The Crown; A stylish period coaching inn for modern travellers at the end of the Metropolitan line.
A timber-framed, 16th century property with 19th-century additions, The Crown was the second Dhillon Group property to have been re-worked by Isle Crawford and owners, Tej and Sarina Dhillon. Tactile touches Having undergone the same sympathetic Isle Crawford treatment as sister inn, The Olde Bell in Hurley, The Crown is a chintz-free labyrinth
of low-beamed rooms, corridors and staircases complemented by simple interior design. Both historic buildings have been sensitively re-imagined, fused with what Isle Crawford termed ‘emotional values’. Country materials such as oak, rush matting, and tweeds and furniture from English suppliers, including updated Windsor chairs made by local craftsman from Ercol of High Wycombe have been used.
Guests enter the inn from an Elizabethan cobbled courtyard. Reception is a bottle-lined oak bar leading onto the inn’s common spaces, the restaurant, private dining room and inn bar. Assorted wooden tables filled with tankards of fresh flowers, Windsor chairs and armchairs covered in muted tweed characterise the public areas. Clean white walls, a mix of patterns in homespun fabrics and sheepskin rugs add to the inn’s effortlessly comfortable feel. Attractive mismatched furniture, armchairs and sofas in corners and alcoves offer peaceful, quiet retreats and welcome spots to curl up with the papers. Inglenook fireplaces provide a fireside glow to warm guests in the winter.
The Elizabethan cobbled terrace and garden are sun-traps in warm weather where guests and locals can enjoy an outdoor film screening, hog roast or barbecue.
Inn the Kitchen
The Crown’s menus are in keeping with the inn’s character. Traditional dishes are given a modern makeover. Simple, local, seasonal food is served at the informal bar or in one of the two dining rooms. The snug inn bar and Chop House restaurant situated at the front of the building reflect the locally sourced cooking agenda with seasonal dishes that change daily. Cooking is hearty and traditional. High-backed settles are draped in plaid blankets. A separate atmospheric dining space complete with a large inglenook fire serve as a formal dining space which seats up to forty people which can also be hired for private feasts and events. Plans for a kitchen garden are already underway and over 100 different types of herbs and vegetables will provide the inn kitchen with organic, quality produce.
Inn the Bedroom
While the inn’s design emphasis is on the communal spaces, the 37 bedrooms are split between the main inn, with sympathetic converted outbuildings situated around the courtyard and towards the rear. Bedrooms in the main are accessed from an uneven wooden stairwell. All lodgings – owing to the inn’s unique structure – differ in size and layout and are simple with luxurious modern touches. Rooms are cosy with stained dark wooden floors and large comfortable beds are accessorized with crisp white linen and hand-woven Welsh blankets. Red Robert’s radios and a small collection of classic Penguin paperbacks provide colourful decoration. All bathrooms are fitted with drench showers and modern fixtures with toiletries from Aesop.
The inn creaks with heritage and history
During the sensitive renovation of The Crown, builders unearthed a hand-pained wall in Room 12 dating back to 1550, which has been registered by the British library. More recent history has meant that one chintz-laden suite has remained unaltered. By popular demand, The Queen Elizabeth I suite complete with four poster bed – where Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell became intimately acquainted in Four Weddings and a Funeral – escaped the makeover.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
