What I Liked
- Charming rooms
- Beautiful country house and grounds
- Nice spa and health club
- Excellent location. 1 hour from London
- Very nice room with a view
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I stayed at the charming Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel in Ware, Hertfordshire, for a long weekend away from my home in London. I was happy with my choice and had a good trip.
The hotel has a large country house with a golf course and spa. The grounds are lovely. We enjoyed the breakfast, although the rest of the food was disappointing. The hotel is also well located for local attractions in Hertfordshire. This hotel is definitely a 4* hotel, and is a solid choice for a weekend break from London.
The manor house itself is the kind of arrival that makes you feel good about your booking decision. Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware has a grand facade, ornate interiors and a converted chapel with vaulted ceilings that feels genuinely historic rather than decorator-fake. My Marriott Platinum status earned us an upgrade to the top floor — a 5th floor room with a lovely garden view. A late checkout was also granted without any fuss.
There are two things I'd flag before you book. No air conditioning. Serious omission if you're visiting in warmer months — my wife and I were restless for a good hour before finally dropping off. And the spa, while nice, is harder to access than the brochure suggests. I tried to book a treatment for my wife on arrival and was told they were fully booked for two months. The indoor pool, jacuzzi and sauna are open for use, so the health club at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel is still worth your time. Just don't bank on a massage.
If you're driving up from London — which, at an hour away, most people will — it's worth sorting transport before you leave. I rely on Local Car Rentals and Welcome Picks for exactly this kind of trip; Local Car Rentals to avoid the hidden deposit nonsense from the big international companies, and Welcome Picks for a 4.9-star rated taxi when I'd rather not drive.
Rates start from around £109 a night.
For a Jacobean manor house with a championship golf course, a spa, and genuine Hertfordshire countryside — one hour from London — that's fair.
Prices move. Golf weekends and corporate events fill the diary fast. Book early if you want the dates you actually want.
One thing worth flagging: spa treatments book up well in advance. Sometimes months out. The pool, jacuzzi, and sauna are open without a reservation. But if a treatment is the point of the trip, sort it before you arrive.
Hanbury Manor Marriott sits about 25 miles north of central London, just off the A10 in Hertfordshire.
By car, you're looking at roughly 45 minutes on a clear run. An hour if the M25 is doing its thing. This is rural Hertfordshire. Genuinely beautiful. But you are not walking anywhere.
The nearest train station is Ware, about 1.5 miles from the hotel. Greater Anglia runs a direct service from London Liverpool Street in around 50 minutes. Off-peak returns run roughly £20–25.
I book through Trainline. Best prices, no fuss. Pros: cheap, direct, no traffic to battle. Cons: you'll need a taxi from Ware station to the hotel — not walkable with bags.
For that taxi, I always pre-book. Less faff, especially with luggage. I use Welcome Pickups. Fixed price, driver meets you, no meter anxiety. Pros: door to door, completely stress-free. Cons: more expensive than the train. Worth it.
Stansted Airport is your closest at around 18 miles. About 30 minutes by road in light traffic. If you need the full breakdown on reaching Stansted, I've got you covered. There's no sensible public transport link from Stansted direct. You'd be routing via Liverpool Street and back out to Ware — well over an hour added to your journey. Just book a cab.
For airport transfers, GetTransfer.com is worth a look. A transfer from Stansted runs somewhere in the region of £40–50. Luton is about 22 miles to the northwest. Roughly 35 minutes by road.
Heathrow is around 50 miles — an hour depending on the M25.
Gatwick is about 45 minutes by car. If you're flying out from Gatwick after your stay, my guide to getting to Gatwick Airport has all the transport options covered so you're not guessing on the morning.
On-site parking is free. If you're driving — which most guests are — that's one less thing to think about.
Hertford town centre is 3 miles from the hotel. Compact, walkable, pleasant high street, and the remains of Hertford Castle. Worth an hour on a quieter afternoon.
During our stay we visited Paradise Wildlife Park and Hatfield House. I'd recommend both. The woodland walks at Hatfield House reminded me of Hampstead Heath, near where I live. Paradise Wildlife Park is an excellent zoo with loads of kids' activities. Genuinely enjoyed it, and I'm not usually a zoo person.
