The Arden Hotel Stratford Review: Audi R8 RWD Coupe Tour
As we drove the rather superb Audi R8 noisily (V10 engine) over the Clopton Bridge across the River Avon we could see the white walls and red clay roofs of the Arden Hotel behind the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
The Arden Hotel in Stratford is set in the most perfect location, right on the river across the street from the RSC and the Swan Theatre. You are bang centre in the middle of the richest history in England.
William Shakespeare’s last home and the church where he is buried are a hundred yards away through parkland and quaint narrow streets.
This boutique hotel has 45 rooms with a large terrace overlooking the theatres and river. A favourite for locals, theatregoers and theatre actors for pre and post-play drinks. The spacious and welcoming No.44 Brasserie offers breakfast every day from 7.30 am, lunch and afternoon tea from Wednesday to Sunday and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday.
We parked the Audi R8 in the hotel’s free parking area at the back, a boon in Stratford, and met up with the concierge Peter who showed us around the grounds and restaurant. Peter is charming, friendly and well-informed about the area as he grew up locally.
A lovely letter from the manager welcomed us to our room, plus two miniature bottles of Jester Rum and Rhubarb Gin from the local Shakespeare distillery just around the corner. Our suite overlooked both the river and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new design and costume workshop, unveiled last year. We could see some of the 30-strong team beavering away creating the outfits for the new play Hamnet through the studio windows.
The Arden Hotel goes for a relaxed, comfortable vibe. The decor is stylish but cosy with rich purple Chesterfield-style sofas, black and white photographs of celebrated actors and textured striped coloured wallpaper balanced with lighter areas of white and tonal colour schemes. Period furniture is mixed with classic and modern lampshades with lots of plant pots hanging from the rafters.
We wandered out of the hotel to explore Stratford, following the river at first down to Holy Trinity church where William Shakespeare is buried. His two daughters, Susanna and Judith and his only son, Hamnet, who died age 11, are also buried there, though only Susanna’s grave is marked in the cemetery.
We then made our way up the street to Shakespeare’s last house, the New Place built in 1480, which was his last residence and quite impressive as he had made a little money by then. It is now owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust who maintain it as a specially-designed garden for tourism.
The town of Stratford is a delight to explore, we came across many wonderful English teahouses, restaurants and cafes. There are many designer, jewellery and luxury shops, plus a lovely market in the town square. The houses are so old many appear to be melting into the ground, with only the ancient bowed wooden rafters keeping them upright.
Stratford is the quintessential picturesque quaint English town that has changed little since Shakespeare’s time. He might not recognise the cars pootling about, but he would easily find his way from the river to his home even today.
Now very relaxed we sauntered back to the Arden Hotel to dress up for dinner. First a glass of Veuve Cliquot (an Arden Hotel partner) in the Club Bar then we sat for dinner near the decorative marble champagne font in the No.44 Brasserie, a feature of the bar.
The service is warm, friendly and attentive. Why do 4-star hotels always seem to do this better? Most guests want to be treated as old friends, not as distant royalty and the Arden staff make you feel like a regular even on your first visit. A trait that soon has you coming back as a regular.
Dinner was a pleasant surprise, the dining was a five-star experience all the way. We started with roast scallops, miso Hollandaise sauce and pickled mushrooms with mooli which was rich and flavoursome and the goat’s curd, heritage beetroots and hazelnut pesto were crisp, clean, zesty and tasty.
The main course of roasted halibut, butternut squash and peanuts with coriander in a curry sauce was light and delicious with lots of subtle flavours. My roasted duck, duck fat terrine with confit shallot, black garlic and shallot puree was absolutely magnificent, one of the finest, softest and juiciest duck dishes I have had the pleasure to enjoy. Each piece of duck was a decent size so you got a lovely bite each time and could revel in the smooth texture.
For dessert, we had the passionfruit cheesecake with chocolate ice cream and passionfruit caramel, a lovely pairing of the sweet with the acerbic and a chocolate cremeaux, miso caramel with yuzu gel and sesame. I think the latter speaks for itself, but if not, it was sumptuous, creamy and delicious without being too rich or filling.
Our meal was accompanied by lashings of champagne and a lovely bottle of Grenache that went down superbly well with the duck and dessert.
It all made sense when we discovered that a Stratford local, chef Lee Cresswell, with 3AA Rosettes and a Michelin star to his name, had recently taken over as head chef,
The food is excellent, no wonder this is the place to come, to watch and be seen. “Darling, this is the home town of the Bard, full of Ye Olde English culture and history”.
We had breakfast in our room as they have 24-hour room service most days. The pastries were yummy, with a couple of croissants, Danish pastries, fruit salad and fruit juice. Had we not been driving a small supercar we might have plumped (literally) for the full English which looked amazing and would clearly have kept us going through an Alaskan winter.
We then explored the town some more, lunching in one of the lovely restaurants by the river, before visiting the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for a guided tour, including a jaunt up the new glass tower with it’s bird’s eye view of Stratford and the surrounding hills. Our guide Rachel regaled us with tales of Shakespeare’s family and how the RSC land was donated by a local brewer, Charles Flower, in 1879 specifically for the purpose of honouring Shakespeare’s memory.
There is even a marvellous villain. The Reverend Francis Gastrell bought Shakespeare’s house, the New Place, in 1753 and became so enraged by tourists visiting all the time that he burnt it down to the ground in 1759. The townspeople of Stratford were so horrified at this act that the bad-tempered reverend was forced to move out for fear of reprisal.
Both Stratford and the Arden Hotel are terrific. The Arden Hotel is in the sweetest spot in town and offers not only magnificent food, warm hospitality and friendly service but a vibrant social hub for the dramatic arts and the local community. Every small town has one popular, chic hangout and in Stratford, this is the one. Take a cocktail outside on the ample terrace in the Garden Bar and watch Ye Old Worlde go by as a hundred swans fly over the river in the setting sun.
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