Prestigious AA Hotel Awards Panel presents “Pub of the Year England 2015-16” to The Porch House

October 8, 2015

The Porch House at Stow-on-the-Wold is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded the prestigious AA Pub of the Year England 2015-16 Award. The Award was presented to The Porch House team at the AA Hospitality Awards dinner held on Monday 5th October at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

“This prestigious award is presented to establishments that stand out as truly excellent all-round pubs with the provision of enjoyable food, a great pub atmosphere and a high standard of management,” says Simon Numphud, Head of AA Hotel Services.

‘The Brakspear managed Inns team and the staff at The Porch House are thrilled to receive this Award,’ says Brakspears Finance Director, David Nathan. ‘The Porch House is Brakspear’s most significant investment to date with much of the expenditure going towards staff recruitment and training to ensure guests receive the highest levels of comfort, service, accommodation, food and drink. This AA Award does much to acknowledge all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and to ensure its continued success.’

More about The Porch House

Occupying a handsome, Grade II listed, Cotswold stone building, part of which dates back to 947AD, The Porch House is a stylish boutique retreat with 13 rooms, restaurant and inn. Located in the centre of the picturesque Cotswolds market town of Stow-on-the-Wold, the Inn re-opened on 13th September 2013, following an extensive and sensitive restoration of its historical, architectural and decorative references.

Formerly called The Royalist Hotel and Eagle & Child Inn, The Porch House was taken over as a managed property by W H Brakspear & Sons in July 2013, and the older name for the building that predates the name The Royalist, was reinstated.

The Porch House has already been awarded prestigious accolades by The AA Guide inspectors, including Five Gold Stars for Guest Accommodation, two Rosettes for its restaurant, and a Breakfast Award In February 2014, just five months after re-opening.

The Porch House Bar, formerly the Eagle & Child Pub comes with wood-burning stoves and offers four Brakspear cask ales, including two Brakspear bitters brewed at The Porch House’s sister pub and microbrewery, The Bull on Bell Street, in Henley on Thames, alongside draught lagers, stout and cider, 15 wines by the glass and a 52-strong wine list offering old and new world wines from £16 a bottle. Beyond the bar, a conservatory dining area, seating 25 with a regular changing menu of pub classics and a daily blackboard menu of bar snacks.

Dining

The dining room within an architecturally splendid setting of  ancient, exposed oak beams, timber flooring and Cotswold stone walls complement a very fine 16th Century inglenook fireplace seats 50 and is available for private parties and small weddings. Expect a regularly changing, seasonal menu showcasing flavourful, rustic British dishes made using the best locally-sourced ingredients. Newly-appointed and classically-trained head chef, Damian Roberts is working closely with executive chef, Antony Ely, formerly executive head chef at The Lucky Onion Group.

The Porch House’s private dining room seats up to 12 people, with its own bar, lounge, garden seating and restrooms.

Guest bedrooms

The thirteen, plush guest bedrooms for single, twin and double occupancy come in calming colours with crisp white linen, duck feather and down duvets and pillows, handmade Feather & Black mattresses, button-back headboards covered in bespoke wool weaves by Warwick Fabrics and pure wool throws by Cotswold Woollen Weavers. High-spec bathrooms offer high-pressure walk-in showers and/or in-room free-standing slipper baths.

Each room also features a desk made from an upcycled Singer sewing machine base with oak top, rustic bedside tables and quirky objet sourced at vintage fairs, antique markets and auctions.

All bedrooms feature: Free WiFi, Phillps and LG TV’s, Nespresso Coffee Machine, Alarm Clock, and hand-made toiletries by Noble Isle and the Cotswold Handmade Soap Company. Feature rooms also boast a Roberts DAB Radio.

Brakspear’s in-house head of interior design, Stephanie Dennett, drew on a sophisticated palette of Farrow & Ball colours in muted greens and earthy tones in the bar and bedrooms, with dark blue and greys in the dining room, snug and parlour to create a striking impact as well as a sense of warmth throughout. These complement an eclectic mix of wallpapers and fabrics by Morris & Co, Lewis & Wood, Warwick Fabrics tweeds and plaids and faded floral linens by Sanderson.

“Retaining the rustic feel of a historic Cotswolds country pub and hotel was really important to us,” explains Brakspear’s operations manager, Mat Aket. “Stow has many delightful attractions, not least its historic town square and its growing number of interesting and high quality independent shops, including a high-end fashion boutique, a vintage store, a fantastic butchers’ and bakers, organic food store and artisan chocolatiers.”

Caption to above image: (l-r) Fiona Bruce; general manager of the Porch House Alex Davenport-Jones; head chef Damian Roberts and Simon Numphud, Head of AA Hotel Services

The Porch House

Digbeth Street

Stow-on-the-Wold

Gloucestershire

GL54 1BN

01451 870 04801451 870 04801451 870 04801451 870 048, book@porch–house.co.uk

www.porch-house.co.uk