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Sopwell House Review: Luxury in South St. Albans, Hertfordshire England
This Sopwell House Review is another chapter in the weekend wedding in London trip report. When we were looking at tickets to get to the wedding, economy was running in excess of $1500. We ended up discovering that a roundtrip from Dublin to Dublin in business class was only $300 more than economy from lax-lhr-lax. SAY WHAT?! Since I need to be back in London at the end of September, I figured I could just buy my return flights now, and figure out an alternate way of getting to the wedding on August 1st. What I ended up finding was a routing to the London wedding via Germany with Air Berlin for 57,500 AA and $85. The wedding was held at a beautiful country hotel, Sopwell House.
The weekend London Wedding Trip
- Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
- Cathay Pacific Business/First Lounge San Francisco SFO
- Centurion Lounge San Francisco
- Air France/KLM business class lounge
- Air Berlin Business Class SFO-DUS
- British Airways Club Europe
- Sopwell House
- Executive Lounge Dublin
- My Experience using Dublin for cheaper Business Class
- American Air Business Class 777-200 LHR – ORD
- Admirals Club Chicago Terminal 3 ORD
The Deets:
- When: August 2016
- Where: St Albans, near London
- Room: Deluxe
- Status: none
- Benefits: Breakfast, full english
First Impression:
The Sopwell House is a classic example of Georgian architecture that exudes English country charm and luxury. It’s boutique: 128 rooms and suites, a couple restaurants, a couple bars, and workout facilities. We were defos exhausted after the 30-40 minute drive from Heathrow, the long collection of flights, and we were ready to sit down and relax. To be in that mood and then see the Sopwell House is like seeing water in the desert. There were people sipping champagne on the lawn, a light breeze in the air, and I really thought we’d somehow wandered onto Mr. Darcy’s estate. IS THIS REAL LIFE?!?
Check in:
As you can see, the hotel wasn’t very busy when we pulled up. Check in was easy. THANK YOU!!!! We either needed a nap or a glass of bubbly to rev the engines back up 😉
The Room
The standard room size in Europe is much smaller than that in the States. Sopwell is no different and I’d imagine the reason is the same as it is across mainland Europe, OLD STRUCTURES. The Sopwell house was once a country house, privately owned and maintained, and as a result it’s a maze of hallways, bars, rooms, and restaurants. Over time, the original building has been updated, added on to, and renovated. I flipping love it. I’d take a small room in a hotel with immense character over a big vacuous room in a bland hotel any day. The Sopwell executes charm and pedigree through and through. It also has managed to integrate new features and amenities into the old structure without destroying what was once there.
The Common areas and Restaurants:
The various restaurants and bars are wound into the weaving design of the hotel. You will head down a narrow hallway and then BAM you’re greeted with a beautiful hotel or small sitting area. What’s great about the design is the hallways are narrow with overhead lighting, but then you’re greeted with an amazing blast of natural light when you hit a common area. The design is fantastic.
The Conservatory
Great place for a drink and snack. Also cool place to have a coffee mid day.
The Brasserie
Great for dinner and also where breakfast is served in the morning. The Breakfast was outstanding. Every thing I had was delicious and the service was very attentive.
Cocktail Lounge:
This was one of my favorite areas in the hotel. The cocktail lounge spans 3 spaces: The Bar, The Lounge, and the outdoor. After we checked in, found our room, and splashed some water on your faces we headed to the Cocktail lounge for a pre-dinner drink. Ahhhhhh thanks England!
I mean look at this place. Love, love, love. Of course we did have perfect weather…not something England is necessarily known for…unless you love it cold and rainy 😉
Overall
I loved this hotel. The rates for the Sopwell House are in the range of $200/ night. $200 for a luxurious English retreat where you can relax, unwind, and enjoy the posh amenities of a country estate all while being 45 minutes from Hyde Park, is a steal in my opinion. I didn’t take any pictures of the spa or pool as they were chalked full of people and, let’s be honest, it’d be weird if Miles and I were executing a sweet photoshoot while half nude people frolicked in the background. What I will say tho…the pool and spa look incred. If you’re in Londona and you’re looking for a weekend away, but not too far away, check out the Sopwell House.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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