Knebworth House is about 15 miles to the west — the Gothic pile made famous by its summer concerts. Worth a half-day if you have the time and inclination.
And if you're travelling with kids: the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour is about 25 miles away in Leavesden. I've reviewed it in full if you're working out whether it deserves a morning of your trip.
Sort Your Airport Extras
If you're routing through Stansted or Luton on the way home — both a reasonable drive from here — it's worth booking airport parking or lounge access before you go rather than paying walk-up rates on the day. Holiday Extras is where I compare and book both — usually a meaningful saving over what the airport charges if you just turn up.
Book Nearby Attractions
Hertfordshire has more going on than people give it credit for — Hatfield House, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, and the Lee Valley White Water Centre are all within easy reach of the hotel. For day trips and attraction tickets, Tiqets is where I start — mobile tickets, no printer needed, and the prices are usually sharp.
The Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel is a large country house with spa and golf club, set in the Hertfordshire countryside near Ware. It has the following facilities:
The 1st thing I’ll say is the country house and the grounds are gorgeous. I really enjoyed walking around the grounds and around the hotel itself. The hotel had a rustic English charm that I enjoyed. When I’m staying in the UK, I really enjoy country houses like these. Check out my review of the Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel, during my visit to the Peak District.
On the flip side, I was a little disappointed with the lack of activities. With the exception of the golf and the spa, there weren’t any more activities. Normally, hotels like this might have tennis, ping pong or croquet. This was sadly missing.
In terms of elite recognition, I was told that I got an upgrade on the basis of my Marriott Platinum Status. I was also able to get a late checkout on the last day at the hotel.
Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel traces its origins to the 1890s, when the manor house was rebuilt in Jacobean Revival style for the Hanbury family — a Quaker dynasty with interests in banking and brewing. It carries listed building status, which goes some way to explaining why the original plasterwork ceilings, carved stonework and chapel vaulting have survived so intact. You're not sleeping in a mock-historic property. The bones are real.
The Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel Ware golf course is an 18-hole championship layout and one of the more respected parkland courses in the Home Counties. Which is partly why Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel Ware fills at weekends — the golfers tend to book well ahead of everyone else.
If you're deep enough into the Marriott ecosystem to be tracking status, it's worth knowing how the timeshare side fits in — I've written a complete Marriott Vacation Club guide that covers the full picture.
If you're here purely for a countryside room, you'll still have a good stay. But the guests who get their money's worth have usually booked a spa session on top. Worth factoring in when you're comparing room rates.
One thing you'll notice in the official name: this is Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware. That's not just marketing copy. The country club element is real — a proper spa, an 18-hole championship course, and a gym that's bigger than you'd expect from a countryside property. Whether you use any of it depends on why you're visiting. But if you want options, they're all there.
If you're weighing up which hotel loyalty programme to back in the UK, my Hilton Gold status debit card guide is worth a read — Gold status for around £150 a year is a genuinely compelling alternative to Marriott Bonvoy.
I stayed on the 5th floor (top floor) at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel, Ware, and had a room with a terrific view of the gardens. I think this is a pretty good result for my Marriott Platinum status. I really liked the room. It was full of character and charm, as you would expect from an old English country house. The room had the following features
You can see the view of the garden in the slideshow above. It was lovely.
One definite downside of the room at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel Ware was the lack of air conditioning. This is pretty common in rustic English hotels. It was, however, very uncomfortable. Both my wife and I were tossing and turning for an hour before getting to sleep.
The lack of a coffee machine was a little disappointing – although I don’t drink coffee myself.
Overall, the room at Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel Ware is exactly what you'd hope for from an old English country house — full of character, slightly quirky, and a long way from the identikit business hotel experience. The garden view clinches it.
The bathroom was functional –as you can see from the photos above. It was definitely a 4* bathroom! That being said the Intercontinental Paris was a 5* hotel, and the bathroom wasn’t any better!
