Baillifscourt Hotel & Spa

The beautiful Bailiffscourt Hotel is somewhat misleading. What looks like a smattering of ancient, medieval buildings, in fact, an ostentatious 20th-century creation with a genuinely fascinating history of fancy and folly. Sitting on the West Sussex coast just behind Climping’s pebble beach, this sprawling hotel is all leaded windows, huge wooden doors and crumbling old sandstone.

But none of these old parts really belong here, as Bailiffscourt is a marvel in the art of salvage and restoration, dreamt up by Lady Moyne – wife of Walter Guinness of the famous brewing family – and built by architect, Amyas Phillips, who travelled the country to seek out original medieval features. The result is an incredibly atmospheric, ancient-looking construction with a history dating back just 90-or-so years.

Beyond its intriguing past, this hotel has plenty to please. Walks along the coast or among the 30 acres of gardens are a pleasure. The spa is sublime with its heated outdoor pool from which you can hear the ocean crashing on the stones nearby, and the restaurant has a trio of excellent menus offering locally sourced produce and exceptionally fresh seafood. Service is seamless, dogs are fussed over and the warren of lounges throughout the main building are a cosy place to while away an afternoon by the fire.