Elephant Hotel

Quirky Luxury

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The Times Review

The what? The Elephant.
You know, big ears, tusks. You can’t miss them — the place is covered in small wooden ones and there’s a chilly-looking metal specimen on the patio. There’s been an Elephant inn in Pangbourne on and off since at least the 1890s, but the current holder of the title is relatively new. It was opened a little over a year ago by owner Christoph Brooke, as the second property for his company, Hillbrooke Hotels.

Inside, it’s nicely finished, with wood beams and leather sofas, and the BaBar — essentially a pub that serves bistro tucker during the day — is perfectly accommodating.

Elsewhere, there are conference facilities for up to 60, and a larger restaurant overlooking the gardens for fine dining. But despite the size of the ground floor, the layout makes it feel friendly and cosy, with the things bolt-holers want — food, booze, bed — on top of each other.

The rooms: this particular Elephant started out with eight of them, and has already grown to 22. They’re individually decorated, based loosely on a colonial theme — some (such as No 4) have four-posters, others have carved headboards, trunks and colonial art. All are of goodly size (you could get three New York hotel rooms in No 16), with monster beds, and have WiFi and flatscreen TVs (though mine was a bit temperamental).

The food: the head chef, Neil Dowson, previously sous-chef at the Savoy and head chef at the Victoria in Holkham, Norfolk, uses locally sourced food where possible (though this isn’t mentioned on the menu). For starters, pigeon pastilla with spiced onions, raisins and a herb salad was robust and juicy, and a meaty ham hock worked well with piccalilli and quail’s egg. My main course, sea bass and sprouting broccoli, wasn’t as flavoursome as the loin of lamb, but the treacle tart, with ice cream and a brûlée of custard, was so good I would have married it on the spot, had it asked. Dinner costs £30 for three courses, £23 for two.

Breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (there’s a variety of traditional eggy offerings) was fine, and there are eight types of tea, as well as croissants and cereals. The only negative was that the grapefruit juice was fizzy, but that was replaced efficiently enough.

Out and about: if this review were printed in a glossy brochure written by nearby estate agents, it would trumpet: “Situated within easy reach of the M4 and just 45 minutes by train from Paddington, Pangbourne is a delightful, quintessentially English village on the banks of the River Thames.” And, for once, such bibble would not be far wrong. If you want a spot with plenty of greenery where you can do nothing besides add an inch and a half to your waistline, Pangbourne’s your place.

Opposite the Elephant is the Cross Keys, a cosy pub with a beer garden on the river, and it does a mean lunch — I had mussels cooked in an entire cow’s worth of cream — while round the corner on Reading Road is the Jolly Good Food Company, a teashop with a collection of cakes to make Nigella blush.

The real winner, though, is next door, for in Grey’s cheese shop there is everything that a right-minded human could possibly desire for a weekend’s feast: wine, olives, ham, extraordinarily good artisanal cheeses, a pot of chilli cashews on the counter, and jars and jars of locally made chutneys, jellies and other delicious gloops. Ask for a taste, have a natter and buy the lot. You can sleep it off later in one of those elephant-sized beds.

The Elephant, Church Road, Pangbourne RG8 7AR; 0118 984 2244, elephanthotel.co.uk. A double room costs £140, B&B