Review: Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa, Stratford – now part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio

This is our review of the Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa, Stratford-upon-Avon, which became part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio in April 2025.

My stay was complimentary and arranged by Troo Hospitality, who manage the hotel. Troo also donated a stay as a prize for the Head for Points Summer Party raffle last week. As usual Head for Points paid for all other expenses and the hotel has not seen the review before publication.

I was keen to take on this review having grown up in the neighbouring county of Worcestershire where some of my family still live. This was rather like coming home, just leaving the M40 a couple of junctions earlier (take Junction 15 and follow the A46 for Stratford, and then signs to Billesley) although admittedly we didn’t live in a Jacobean mansion.

Billesley Manor is set in 11 acres of Warwickshire countryside. It’s about a 10 mile drive from the M40 and only five miles from Stratford upon Avon train station, so it’s easily accessible by car and rail/taxi or bus. There is loads of parking with four electric car charging points.

The Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa website is here.

An Introduction to Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa

When I set out to write this review, my ambition was to start with ‘A short history of Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa’. I fast realised that ‘short history’ is an oxymoron when it comes to this place. I didn’t want to pen a ‘perfunctory’ history, so here are a few highlights.

This Jacobean mansion celebrated its 400th anniversary not so long ago, and this is the house you see today. Prior to this, Billesley received its first mention in Anglo Saxon times, specifically 705, and was included in the Domesday Book in 1086.

Given its proximity to Stratford-upon-Avon, and its history as a noteworthy manor, it is not surprising that Shakespeare was familiar with the family who owned the house. It is highly likely that he was in residence in 1599 and that this is where he wrote ‘As You Like It’.

You can see the manor house set back from a country lane through this entrance. (There is a grander driveway to the front of the hotel).

To both sides as you approach the main building from this angle are the ‘barn rooms’.

The barns in question are equally as old as the house, although they give the superficial impression of being newer thanks to a thorough conversion and a full refurbishment in January 2020. Many of the accessible rooms are located in the barns, and I suspect also the more ‘pet friendly’ rooms might be here. This is perfect dog walking country.

Above is the main entrance to the hotel.

Reception is to your right as you walk in ….

…. and to the left is this reception lounge. Overall the feeling is of ‘gentle luxury’, not flashy, but charming.

Rooms at Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa

After checking in I was swiftly shown to my room, which was Room 3 upstairs in the main part of the house and classed as a Junior Suite.

The room was spacious with two large windows overlooking the front driveway. The bed was a Super King with a ‘Hypnos Landsdowne cashmere mattress’ and duck feather duvet.

I was quite surprised to find (efficient) air conditioning in the room. This has been retro-fitted in all rooms as a condition of joining Marriott.

The built-in wardrobe revealed two waffle bathrobes, slippers, clothes brush, shoe horn, hair dryer, iron and ironing board as well as plenty of hanging space.

There was an area for sitting and a table, which is where I chose to work ….

… as the chair that went with the desk was actually very low when I sat on it – although doesn’t look it in this picture! The desk is where the coffee machine is placed.

Opposite the bed between the two windows was a wall mounted TV with a unit below housing the kettle, tea bags (Tea Pigs Earl Grey and Taylors English Breakfast), instant coffee, milk and sugar. The fridge with two bottles of still water was also in this unit. I was happy to see mugs (albeit with saucers) rather than small cups!

The en suite bathroom was huge, with a double basin washstand, rainfall shower and roll top bath. There is a chaise longue opposite the basins.

The shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and hand wash were Molton Brown. There were no ‘bits and bobs’ (separate hand soap, shower cap etc) on display in the bathroom, but all are available on request from reception, part of the hotel’s ‘less waste’ initiative.

I asked to see a couple of other rooms. Above is the one of two Four Poster King Rooms, also in the old mansion house part of the hotel and which I would judge as being in a similar category to mine.

This room has a view over the main garden and lake and features original oak panelling. In one of the rooms is an original priest (hiding) hole.

I was also shown an ‘entry level’ room (Classic Room, 1 King). The bathroom was to the left as I walked in with an over-the-bath shower and single basin. It wasn’t too small and, as with all the bathrooms I saw, had a ledge running above the basin below the mirror, enabling you to avoid your wash bag getting wet.

The room is bigger than it appears in this photo as I had my back to the table and armchair, desk and chair and TV screen.

The Great Hall Bar & Lounge

The bar is through a door leading from the reception lounge area, with comfortable seating and tables in the wood panelled room.

This is the ground floor bar area. To the right of this area (back to the bar) stairs lead up to the rooms and also to ….

…. another area of bar seating including a lovely galleried area overlooking the bar. The walls are adorned with various reminders of the hotel’s past, and if you zoom in on the picture you can see one of a pair of original locks carved with dolphins.

The ‘As You Like It’ lounge is another area to relax with a drink, with a fireplace, literary art installation on the ceiling and, as you can see below, views over the garden.

