The Relais Henley

An hour outside London, overlooking the River Thames, the Relais Henley is a historic hotel that has been carefully reimagined to suit modern guests. But it’s all been done with the utmost respect for the past and its riverside location. Book a stay and you’ll find comfortable rooms and character throughout, including an excellent restaurant and bar. Add to this a superb location in the centre of well-to-do Henley-on-Thames, and you have the makings of a weekend getaway to remember.

Stay here and you can take boat trips on the river, stroll on its banks and explore Henley’s little boutiques. It's a location that works well without a car. In fact, with a train station a five-minute walk away and a direct connection to London Paddington, we’d advise it. If you do bring the car, the surrounding Chiltern Hills offer an added attraction.

However you spend your days, the hotel offers time-honoured hospitality by Henley’s river crossing. The style inside is as varied as the guests, who have been overnighting here since 1732 (from King Charles I to actress Grace Kelly), yet it all works well together. Bedrooms range from the antique-dressed Heritage Rooms to the light, airy and accessible Courtyard Rooms and the yacht-inspired Riverside Rooms. Whichever you choose, they all have plenty in common: comfy beds, Algotherm toiletries, Illy coffee machines and all the usual inclusions. The menu in the hotel’s Clipper Restaurant is brimming with fresh, seasonal dishes, accentuated by its carefully-chosen wine list. So when you’re wondering where to go for dinner, look no further than just downstairs.

The Relais Henley was the first Relais Retreat, and it has proved to be a good flagship for this collection of stylish waterside escapes within two hours of London. There’s no denying that being by water – whether it’s the river at Henley or by the sea at The Relais Cooden Beach in Sussex – makes for a relaxing getaway. The trick of Relais Retreats has been to carry that feeling into the indoor spaces of historic hotels, all with an eye on modern tastes.