 22nd Soho House in Amsterdam this year. The self-made man operates outlets worldwide, for example in Berlin, Los Angeles or Istanbul. Many of them with an attached hotel, in which also non-members can check in. With the Soho Farmhouse, Jones created a resort in the country according to his ideas: the centerpiece is an 18th-century farmhouse that sits amid 50 acres of land. In between, cultured stream courses and small lakes with 40 cozy, wooded cabins situated in the landscape.

The 50-acre property with cultivated streams and small lakes, in between 40 very cozy, in the countryside sprinkled wooden huts

The so-called “cabins” are of different sizes, some with separate living room and several bedrooms. Wood-paneled walls, gnarled floors, inviting linen couches and cuddly velvet armchairs make each of the cabins comfortable. Including a large bathroom stocked with a rich selection of personal care products from their own brand “Cowshed”. Some cabins have a zinc outdoor bathtub, which can be used in this cold season. But you can warm up after by your own stove and pattering fire wonderfully. Or you can make a tea in your own kitchenette before the comfortable XXL bed, equipped with seven pillows, invites you to take a nap.

Me on a stylish retro bike by the brand Foffa

In the afternoon I explore the surroundings with its picturesque landscape. In good weather, rowboats invite you to take a round on the lake. A personal butler, who is called “Farmhand” here, asks me if he can book me a massage appointment in the “Cowshed Spa”. He could also reserve a small round of golf, a riding or tennis lesson or trapshooting. I opt for yoga at the gym and then swim a few laps in the heated outdoor pool. For accompanying children there is an adventure playground and hourly child care. The ponies and chickens are just another attraction for city kids, so that the farmhouse enjoys great popularity even among young families – with the associated noise level. If you like it a little quieter, I recommend a stay during the week.

Tip Soho Farmhouse: Avoid weekends!

In summer, the indoor pool opens up and, together with the outdoor pool, creates a great swimming and splashing paradise

It is the small details that make the Soho Farmhouse so special: Infront of the door of each cottage, the guest will find his personal bicycle for the duration of the stay. Right next to it some gumboots, because it usually rains pitchforks here. Of course, in the right shoe size, which was previously requested by email. Every morning fresh milk in glass bottles is stored on the veranda. And on request, the breakfast comes to bed – by a mobile cooking bus, the so-called “float”.

19 mint-colored electric vintage cars – former milk trucks – serve as a shuttle and means of transport

Those who prefer to eat in the restaurant can do so either in the “Main Barn”, serving Soho House classics like wood-fired pizzas, giant burgers or grilled chicken. At lunchtime I like to sit in the bright “Pen Yen” restaurant overlooking the outdoor pool and terrace. There are delicious sashimi and sushi variations here. In the evening, the sleeker “Fancy Farm” restaurant offers additional seats. A nightcap in the “Mill Room” is always a good idea. I look into the crackling fire of the large, open fireplace, try a whiskey from the area and think: It could stay that way.  BvH

One of 40 so-called cabins, equipped with one or more bedrooms, living room, kitchenette or large country kitchen

In front of the rustic wooden huts, Wellington boots are ready for the guest. And logs for the cabin-own stove

A peek in my kitchenette. The larger cabins offer fully equipped country kitchens. But even here I can prepare small meals, tea or coffee

So comfortable: My XXL bed with seven pillows …

…from here I can enjoy the view outside and into the stove

Cowshed care products in a range of styles and different scents are available to guests during their stay

A bath in the outdoor tub? That was to me, frankly, too cold in this season!

Chilling out on your own veranda: It’s no coincidence that the cushions harmonize in color with the door frames

Ready for terrain exploration with my chic retro bike …

…which is even provided with my name

Passing endless pastures and vegetable fields…

…and visiting the ponies in the stable. Excursions can also be made with the carriages

Forgot the scarf or hat? Does not matter. “The Store” offers cuddly and relaxing stuff for the country style. Because even here (as in all Soho Houses) the dress code is casual. If you want to adapt the farmhouse style for your own four walls, you can buy crockery, bathrobes, pillows, lamps and even furniture in the Farmhouse shop. Here the deli…

…where one can also be snacked

The boathouse has an indoor pool and a spa area

Next to it the Japanese restaurant Pen Yen…

…where I order sushi and sashimi variations. A portion of Edamame must not be missing!

