How to bring the hotel experience home

Ianthe Butt reveals the best ways to recreate the hotel experience at home

Gleneagles is among the UK hotels launching ‘at home’ products (Gleneagles)

Staycations have reigned supreme in 2020, with many of us finding comfort in precious holidays and mini breaks across the UK in a challenging year.

With lockdown restrictions forcing hotels to close their doors once more, many properties are finding new ways to bring a slice of the hotel experience into your home.

From bottled cocktails and top-notch dinner deliveries to beauty goodies and books, these products and experiences offer uplifting staycation feels, and support hotels during a tough time to boot…

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For cocktails with hotel bar sass

Hit foodie hotel Crockers Henley have launched batch-bottled cocktails for the home created by their ex-Fat Duck mixologist and flavour king Ryan Osnowski. Pick from the likes of the classic Cosmopolitan to a more festive Gingerbread Sour (from £12; crockersathome.com/collections/cocktails).

For a taste of the Yorkshire countryside, Tommy and James Banks of The Black Swan in Oldstead are offering nationwide delivery of bespoke Made in Oldstead bottled cocktails. Tipples such as Blackcurrant Leaf Martini and Bramble “Negroni” – made with bramble and elderberry schnapps – make use of house-made cordials and liqueurs made from local fruits and herbs. (From £38.00; tommybanks.co.uk/product-category/drinks).

Boutique Margate crashpad The Albion Rooms, recently opened by the Libertines, is selling spicy Libertine Gunga Gin, which has hints of cardamom and black pepper (from £42; shop.thealbionrooms.live/), while The Marylebone Hotel’s citrussy, distilled-on-site 108 Gin is also available online (from £34.99; 108brasserie.com/108-gin).

Keen on "discovering nuances and subtleties, rather than being whacked around the chops by fruit bombs or oak" when it comes to wine? The historic, seven-room Sun Inn in Dedham is selling bottles from their lovingly curated list online (delivery on orders over £150; shopthesuninndedham.com).

For all-day feasting

Famed for its exquisite gardens, The Newt in Somerset has launched the Mobile Newt, order online for delivery boxes (locally/in London) packed with estate-grown seasonal produce, freshly baked puddings such as apple and sultana crumble, house-made cyder, and soups and sauces whipped up by chef Alan Stewart. (From £35; shop.thenewtinsomerset.com/int/home)

Alongside swish leather goods and homewares, Scottish grande dame Gleneagles has a stellar fine food range, with products that will add hotel-style pzazz to any meal without breaking the bank, such as zingy three fruit marmalade and truffle-infused oil (From £7; shop.gleneagles.com/collections/fine-foods)

For special suppers

It’s definitely worth checking whether hotels with restaurants close to you are pivoting to takeaways, as some are setting this up in the coming weeks.

Got an occasion to celebrate? Chef Simon Rogan, behind legendary restaurant with rooms L’Enclume in Cartmel, is now offering Simon Rogan at Home meals with delivery nationwide. Expect three-course, ready-to-plate versions of his Michelin-starred fare featuring the likes of guinea hen, roasted hen of the woods with a creamy mushroom sauce and verbena and blackberry posset with chamomile cake (From £45; simonroganathome.co.uk).

Another at-home Michelin-star experience comes courtesy of luxe Lancashire bolthole The Northcote with Northcote at Home. Orders can be made from midday each Tuesday, for deliveries of the four-course Autumn Gourmet Boxes by brilliant chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen to arrive the following week on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. With just a few simple finishing touches in the kitchen, sit down to delicious dishes including cauliflower curry with pomegranate and almond, truffle and brioche-stuffed roast chicken with wild mushrooms and Lyonnaise potato, and orchard apple ‘cheesecake’. Boxes also include fresh bread and hand-crafted chocolates too (From £75;  www.northcote.com).

For a bookshelf revamp

Slightly Perfect tells the story of how the late John Cunliffe – founder of Gilpin Hotel & Lake House – and his wife Chris, built the property into the much-loved five-star affair it is today, via adventures in New York, Cyprus and Jamaica (£18; gilpinhotel.wearegifted.co.uk).

Fans of countryside-cool The Pig hotels will enjoy The Pig: Tales and Recipes from the Kitchen Garden and Beyond, a beautiful tome that features everything from recipes to foraging tips and interiors inspiration (£25; www.thepighotel.com/the-pig-book).

The Fife Arms hotel is a riotously stylish celebration of all things Scottish, and artist and poet Alec Finlay’s Gathering: A Place Aware Guide to the Cairngorms maps the Highland landscape in poems, essays and maps. Purchase it – and cosy tartan blankets to wrap up in while reading – from the new Fife Arms online shop (£40; shop.thefifearms.com).

For art and home decor

Obsessed with Mama Shelter’s kooky design vibe? Kit out your house with Mario Luca Giusti glasses and ceramic mugs from Mama London’s online shop (From £10; mamalovesyou.com/en/collections/nouveautes).

Cult spa hotel The Scarlet is decked out with artwork that can usually be bought on-site, and they’re in the process of launching an online art gallery that will stock Cornish-inspired paintings, prints and sculpture, as well as jewellery, journals and snuggly Atlantic blankets. (£tbc; www.createcornwall.com/).

For DIY spa and turndown

While the zen COMO Shambhala Urban Escape at COMO Metropolitan London is shut, the Little Box of Calm, including a body oil infused with lavender and thyme, is a stellar choice for an at-home massage (£25; comoshambhala.com/shop/products-0).

The Spa at Ye Olde Bell in Nottinghamshire has partnered with ritzy skincare brand Germaine de Capuccini to launch "facials in a box". Delivery kits containing everything from cleanser through to serum come in anti-ageing, balancing, rose hydrating and Vitamin C radiance varieties, and include a link to an online instruction video. (From £30; yeoldebell-hotel.co.uk/gift-vouchers-hotel-spa).

For an even more authentic spa experience, Adare Manor have plush bathrobes and linen sprays on their new online shop (From £32; shop.adaremanor.com).

For a good night’s snoozing, scent bedrooms with The London EDITION’s signature black tea fragranced candles (from £72; europe.shopedition.com/en/fragrance) or add a bedside table flourish with a Lucknam Park candle – or notebook for late-night musings (from £8; email reservations@lucknampark.co.uk to order).

For future travel

A brilliant way to support your favourite hotel is by buying a voucher to redeem against a stay or activity in future, and most are – or will be – selling them via their websites.

Elmley Nature Reserve’s (elmleynaturereserve.co.uk/huts/gift-voucher) version gives 10 per cent to local causes, and they’re running live-streamed birdwatching safaris during lockdown.

Vouchers for spa experiences at Cotswolds properties Dormy House, The Fish Hotel and Foxhill Manor (vouchers.farncombeestate.co.uk) can be complemented with wellbeing tutorials on their Instagram channels while the properties are closed.

The team at the Tudor Farmhouse in the Forest of Dean have launched Virtual Weekends (www.virtualweekends.co.uk), which have an enjoy now and later aspect, combining a hamper of treats from local small businesses themed to tie in with voucher experiences, plus 10 per cent of profit supports local charities.

Other fun purchase-ahead options include Sunday lunches at design-led The Bird in Bath (£56; thebirdbath.wearegifted.co.uk); nails and tails spa packages – for dogs – at the Lygon Arms (£145; lygonarms.wearegifted.co.uk/vouchers); boozy MarTEAni afternoon teas at Dukes London (£95; dukes.skchase.com/vouchers) and twilight spa evenings at Seaham Hall on Durham’s heritage coast (£85; seahamhall.wearegifted.co.uk/twilight-spa).