68 HERALD EXPRESS Thursday, August 2 2012 – Wednesday, August 8 2012HEX-E01-S2

HERALD EXPRESS Thursday, August 2 2012 – Wednesday, August 8 2012 69HEX-E01-S2

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Late DealsUK/IRELAND

■ WEST SUSSEX: Ghyll ManorHotel & Restaurant, Rusper, (0845345 3426), three-star 17th centurycountry house hotel in heart ofcountryside, offering 30 per centoff stays until Aug 31, withdoubles from £182 on dinner, B&Bbasis, saving £78.■ CORNWALL: Breaks in Cornwall(01621 784 666) offers sevennights’ B&B at the Pendeen Hotel,a mile from Newquay, for £149until Aug 10, based on two adultssharing on B&B basis. Children(aged two-13) sharing with twoadults stay free of charge.■ MID WALES: Maesmawr HallHotel (01686 688 255) offers three-night foodie break for two for£325, incl Welsh breakfasts, four-course dinners on two nights, pluschampers/chocs on arrival. Offervalid until Sep 30.

SHORT BREAKS■ LILLE: Cresta (0844 879 8014)offers three nights’ B&B at two-starComfort Hotel Alize Opera Hotelfrom £155, saving £69 per couple,with Eurostar returns ex-PancrasInternational Sep 28.■ CANNES: Cresta (0844 879 8014)offers two nights’ B&B at three-starBelle Plage Hotel from £269, saving£122 per couple, incl return easyJetflights ex-Luton Sep 23.■ BRUSSELS: Cresta (0844 8798014) offers three nights’ B&B atthree-star Leopold Hotel from£165, saving £78 per couple, ex-StPancras International by EurostarSep 28.■ AMSTERDAM: Dertour (020 31312895) offers two nights’ B&B atthree-star Best Western SquareHotel for £205, ex-Gatwick Aug 20.

SHORT-HAUL SUN■ TURKEY BY GULET: AnatolianSky Holidays (08444 172 427) offersseven nights’ full-board on luxurySeyhan Jan gulet from £729, saving£210, following Gulf of Hisaronuitinerary from Selimiye toMarmaris, ex-Gatwick Aug 27 withtransfers included, if booked byAug 10.■ CORSICA: Mark Warner (0844273 6796) offers 14 nights’ half-board at San Lucianu Beach resortnear Bastia for £999, saving £450,ex-Heathrow Aug 25, with returntransfers, watersports, and tennis.

LONG-HAUL TRAVEL■ JORDAN: Bailey Robinson (01488689 777) offers seven nights’ B&Bat Evason Ma’In Hot Springs from£985, saving £250, incl returnflights ex-Heathrow on selecteddeps in August and October, plus15 per cent discount on spat re a t m e n t s .■ FLORIDA: Travel City Direct (0844557 6965) offers 14 nights’ self-catering at three-star Regal Oaks,Orlando, from £679, incl schedflights with Virgin Atlantic ex-Gatwick or Manchester direct toOrlando departing Nov 12-15, carhire and basic insurance included.■ VICTORIA BY MOTOR HOME:Austravel (0800 988 4834) offerseight-day tour from £895, savingup to £585 per couple, incl returnRoyal Brunei flights ex-Heathrowand Apollo Motorhome hire, basedon Nov deps.

FLIGHTS■ SINGAPORE:www.netflights.com (0844 4934944) offers return VietnamAirlines flights from £435, ex-Gatwick for travel until Dec 31.■ SYDNEY: www.netflights.com(0844 493 4944) offers VietnamAirlines returns from £691, ex-Gatwick for travel until Dec 31.■

IT is a truth universallyacknowledged that anybody writingabout the city Bath invariably beginsby evoking the name Jane Austen.

Well, I have no pride to stop me, norprejudice for that matter.

Of course, the city is just ascelebrated for its Roman connectionsand their prodigious feats of aquaengineering.

However, my particular brand ofeasy cultural referencing will take inthe third pillar of Bath’s history; itsGeorgian architecture and associatedh o s p i t a l i t y.

I’ve just been to stay at the RoyalCrescent Hotel situated in the middleof the splendid classical arc bearingthat name and created by John Woodbetween 1768-1775.

Along with the Circus (created byWo o d ’s even more celebrated dad)just around the corner the RoyalCrescent is the epitome of classical-revivalist grandeur, designed as astatement of Bath’s prestige, wealthand ambition.

Then, as now, it is a place to be seenat, either walking past like Austendid when she lived in the city, orentering one of the anonymous-looking doors, which my wifeElizabeth and I did for a one-nights t ay.

We arrive in the afternoon, check-in at 3pm.

The Royal Crescent Hotel has areputation as the city’s premierluxury hotel with a restaurant — theDower House — to match.

It counts itself among anassociation of exclusive hotels fromaround the world that form part ofsomething called the Relais &Chateaux collection, brochures forwhich scatter the small lobby, whichitself adjoins an impressive receptionroom where portraits of eminentGeorgians hang.

For a moment as I slow my flamered Citroen C1 outside the entrance, Ithink the concierge is going to waveme on or give me directions to thePremier Inn.

Actually he smiles, no doubt inappreciation of the 991cc litre engineand synthetic interior, and takes thekeys. The helpfulness of staffbecomes a feature of our stay.

Our room commands fine viewsover the hotel’s garden and that iswhere we head for afternoon tea anda sandwich.

It is pricey — £10 for a pot of tea.The quality is very good, the servicetoo slow.

