Walled gardens, apple orchards and restored Roman villas: The Newt has it all. 50 Best sits down with the hotel’s CEO, Edward Workman, to find out what made this destination in the UK’s rural county of Somerset the first-ever winner of the Carlo Alberto Best Boutique Hotel Award in the ranking of The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2023
Enclosed from all sides by idyllic greenery, with the iconic 15th-century Glastonbury Tor lining one of its breathtaking horizons, The Newt is a fairytale getaway in more ways than one. The journey to the hotel, travelling through luscious fields and down winding country roads in the south-west of England, then unloading your bags by the doors of an historic stone building, forms part of its magical allure.
It all started in 2013 when Karen Roos – former editor of Elle Decoration South Africa – and her husband Koos Bekker bought the historic Hadspen House near the charming Somerset village of Bruton with the dream to transform it into the ultimate country getaway. Back in their homeland, the duo had reaped the rewards of the renovation of the now-lauded Babylonstoren: an ultra-luxe retreat in South Africa’s wine country, overhauled with Roos’ impeccable design and artistic touch.
Roos and Bekker shared a singular vision for their new Somerset property. After a six-year transformation, it reopened its doors in August 2019; just a few years later, it's clear their efforts were not in vain: The Newt earned itself the No.37 position in the inaugural ranking of The World’s 50 Best Hotels and the Carlo Alberto Best Boutique Hotel Award 2023 in tow.
Beyond just a bed
The hotel houses just 43 rooms, split across two areas of the estate: the majority are located within the original 18th-century Grade-II listed building formerly known as Hadspen House, with more lodgings situated in the farmyard buildings, converted from agricultural holdings.
The Newt's rooms contain all creature comforts of a modern luxury hotel without losing their historic character
But don’t be fooled by its limited number of rooms – The Newt is no small operation. “Although we are definitely a boutique hotel, we're actually a very big property,” says Edward Workman, the hotel’s CEO. In fact, its estate covers hundreds of acres of rural Somerset surrounding Bruton and its neighbouring villages, the majority designed to be experienced and enjoyed by visitors, with only some areas not directly accessible, such as those reserved for rearing livestock.
For the hotel’s guests, this scope can be quite overwhelming. But The Newt’s team is on-hand from the point of first contact to curate and individualise each guest’s experience. “Being a smaller hotel allows us to be much more bespoke in how we talk to people and plan their visits,” Workman explains. With nearly 600 staff working across the whole estate, and 120 of those solely within the hotel, The Newt utilises its limited capacity to enable a level of personalisation and curation unachievable by higher capacity properties.
“From the minute guests get in touch, we begin to work with them to build their itinerary so that they can make the most of their time here,” says Workman. Upon browsing the list of activities and amenities available, this is arguably a necessity.
The Farmyard Pool is just one of the many amenities to while away a day at the hotel
Want to tour the famed Walled Garden? No problem. Fancy learning about the importance of honey making and pollination, or about the history of gardening? Your class awaits you. Ever wanted a workshop on building traditional dry-stone walls? The Newt has you covered.
“Guests often have this idea that ‘I'm just going to stay in a nice hotel in the countryside’, comparing it to other rural hotels they may have previously stayed at,” says Workman. If their first reaction to the menu of activities is ‘why are you telling me to do that?’, many end up changing their minds. “Two days later, they’re saying: ‘wow, I had no idea this is what I had signed up to’,” he laughs.
But that’s not to say the hotel forces its guests to take on any more than desired. “You can lose a whole day in the spa and that's absolutely fine. But if you want a full action-packed three-day itinerary, we can send you for cold dips, on a bee safari, on an orchard tour and more,” explains Workman. “Your stay can really be what you want it to be.”
Sampling Somerset
Despite the customisability and breadth of each experience, The Newt remains firmly planted in its Somerset surrounds. “We like to get under the skin of what it's like to be in the English countryside, but more specifically in this part of Somerset,” says Workman. Taking heed to one West Country staple, guests are invited to tour the acres of apple orchards to see how local cyder – written with a ‘y’ to honour the historic Somerset spelling – is made.
Guests are invited to tour the Cyder Cellar to see The Newt's production of the traditional Somerset beverage
Preserving this tradition, alongside many other local arts, remains a core focus of the hotel. “250 years ago, there were around 100,000 cider makers in the UK. Today, there’s less than 4,000,” notes Workman. Guests can then sample a bottle or two at the hotel’s cafés and restaurants, or purchase some as a keepsake.
