Austen Power: Rediscovering The Royal Crescent On Jane Austen’s 250th Birthday

As literary fans celebrate the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, Margaret Hussey checks into The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa in Bath and discovers a timeless elegance.

Hotel Review: The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, Bath

Jane Austen famously once wrote in a letter: ‘I shall eat ice and drink French wine and be above vulgar economy.’ It seems she was peering over my shoulder at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa in Bath, where I not only drank French wines in the form of a delicious Champagne and a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru but also very quaffable whites from Portugal and Spain.

Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806 and visited The Royal Crescent, then the it-place to promenade. It still holds that epithet today, with the hotel slap bang in the middle of the prestigious row of Georgian buildings. Whether a mouthwatering truffle ice cream with pickled celeriac was the ice Jane Austen had in mind is another matter. But trust me, it was delicious.

It was one of my veggie options on the hotel’s tasting menu at its Montagu’s Mews restaurant. The six-course food and wine pairing included a delicious slow cooked beetroot with homemade marmite butter, while omnivores enjoyed a smoked haddock and sweet potato fritter, cornfed chicken and black pudding galantine – a masterclass of flavour and invention.

Then came a cheese board the size of my head which we initially thought was to share, but soon found out it was one each. Admitting defeat, I regretted not asking for a doggy bag as they were all as local as you could get.

It’s all part of executive head chef Martin Blake’s farm to fork philosophy, and with the hotel’s fabulous location and the produce of Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire right on the doorstep, he and you are spoilt for choice. Expecting to dream of cheese in my Sarah Siddons suite, named after the 18th century actress, I had one of the best night’s sleeps I’d had in ages. The bed was super comfy and the room superbly soundproofed. As the suite has a courtyard garden, I heard nothing until gentle birdsong woke me up in the morning.

Like the rest of the hotel, the suite was tastefully furnished and decorated with colours acknowledging the building’s heritage. My bedroom had a vaulted ceiling, a huge bathtub and refillable Jo Loves products. I made the most of the cute tea and coffee tray too, enjoying a morning Hoogly cuppa outside before breakfast.

Heading back to Montagu’s, there was so much choice in the breakfast buffet: think fruit, nuts, chia seeds and overnight oats plus pastries from Bath’s Bertinet Bakery. There was also a full English and veggie option and eggs, both Florentine and Benedict, from Clarence Court in Lacock.

It was time to walk off those calories and the hotel’s location is at the heart of everything. Bath is a small city – you can cross from one side to another in about an hour and a half – yet there is so much to see. Don’t be surprised if you bump into people in period costume either. There are many Janeites (Jane Austen fans) that visit the city – none more so than this year, the 250th anniversary of her birth on 16 December. Bath features in Austen’s novels Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. And if you think Bath looks just like a film set, that’s because it has indeed featured in many television shows and films. The 2007 adaptation of Persuasion was filmed here as was The Duchess starring Keira Knightley, and of course, most recently the hit Netflix series Bridgerton.

Back at the hotel, it was time for a massage at the very cute Spa & Bath House. There’s a pool, Himalayan salt-infused sauna, herbal steam room and jacuzzi. Treatments are with Irish brand Ground Wellbeing and I loved that the menu is simple and curated. Also the hotel thoughtfully checked in advance if I was happy to have a male therapist. I was – and he was amazing. My skin felt so soft afterwards.

The spa is just yards from the new Taittinger Terrace where you can drink bubbles in the summer. The hotel is very much a place for community too, with locals swinging by for afternoon tea, a cocktail at the very fancy bar or for pop up events; when we visited it was with clothing brand With Nothing Underneath.

There are also many quiet, cosy corners to sit and read. Miss Austen would surely have approved.

BOOK IT

Nightly rates at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa start from £410 on a B&B basis. The tasting menu is £95 for the vegetarian version and £105 for the main, or £150 with wine pairings. The 60 minute Grounding Ritual starts from £130. royalcrescent.co.uk