It’s true: <em>Downton Abbey</em> is about down to its last episode. It’s also true that you might not care. But it’s a good excuse to bring five new, excessively British hotels to your attention. From <a href="http://www.urbandaddy.com/slideshow/ntl/6593/The_Great_British_Hotel_Roundup_National_NTL">a 400-acre country estate to a refurbished 19th-century wilderness retreat</a>, there’s enough Anglo-Saxon pleasantness here to warrant a sturdy “Hello, governor” from anyone. Let’s try that again. “’Ello, guv’na.” Better.
What: A 40-bedroom baby grand hotel inside an 1873 Italian Renaissance building smack in
the middle of Manchester.
Why: You’ve just witnessed a Manchester United game and you need something...
calming.
Most British thing about it: Gender-specific afternoon teas.
What: A refurbished, 19th-century “wilderness retreat” on 500 acres of English
woodlands.
Why: You’re enamored with the idea of foxhunting, just not actually hunting foxes.
Most British thing about it: Access to the fields of the White Rose Polo Club. No foxes,
but you’ll still be riding a horse in a funny outfit.
What: The only hotel with access to Bath’s famed thermal springs and a one-hour bath
circuit culminating in a “water ritual ceremony.” Sounds serious.
Why: You’re a closet bathing enthusiast.
Most British thing about it: It’s inside two buildings with Georgian and Victorian
facades inside a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So, they’re old buildings.
What: A 47-room hotel spread across three buildings on a 400-acre estate that organizes
Segway tours of its grounds. Okay, so the Segway part isn’t quite Downton Abbey.
Why: You’re an un-closeted Downton Abbey enthusiast.
Most British thing about it: Room service comes in “traditional tiffin tins.” Which is
just very British-sounding.
What: A 100-acre sprawl of 18th-century buildings, lakeside cabins and bar carts.
Why: The lure of a rural Soho House is too much to pass up. As are bar carts.
Most British thing about it: Two-way tie between the availability of horse-and-cart
transportation and the existence of a football pitch. You know which kind of football.
