The travel I do and enjoy for work is nearly exclusively for hotel-industry investment conferences, but on occasion I attend hotel launches — again, these trips are inspirational, enjoyable and full of wonderful people.
Last week, I went to the exquisite Lucknam Park, a Palladian mansion dating to 1720 near to both Bath and Chippenham, which on Nov. 4 became the debut hotel in Accor’s new luxury soft brand, Emblems Collection.
It has 42 rooms and nine guest cottages.
To be included in this brand, so said Accor executives in attendance, a hotel has to be a destination in and of itself, be superb and offer something that has a quality about it that is “intangible.”
As a former editor of mine, Steven Gordon, would say, what marks hotel x out from the rest is simply because it is better than the rest.
Arriving at a hotel that sits within 500 acres of gently rolling parklands, with woodland, a stream, wildlife and majestic avenues of trees, numerous guests would realize the next time they left the grounds would be just after checkout.
What this and other hotels of its class offer guests is the truly luxurious gift of time.
So much is spoken about balancing life, enjoying the moment, savoring loved ones and one’s joie de vivre, but how often do we grasp the opportunity?
Yes, it comes at a price, but, largely so do many good things in life. Although as someone living in London who until this April never had a garden, many of these treasured things are at any one moment completely free — of course, after mortgage payments, heating costs, et cetera.
At Lucknam Park I had a work agenda, but I did find an hour to simply kick around the grounds.
I headed to a round clump of woodland behind the hotel’s spa, a clump that I thought would be untrammeled.
It was. I found five species of fungi (‘tis the season), and they are exquisite and with wonderful names — trooping funnel; steely bonnet; candlesnuff; angel’s bonnet; and puffball.
Thick moss covered fallen tree limbs, and round splotches of lichen evidently have sat here undisturbed for decades.
I could not think of anything I would have rather be doing (yes, I am sure fun and fungus do not coincide in everyone’s mind) on a slightly windy, moody day of grayness interspersed with shards of pale-yellow light.
I had found some time. It had been carved out of busyness, and while I am sure my calendar is quiet compared to many, the same truth pertains. We all need time, space and contemplation, and hotels offer this.
Lucknam Park also has an equestrian center with some majestic horses.
One activity the center puts on, ideal for teambuilding, I was told, is to have a horse trust you and sidle up for a cuddle. Yes, it was a little more technical than that, requiring movements that make the horse realize you are both the “dominant beast” in the ring but that you are also friendly and of no danger.
The activity is about trust and confidence, and I was told that many A-list types take to the center of the ring to find the horse immediately understands their bluff. What might be in extreme cases dominance masquerading as bullying is quickly seen by a horse to be insecurity covered with noise.
To have a huge horse walk to the back of your neck to nuzzle it in a sign of trust is a joyous thing that happens in a fleeting moment.
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