In warm temperatures, meals are also served on the outdoor terrace

This cabin has a steam sauna and a whirlpool

With the sunset…

…it is time for an aperitif at the Mill Room bar

Later we will have dinner in the Main Barn…

…where the separate restaurant Fancy Farm invites you to fine dining

…before you get tired after a lot of idleness, but happily fall into a cuddly bed

How to get to Soho Farmhouse:

Arrival in London Heathrow: Take the Heathrow Express (£ 25) to London Paddington (taking 15 minutes). Hourly regional trains of the Great Western Railway (GWR) to Charlbury (16 £), travel time 80 minutes. It takes 15 minutes by taxi and 25 pounds to the Soho Farmhouse. A taxi ride from Heathrow to the Soho Farmhouse costs around £ 130. The Soho Farmhouse also has a helicopter landing pad. Room rates in Soho Farmhouse from about 400 Euro per night.

London Paddington: From here there are hourly regional trains of the Great Western Railway (GWR) to Charlbury

Contact Soho Farmhouse:

sohofarmhouse.com

More Mystylery-hotel tips about the Soho Houses you can find here.

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The 200-year-old manor house Gut Bliestorf …

Recently our friends Sabine and Rudolph invited us to their manor house Gut Bliestorf in Schleswig-Holstein. I asked in advance: “What are you celebrating?” The immediate answer was: “Life!” What a great occasion to drive back to my old homeland Schleswig-Holstein! Celebrating in the countryside usually also means staying in the countryside.  And this works particularly well at manor house Gut Bliestorf, because the von Schröders transformed the house into a charming boutique hotel in 2008. Embedded in an English landscape park, the guest experiences a 200-year-old manor house culture.

… embedded in an English landscape park

With over a century, the mansion Gut Bliestorf, which Rudolph’s grandfather Baron Johann Rudolph v. Schroeder bought in the early 20^th century, is family owned. It was built in Swiss style in 1843 by landowner and chief forester August Luis Detlev von Schrader. Later, influential families like family von Tode, von Köhler and von Wickede, who were the majors of town Lubeck, resided here. Today’s owners derive from a merchant dynasty that is rooted in Hamburg since the mid 18^th century. Nowadays, the estate operates besides conventional agriculture also a Demeter farming and a Demeter gardening center. As well as the said boutique hotel.

Winter garden and terrace of the manor house

Sabine Schröder is responsible for the special style and the harmonic ambience of manor house Gut Bliestorf. With a keen sense of materials and colors, the Baroness gave new life and breath to the manor. Since then, the snow-white mansion and the English landscape park are unique settings, also for events. The Baroness got the idea of “renting-a-mansion” in England, where she was fascinated of the concept “First Class Bed & Breakfast”: “It exited me to live in castles or mansions and feel like home.” Thus, a mansion got turned into a boutique hotel with 13 individual rooms, in which one can wonderfully celebrate and stay overnight. I tried it myself after a long party night and the celebration of life. Just lovely! BvH

Present owner, Baron Johann Rudolph v. Schröder (on the right), took over the manor house in 1974 of his father Baron Hans Rudolph v. Schröder. Today Sabine and Rudolph von Schröder inhabit the renovated foreman house, which is located opposite the mansion

View from my antiquities equipped suite – the park room …

… into the spring like garden. Morning sun included!

Sabine von Schröder has set up the rooms of the manor house with family antiques

The Baroness has a special knack for decorations …

A dreamy stay at the Manor House

… which can be found all over the house

Very classy: The breakfast room in Lavender color

Festive layd boards with matching flowers

A great location – also for weddings

The ancestor of the Schröder family guarded sternly about the guest book

Cozy chill in salon

From the salon you can enjoy the magnificent view into the park

Baroness Sabine von Schröder conceived the concept “rent-a-manor”

At the park borders a nature reserve with its old tree population, where you can watch rare water birds

The manor house Gut Bliestorf was awarded with the World Luxury Award for the best wedding destination 2016

What you can do here? Sleeping and enjoying the peace. The Bliestorfer forest also invites to long walks and bicycling tours

Contact Manor House Gut Bliestorf

www.herrenhaus-gut-bliestorf.de

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