02The story

01

The address does a great deal of the work: 16 Royal Crescent, in the middle of the finest Georgian terrace in England, with the lawn falling away in front and No. 1 Royal Crescent open as a museum a few doors along. What the façade conceals is the better half.

Behind it lies a walled garden the crowds on the crescent never see, and around that garden the hotel arranges its 45 rooms and suites, each one different in colour and character, and its Georgian Bath House, given over to a spa. Montagu’s Mews cooks to three AA Rosettes in a room off the garden. A Bath weekend divides neatly: mornings among the terraces and the abbey, afternoons behind the frontage where the crowds cannot follow.

02

An address on the Royal Crescent

Standing on the Royal Crescent is one reason people come to Bath; sleeping on it is another matter. The hotel occupies the centre of the terrace, with the lawn and the city below and the restored house museum at number one a short walk along the same sweep. Bath is compact enough that the abbey, the baths and the shops are all within reach on foot, and coming back to this particular door is the best part of the day.

03

45 rooms, no two alike

Each room and suite is decorated on its own terms, strong on colour and personality, and they differ in outlook as much as in size: some face the lawn and the crescent, others the walled garden, others the interior of a listed building that was never designed as a hotel. That architecture has consequences. Many rooms and suites are without lift access, and a suite gives a couple somewhere to spend an afternoon rather than merely to change in.

04

The garden, the Bath House

Behind the terrace the garden opens out, walled, planted and entirely private, and it converts a landmark into a retreat within a dozen steps. The spa occupies the Georgian Bath House, its treatment rooms and pool set in a building always intended for warm water. Montagu’s Mews takes the garden side for its restaurant, bar and terrace, and cooks well enough to keep guests in for dinner. On a wet Bath afternoon this is the correct place to be.

03Highlights

What sets it apart.

The signature moment

Four in the afternoon, and the crescent is full of visitors photographing the frontage. On the other side of it the garden is empty except for a tray of tea. The Bath House is warm, Montagu’s Mews is laying up for dinner, and none of this is visible from the street.

0116 Royal Crescent, Bath
0245 individually decorated rooms
03Walled garden behind the terrace
04Spa in the Georgian Bath House
05Montagu’s Mews, three AA Rosettes

04Mr & Mrs Smith

Here, as a preferred guest.

01
Breakfast for two, every morning
Breakfast for two each morning, at the hotel’s own table: the first privilege of the day and the one most worth taking slowly.Breakfast served however the house prefers, and cooked from the estate where there is one.
02
A hotel credit to spend
A credit held in your name at the hotel, to spend as the stay suggests: a table, a treatment, an evening at the bar.A credit for dinner from the estate, the spa or the bar before it.
03
A room above your booking
An upgrade to the category above, so the room you return to each evening outranks the one on the confirmation.A room above the one reserved, at houses where every room is an individual.
04
An earlier arrival
Check-in before the house’s usual hour: the overnight flight lands, the car draws up and the first day begins in your room.The room ready for a Friday lunchtime, so the weekend has three afternoons instead of two.
05
A later departure
Check-out after the house’s usual hour, so the last morning is spent as the first was: at the table, by the pool or simply in the room.Sunday kept until after a last walk through the grounds and one more coffee.
06
Known before you arrive
VIP recognition as a guest of the house: your preferences and the occasion known to the hotel before the door is opened for you.The hosts know the occasion, and the name on the booking, before the gravel announces you.
07
Offers for preferred guests
The offers a programme keeps for its own preferred guests, extended to a Dip Needle booking and shown beside the rate for your dates.Smith’s preferred offers for your dates, kept distinct from the Extra in your proposal.