It’s worth staying the course at Foxhills
PAUL SUART takes a break at one of Britain’s country house golf resorts and discovers it’s not tee with everything
THERE’S a sense of irony that Foxhills Club and Resort carries such a strong and cohesive logo. You’re never too far from the eyecatching image of a sartorially elegant fox, propped up by a golf club.
The brand owes much to colourful 18th Century politician Charles James Fox, who once used the estate to escape from spiralling gambling debts racked up in London.
Foxhills is now used as a very different kind of escape for families, couples and sporty professionals.
Its striking marketing symbol, which adorns everything from menus and golfing gear to dressing gowns and slippers, appears to deliver a clear message.
But, on arrival, it’s anything but clear as to what Foxhills is really all about. Set in sedate Surrey countryside, the resort is all things to all men, women and children.
Is it a hotel, a spa, a country club, a wedding venue, a business destination, a golf resort, a romantic getaway or a family-friendly sports complex?
Truth is, it’s all of those – and more.
Foxhills is ideal for sporty young families in the market for a more refined alternative to Center Parcs. But it’s just as well-suited to active young couples keen to mix leisure with pleasure.
My wife, Louise, and I primarily took advantage of the golf and spa facilities, but only after we had immersed ourselves in the tranquil ambience of the estate.
At the heart of Foxhills, under the ownership of the Hayton family since 1983, is an imposing 19th-Century manor house.
Revered English architect George Basevi had hoped to ‘reflect the spirit of the new Victorian age in its restrained charm and elegance’.
The historic building is home to the main reception, bar and lounge area, as well as the AA rosette Manor Restaurant.
First impressions, after a sumptuous lunch in the regal lounge, are of high-end sophistication.
Yet some of the facilities across the sprawling complex do not always marry with this luxury and grandeur.
There are no rooms for guests in the Manor House, only accommodation for staff. The 70 rooms at Foxhills are dotted around the estate in different guises.
Given the Manor House’s prominence on the website, it’s a curious and misleading layout.
Multi-level apartments circle an outdoor swimming pool, there’s stables-type accommodation and two-tiered, newly refurbished deluxe suites.
A number of rooms are also located in the three-storey Victorian-style Lyne House behind the Manor House.
This block was used as the base for Team GB’s road race cycling squad during the London 2012 Olympics.But then cycling forms part of the fabric at Foxhills, the official resort partner of the Tour of Britain. It hosts a weekly cycling club, while memorabilia decorates walls within Lyne House where rooms have been named after Team GB’s Olympic heroes such as Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.
Nestled between the nine-hole Manor golf course and a first-class tennis complex, annual host of an Aegon GB Pro-Series tournament, Lyne House was also our home for two nights.
Our room boasted White Company toiletries, yet felt a little out of synch with the splendour of the Manor House.
That said, it was comfortable, clean, modern, appointed with an impressive bathroom and more than big enough.
A quick tour of the grounds unearthed the many facets of Foxhills. Parents keen to occupy their children will have no difficulty doing that at the Youth Club. Encompassing an indoor swimming pool, games room, soft play area and Teen Gym, the club offers plenty to entertain youngsters of all ages. It needs updating in places, but is due for refurbishment next year.
The newest addition to the estate, and arguably the jewel in the Foxhills crown, is its award-winning spa.
Further to its extensive range of treatments, the spa features a 20-metre indoor pool, offering adults a quieter, more relaxing environment in which to swim.
An outdoor Spa Garden, with a Jacuzzi and one of England’s first natural swimming ponds, is also available.
The gym houses all the state-ofthe-art equipment fitness fanatics could ever want and is the perfect place to burn off calories after an evening of indulgence in the Manor Restaurant. Its modern British cuisine is delivered with no shortage of finesse, imagination and opulence.
At first, the stately elegance jars with the style and substance of other elements of the resort, but, the longer we stayed, the more it felt as though the restaurant was merely a high-end culinary alternative rather than a clash of cultures.
A Foxhills breakfast followed in the same gourmet footsteps as our evening meal.
It certainly set me up for a crack at the Bernard Hunt, the 18-hole course named after the former Ryder Cup captain, who passed away four years ago.
Warwickshire-born Bernard was head professional at Foxhills for 25 years during the twilight of his career on the European Seniors Tour.
There’s a choice for golfers to make at Foxhills, in keeping with the
general tone of the place. Recently home to the Senior PGA Professional Championship, the Bernard Hunt is a longer, more open and forgiving track to the Longcross.
Considering the time of year (we stayed in mid-February) and the rain that had fallen the previous week, the course was in marvellous condition. A fungal disease, which had not only spread to all greens at Foxhills, but most courses in the area, affected the aesthetic of the putting surfaces, but not their playability.
The par 4 10th hole was among the Hunt’s highlights. A monster at 445 yards, the elevated tee box affords views of south-west London and even the Wembley arches on a clear day.
Some 100ft below the tee, the fairway – closely guarded by trees down the right and bunkers on the left– dog-legs to the right and up a steep incline to a raised green.
It’s scenic, but a beast of a hole that puts you firmly in your place if you score surprisingly well on the front nine.
The first and only time you really come into contact with the Longcross is on the over-sized 18th green which the Hunt shares with its sister course.
Challenging, but also rewarding, the Hunt fully deserves its listing in Golf World’s Next 100 top golf courses in England.
While I golfed, Louise sampled the spa’s renowned Elemis Face and Body Sensation treatment, a hot stone massage, delivered with the utmost professionalism and care, finished off with a blissful moment of readjustment to the outside world in the relaxation room. It would be fair to say she was soothed and wowed in equal measure.
Nineteen is just the place to unwind and refuel after a round of golf or spa treatment. A golf ball’s throw from the 18th green, it’s less formal than the Manor House. Nineteen also doubles up as a livelier, and more reasonablypriced venue in which to dine by night.
There’s some roughness around the edges, but still so much going for Foxhills, not least excellent customer service, right across the board.
It must be doing something right to have grown its membership to 3,000 – double the country club average nationwide.
At no point did we, as hotel guests, ever feel less of a priority than the members, mainly because guests can access almost all of the same facilities as patrons.
Foxhills is a jack of all trades but, rather refreshingly, a master of many.