The centrepiece of the hotel’s conservation projects, however, is a re-imagining of an ancient Roman villa, which was added to its repertoire in mid-2022. Original elements of an ancient structure, which dates back to 351 AD, were first partially uncovered in the nineteenth century, but it wasn’t until six years ago that a full archaeological dig took place, commissioned by The Newt team.
“It's really unique and it's definitely a passion project. But it has been done with a lot of credibility in terms of historical accuracy and academic research,” Workman explains, with the whole project overseen by archaeologists, historians and the South West Heritage Trust.
Today, a newly built villa, that sits alongside the archaeology, transports visitors back in time. Traditional Roman construction techniques extend to the fully functional bathhouse and its hypocaust heating system; even the frescoes that decorate the walls are the result of a two-year project by an Italian conservator, commissioned by The Newt, to rediscover the artistic brush technique that nobody had practised for millennia. “It was quite a challenge to figure out how to do something that nobody had done for 2,000 years,” Workman laughs. But if the hotel was to pride itself on its historical authenticity, it wasn’t going to cut any corners, he affirms.
Crafting a community
This philosophy of respecting and honouring the locality also extends into the hotel’s integration into the community. Bruton may punch well above its weight class, with restaurants like Merlin Labron-Johnson’s Osip and famed art gallery Hauser & Wirth having increased its profile in recent years, but it remains a tiny, quaint village, home to only around 3,000 inhabitants. An estate of The Newt’s magnitude was guaranteed to have a looming effect.
The Newt regularly hosts events across its sprawling grounds for locals to enjoy and celebrate
As the hotel has grown in notoriety, so has interest in its offering. With such a vast range of activities, it's become a hub for tourists from around the UK looking to spend their day exploring the Somerset wilderness, with over 250,000 visitors outside of the hotel’s staying guests reported over the last year. Taking advantage of The Newt’s facilities requires an annual membership, available at half price for residents of neighbouring villages and towns.
In addition to access to the estate, which includes superb dining and drinking outposts, regular events are also held on the hotel grounds and enjoyed by locals, including the bi-annual Pagan festivals of Beltane and Wissail, which honour the area as a place of cultural significance in these ancient practices.
Workman highlights the relevance of these aspects to their winning the Carlo Alberto Best Boutique Hotel Award 2023, saying it was “really special”. He notes that the criteria on which the winning hotel was assessed – fewer than 50 rooms; design-driven; not part of a large hotel chain; strong embedding into the locality – are almost entirely synonymous with The Newt’s mission and modus operandi.
The Newt's team, including Workman (second from right), proudly collected their award on stage at the inaugural awards ceremony in London
“We are so idiosyncratic and linked to Somerset in what we do,” he says, adding that it is their mission to portray Somerset in its best light. “It's in the name. We're called The Newt in Somerset for a reason,” he says.
Why newts?
But a question still looms. What have salamanders got to do with a luxurious Somerset hotel? Workman recalls when the project was in its infancy: as construction was set to begin, a large population of great crested newts was discovered on site. The salamanders are highly protected species of wildlife within the UK, and unexpectedly shaped the trajectory of the project.
“You have to be very careful about what you do, how you work around them and how you look after them because of their protected status,” he says about the newt colony. And, as the project continued to develop around its animal inhabitants, they became emblematic of the hotel’s prevailing ethos. Approaching every pre-existing element that lay on the hotel’s grounds with due care and appreciation, the name for the hotel became obvious, says Workman.
For international holiday-goers, England is often synonymous with London. Those who want a country escape look elsewhere in the UK, and for natural beauty in particular, Scotland is the go-to. But The Newt wants to change that. “I don't know where else you’d find a hotel with 43 rooms that gives you the same breadth of experience,” Workman says.
It’s true. Despite its size – or perhaps thanks to it – the hotel delivers an irreplicable and indomitable hospitality package steeped in rich history and culture. There’s nowhere quite like The Newt. “Come and have an authentic English experience," says Workman. “Come to Somerset!”
Miss the ceremony? Watch the highlights here:
The first-ever list of The World’s 50 Best Hotels was revealed on 19th September 2023. Bookmark the 50 Best Hotels website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube for the latest content on the best properties in the world.
