As English country house hotels go, Chewton Glen is one of the more traditional – a slice of five-star luxury on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire. Source: Illawarra Mercury
Now Chewton has done something entirely unexpected – something that has got the hotel world buzzing. It’s created a new category of accommodation hitherto unseen in the five-star sector – treehouses.
The six new Treehouse Suites (to give them their full title) are part grown-up hotel room andnpart childhood fantasy, they tap into a very familiar desire in all of us: to hide away from the world.
It’s the ultimate hideaway, a seclusion zone to climb up to and leave your cares behind.
So what does a five-star treehouse look like?
Forget rustic. These are sleek, futuristic pavilions floating on stilts in the trees. You enter from a valley-top path (the trees are in the dip of the valley), across your own private gangplank – no stepladder required. Hidden away 200 metres from the main hotel, most guests would not know they were there.
Once inside it’s all curved walls, glass, wood and neutral shades of cream, biscuit and taupe. Huge bi-fold doors open to a wraparound deck; a woodburner provides a cosy glow and a kitchenette is stocked with everything from wine to chocolate buttons.
The beauty of the treehouse concept is that you really don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.