Food at Billesley Manor

The Stuart Restaurant is where I had both dinner and breakfast (there is a second room forming part of the restaurant – very similar to the one below) and is the main dining area in the hotel.

In this part of the country you’re not going to struggle to fulfil the promise of locally sourced food, and everything I had was fresh and well cooked.

For ‘Act 1 – Starters’, there was a choice of seven dishes, ranging in price from ‘Soup du Jour’ at £7.50 to Pan Fried Scallops (Kerala curry sauce, pickled apples, coriander yoghurt, squid ink cracker) at £15.

I opted for the relatively straightforward Heritage Tomato – heirloom tomatoes, tomato gel, whipped vegan feta at £8 and was happy with my choice.

I went light for the starter, as for ‘Act 2 – Mains’ my selection was Duck Breast – turnip, green beans, carrot puree, chicory, fennel pollen, cherry, jus at £33.

Another good choice from a selection of 11 dishes including fish (pan fried hake and miso glazed salmon) and wild garlic risotto and roast cauliflower as two interesting non-meat options. The prices ranged from £38 for beef fillet to £18 for the Billesley Chicken Tikka Masala, with many coming in at £19. Decent.

From ‘Curtain Call – Desserts’ I took Rhubarb Mille-Feuille (‘texture of rhubarb, white chocolate cremeux’) at £9. All the desserts were around the same price, and included the usual crowd pleasers – Gourmet Chocolate Fondant, Lemon Tart, Eton Mess, Sticky Date Pudding ….

There was a selection of cheese with crackers, grapes, chutney and salted butter.

On the wine front, there was a small but well curated list of wine by the glass and bottle, from £8 per glass.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served between 7am and 11am at the weekend and 6.30am to 10.30am during the week and is buffet style with your drink order being taken at the table.

The buffet is situated in a room off the second of the two dining rooms.

One side of the room is dedicated to hot breakfast items including bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, eggs, tomatoes …. with a selection of breakfast cereals, yoghurts and cold cuts on the other. By the window is the pastries station along with a variety of breads.

There was plenty of fruit on offer and it was regularly refreshed.

The hotels also offers ‘all day dining’ in the Great Hall Bar & Lounge from 11.30am to 9.30pm and 24 hours for room service. This menu comprises ‘light bites’ such as halloumi fries, chicken wings, a charcuterie board and sandwiches, and some larger dishes such as the Billesley burger and beer battered fish and chips.

Billesley Spa & Health Club

For what is not a huge spa and gym, I was surprised at the amount of seating available in the reception area. There is a drinks machine, and you can also order from the all day dining menu.

The pool is a decent size (12.5m) and heated to 28 degrees with recliner seats round both sides.

Next to the reception is a corridor leading to the gym which is accessible 24 x 7. I cropped some of the equipment – a running machine and weights – out as it was in use.

Along the corridor are four good size treatment rooms offering a wide variety of face, body and massage treatments with ESPA products. Spa treatment hours are between 10am and 6pm every day of the week. The Spa & Health Club opening times overall are 7.30am to 8pm.

There are also two tennis courts in the hotel grounds (not lit) and you can get racquets and balls from the health club reception.

Hotel guests are welcome to join the yoga and pilates group classes which take place four times a week, for no charge.

Billesley Manor grounds

Billesley Manor is set in 11 acres of countryside so there is plenty of space to wander. There is some formal(ish) planting near the hotel with plenty of seating to enjoy the view over the lake and well established trees.

To the rear is a fabulous topiary garden (which I have not done proper justice to with this picture, but I liked the character) behind a long hedge. It’s set out as an Alice in Wonderland chess board, with a pagoda in the middle. My picture shows a small section of it.

However, much as I liked the topiary garden, I think this shaded path just along from the driveway pictured at the top of the review leads to my favourite element of Billesley’s grounds.

Here is the medieval (11th Century) Church of All Saints’, Billesley (remodelled at the end of the Seventeenth Century and now a Grade I listed building). This church is one of three churches in the area with a credible claim to be the place where William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582.

What is not in contention is that Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth, DID get married here, to Sir John Bernard in 1649. You can still get married at All Saints Church today, but (and it’s a big but) only if you happen to be a member of one of the six households living in the parish of Billesley.

Conclusion

The Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa is a very comfortable four star country house hotel in a bucolic setting.

The lowest room rate I found for July was £96 for a Classic Room for a Sunday night, going up to £202 for the Four Poster room on that night. Bonvoy points redemptions are also available, of course.

The hotel feels personal and friendly and I had a very relaxing stay, with birdsong and slightly creaking floorboards replacing traffic sounds in the morning. The hotel fills a gap in Marriott’s portfolio in the region and would make a great reward stay, especially as you have the tourist attractions in Stratford-upon-Avon just down the road.

You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.