Our surroundings are exquisite. Alavender-flanked path to the DowerRestaurant, rose bushes, a well-keptgarden, a pretty waitress.

Before dinner I take a stroll to theBath House spa, which can be used atthe convenience of all the guests. Theswimming pool is large, the lightinglow and the music mostly Turkish,from what I can tell.

Many hotels these days seeminordinately proud on their spafacilities. The Bath House is noexception judging by the glossyb ro ch u re.

The best of them have a slightlymad, ethereal quality which at leastmake you smile. This one is morebrooding and slightly creepy.

This being Bath, I half expect to seesomething romanesque but it turnsout to be more Germanic outpostthan civilised Rome, all sturm unddrang. But what do I know? Ifsweltering in the half-dark is yourthing, then book a seat in the hot tub.

I spot a satisfied user, fagged outlike a caisson worker as the mistclears from the pool and leave.

The anticipation mounts as wehead down to dinner.

I’m looking particularly dashing in

shirt and slacks combo I’d been toldto wear by Elizabeth.

In truth, the shirt had comebetween us 24 hours earlier and therewas still some tension in the air. I’dfavoured a thin beige jumper butbeen vetoed on the morning of ourvisit.

Elizabeth had used some franklyunladylike language to disparage ‘old

beig e’ and I’d popped him back in thedrawer with a sad pat, packing themoral high ground in my bag instead.

So to dinner.We start with cocktails before being

shown to our tables.The sommelier has recommended a

red to go with my pigeon main.Elizabeth chooses duck.

It’s always a good idea to make use

of the sommelier. Jean-Marc Leitao ishappy to engage us about ourpreferences and later excels himselfwith his choice of dessert wine.

The décor of the Dower House is apea soup green and ivory of thestatement-making variety thatquality restaurants seem to favour.

Depending on the quality of the

meal, it can either make you feelqueasy or part of something special.

Fortunately for us, the meal isexceptional so we feel very favoured.

The only fault I could find is thatmy duck egg starter had a touch ofrogue membrane about it and servicewas too brisk.

Lunch should be served quicklyand dinner more leisurely, althoughrestaurants always seem to do it theother way around.

Elizabeth could find no fault withthe Foie-Gras and the desserts weres u bl i m e.

In fact, I could happily state that onSunday, July 1, 2012, Mr Paul Greavesenjoyed the best three courses of foodhe had ever tasted.

We all have a view on fine diningthese days just by watching SaturdayKitchen so it is easy to get bored oroverly critical of chef-craft which,let’s face it, was not long agoconsidered the skill of a favoureds e r va n t .

But when food is cooked andpresented with this much care andprecision, really what is there not tolike about it?

Plays can come in three acts,symphonies likewise so we shouldenjoy drama and epicurean harmonyon a plate when we see it.

Cooking that night was sous chefRichard Collingwood and I reallyhave nothing but praise for the man,the staff and the restaurant.

Three courses of the a la cartemenu come in at around £63 per head,which is extremely good value.

Of Bath itself, I can say little youd o n’t already know.

The centre is ten minutes’ walkfrom the hotel.

We took an evening stroll aroundthe Circus and followed the curvingfacades back to the Crescent.

You may have noticed I have notmentioned the hotel itself. Well that’sbecause it’s a bit of a curate’s egg,again with unwanted membrane.

The beautiful reception roomsdownstairs are adorned with mostly18th century paintings, with at leastone by Reynolds.

But there is a sense of diminishingreturns as you climb the stairs andtread the tatty carpets.

The room we shared was of goodproportions, pleasant enough withexcellent views and reassuringlychunky ceramics in the bathroom,but there is an absence of care andattention lurking about the place.

Behind the bed was a large stain onthe wall. Dust had settled on top ofthe pictures, wallpaper was chippedand peeling in parts.

There were no drinks or nibblesstocked in the room the bathroomhad no extraction fan.

You can tell yourself you do notcare about a stain here of a speck ofdust there.

But when rooms cost upwards of£199, you really need to be at the topof your game to compete withyounger, leaner rivals.

It boils down to this; if you brandyourself luxury you better deliver.

Great hotels — and the RoyalCrescent makes the claim — a remeasured less by what they get rightthan their faults, which leave alasting impression.

It was owned until recently by vonEssen Hotels but is now run by theinvestment group Topland whichbought it from administrators.

I’m later told a refurbishment isplanned for the end of the year,although nothing is finalised yet.

For now, this hotel is a bit like a

Jane Austin character who has hadan unfortunate encounter with asoldier and woken up the next dayslightly disorientated and herreputation in question.

I can only hope that in Topland shehas found the beau with enough

money to lavish on her expensivet a s t e s.

Depending on how you see it thenthe hotel is either one step away frombeing a great hotel again or one assetstrip away from disaster.

My advice when visiting Bath

would be to book a table for theDower House, regardless of whereyou are staying.

You won’t be disappointed and mostof all you will have fun and enjoy amajestic location.

If you can overlook the blemishesand money is not a concern then byall means book a room at the RoyalCrescent Hotel, or better still a suite.

There is still a line of beautyhidden in its curves but personallyI’d wait to see what the future holdsfor this fading gem.

PAUL GREAVES

Book a table for Dower House regardless of where you are staying

AWARD-WINNING: The DowerHouse restaurant at the RoyalCrescent Hotel in Bath. Below: Aclassic room at The Royal CrescentHotel in Bath

When food is cooked and presented with this much careand precision, really what is there not to like about it?

CLASSIC: The Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath