Hotel hit squad The Tawny
Even if you are married already (or never want to be), this wedding spot will woo you, says Mark C O’Flaherty
There is no panic quite like the panic of being late for a wedding. I was once dropped off for a ceremony in the strangely Scottish medieval enclave of Barga in Tuscany by a taxi driver who had already put me 20 minutes behind schedule, and seemed to have no idea where the church was. Only after he had driven away did I discover the precise location, via the sound of bagpipes emanating from the chapel steps, at the top of a vertiginous climb. I looked up, and up, and up some more, and legged it in my Paul Smith suit. I was drenched with sweat as I discreetly ducked from behind the bride (already making her way up the aisle) into the back pew.
I recently witnessed similar hysteria in the lobby of the Tawny, once a mess of a quarry 20 minutes from Stoke-onTrent, then landscaped into a wedding venue, and now expanded into a seriously luxurious rural wonderland of Hobbit-like holiday villas, treehouses, cabins and caravans.
“I haven’t got time to checkin! I need duct tape right now!” screamed a crazed bridesmaid, as she sprinted through reception in 10 yards of rose-pink crepe de chine, clutching fistfuls of strapless silk to her décolletage. The staff were cool as cucumbers, adhesive was supplied, all was fine. Next morning, I saw wedding guests on the balcony of the Plumicorn restaurant, continuing the party with bottles of rosé champagne.
The Tawny would be a great place to get married. But if you’ve already ticked that box, or never want to, it’s still a superb spot for a long weekend. The landscaping is dramatic – the aforementioned restaurant is a contemporary M-shaped glass box that looks out to symmetrical gardens and a few Olde England architectural follies. It’s in a great location, an hour and a half by train from London, and would make for a perfect break en route to Scotland.
Ten minutes after leaving Stoke-on-Trent railway station, you are deep in the Staffordshire countryside. The hotel has 70 acres of lakes, woodlands and trails, and you are close to Jodrell Bank (home to the iconic Lovell Telescope) and Denby, a place of pilgrimage for pottery obsessives. There is also Trentham Monkey Forest, half an hour away, which I didn’t have time to visit.
I spent a couple of days at the Tawny meandering and picnicking (they can arrange a very posh basket full of goodies) and swimming in the outdoor heated pool. As the hotel is only a few months old, it still needs polishing in some areas. The changing rooms by the pool aren’t quite ready, and I needed to call reception on my mobile to get towels replenished. But having a yearround pool in such a pretty space is a real find, because, let’s face it, for all the talk of “staycations” this year, you have to go with “crap weather” as the default in England. Anything else is a bonus.
A little more grit in the oyster: a terrible cover version of Bad Romance played on a speaker the size of a Jaffa Cake. It was so tinny I thought it was a child lurking somewhere with the sound up on their TikTok. That aside, a word about the service – given that no one can get staff these days, HR is doing a great job at the Tawny. Everyone seems happy to be doing whatever they are doing, and they do it well.
The bedrooms at the Tawny are a disparate bunch of styles, scattered throughout the grounds. It’s essentially a sophisticated Center Parcs. I was in a Boathouse (from £400), which has a hot tub on the terrace and a giant pentagonshaped window with a view of the pond. There are dragonfly motifs embroidered on the curtains and cushions, and a freestanding bathtub that seemed to have dubious sightlines to and from the neighbouring cabins. Overall, there’s a freshness and brightness to everything, and it has some solid wow factor.
As does the restaurant, which is lowkey but fancy all at once – a plate of heritage carrots (I won’t touch anything that isn’t heritage these days) comes arranged like a bouquet of flowers, with honey and pine nut crumble. This is vegetarian cooking done properly. There are various non-veggie proteins, perfectly cooked and artfully arranged with nasturtium leaves and various other adornments, and a distinctive blackberry and liquorice cheesecake for pud. The Tawny is an impressive new easy-to-get-to resort, an alternative to England’s assorted Pigs and Soho Farmhouses. You might well want to order champagne with your breakfast.
Doubles from £230 including breakfast; Boathouses from £400. Avanti trains (avantiwestcoast.co.uk) offers singles from London to Stoke-on-Trent from £17