The outside space here is the Southampton waterfront, with views of the Royal Pier, an equally grand slice of history, and Southampton Water. For an on-site breather, pop out to the small courtyard for late-night tipples or bask in the balcony views. Don’t forget to practise your royal-family wave.
If there’s a grandeur scale, Escape to Town is off it. There’s a sense of ambassadorial elegance in the vaulted ceilings, the cornicing, the high sash windows and the explosion of period decadence. Invite family, friends, hens or stags, but you’ll feel like you should have asked the Nigerian High Commission.
It’s grand. And yet, Escape to Town feels like a home. One with a well-stocked bar. Take the neon-lit stairs down to the cinema room for Netflix nights on the giant screen or disco beats. Or pick from Amazon Prime, Now TV and BT TV. Choose your preferred social space, chill, and wow your followers with shots posted over the fast BT Wi-Fi.
This is a wedding venue, so trusted local suppliers can offer an elevated food-and-drink experience. So if you’d rather chill than grill, then call up pro chefs Earth Catering for anything from a one-off celebration to a fully catered break. Eat around the 12-seat dining table and wrap things up at the tipple-rich bar.
Stock up the four fridges with goodies from Lidl, Co-op, Tesco and Costco. Keep the celebrations going on a river of Nespresso and Prosecco. Tuck into takeaways from Zento Sushi, Rivers Sports Bar (Indian), Mexifun for burritos and It’s a Pizza Thing. Or head to the Med with Greek from Blue Island.
Check into The Dancing Man for seabass, chicken burgers and vegan burgers. Try The Pig in the Wall, tucked away among medieval walls, for a deli menu that includes celeriac remoulade with raisins and curried lentil stew. Or get to The Titanic for bangers and mash or chicken New Yorker.
Walk to Ennio’s for tagliatelle ragu or conchiglie vegane, or stroll over to La Regata, for tapas, paella and other Spanish classics: sit outdoors if the Mediterranean sun’s playing ball. Or try Bacaro in Ocean Village for Italian small plates, Sunday sharing roasts and plenty of wine.
The elegance and grandeur of Escape to Town only gets better in the boudoirs. Sleeping 15 in eight lovely bedrooms, this landmark house comes with period decadence built in.
Even the bedroom names are beautiful. On the top floor, Marcellina is a kingsize with TV, private bathroom and private dressing room with sofa bed, while Gemma also sleeps two with a sofa bed.
On the second floor, Delphine, Coralie, Pearl, Celeste and Aria are doubles with TVs and private bathrooms. And Luna is a single bedroom with TV and private bathroom.