Oh dear… The breakfast wasn’t good. I’ve learned to reset my expectations when it comes to breakfasts in the UK. Often the food is heavily fried and unless you’re staying at a 5*, the fresh fruit isn’t that great. For examples, look at my reviews for the Radisson Blu Liverpool and the Aloft Liverpool. I’ve said it a few times, but hotels in Asia definitely have the best breakfasts. There are numerous examples on this blog, and I’ll link to a few Asian hotels below.
But anyway, back to the breakfast at the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware. Did I mention it was bad? The breakfast consisted of the following:
I tried the English breakfast items on the 1st day – mushrooms, veggie sausages and hash browns. The hash browns tasted like they had been fried 2 hours earlier and the mushrooms were bland and tasteless. The veggie sausages were cooked to order but didn’t taste good.
I should point out, that even when I used to eat meat, I didn’t like greasy, overcooked breakfasts. I also tried the cooked to order pancakes when I was there. I didn’t enjoy them – which says something as I love pancakes. They tasted overcooked and stale, so I’m not sure it they were cooked with fresh batter.
I had a pot of tea with my breakfast, which was excellent. Normally hotels will just give you a tea bag and some water. But at the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel in Ware, they have pots of hot brewed tea.
In terms of the fruit, I didn’t try any as it didn’t look appetising. It looked like it came out of a tin.
The major problem was that the food didn’t seem to be freshly cooked, which is a common problem for hotel buffets. Given that English breakfast consists of fried items, they go hard and horrible after a little while. My wife suggested that the veggie sausages were taken from someone else’s plate and then reheated… Given that they were very busy, I suspect that might be the truth.
I should mention that the breakfast was better on the 2nd day. It was a Monday morning and they were less busy. I ate porridge, veggie sausages and pancakes and all were half decent.
For a hotel of this standing — the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware is, after all, a five-star Autograph Collection property — the breakfast felt like a missed opportunity. Nothing was bad exactly. It just wasn't memorable.
If breakfast matters to you, the Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel Ware does at least tick the basics. Cook-to-order pancakes are a nice touch. But I've had better full English at Premier Inns that cost a quarter of the room rate. Just something to factor in.
On our first night we arrived at the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Ware in late afternoon. All of the slots in the restaurant were taken, and we had dinner in the bar. We instantly regretted it!
The bar was very much a place for comfort food. We ordered pizza, nachos and vegetarian mezze. It was all pretty terrible. For some reason, the chef decided to put a huge amount of rocket on their farmhouse pizza. It tasted awful. The nachos were similarly bad and tasteless.
There are two places to eat at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Ware. The bar — which is already covered above and which I'd strongly suggest avoiding if you have a choice — and Vardon's, the main restaurant, named after legendary golfer Harry Vardon.
Vardon's is where you want to be. It sits in the main manor house and looks the part — tablecloths, proper service, a room that actually matches the grandeur of the building. The problem is everyone else knows this too. It was fully booked by the time we arrived on Friday afternoon, which is why we ended up in the bar at all. Book a table before you check in. Don't assume walk-in will work on a weekend.
The Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel has two dining venues on site. There is a casual bar and grill for lighter meals — pizzas, nachos, sharing plates — and a more formal restaurant set inside the original manor house. Both are open to non-residents.
Worth knowing before you book: the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware charges full restaurant prices — there's no guest discount if you're on a room-only rate. Budget for it separately.
I used the swimming pool at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel twice during my stay. It was good. There was a good size pool. Even more important, it was nicely heated. There’s also a jacuzzi and a sauna. I tried to book a treatment for my wife, but was told they were fully booked for 2 months!
Worth noting: access to the leisure facilities at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware is included with your room rate. I used the spa briefly on my second morning — good-sized pool, clean, and reasonably quiet mid-week.
The full site trades as the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware, and the country club label gives you a sense of what you're actually paying for. The leisure side goes well beyond the pool: there's the full treatment spa, the 18-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, and the wider estate grounds. It's a proper resort package, not just a nice hotel with a small gym.
The catch with the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware is that the spa books up fast. I called a few weeks before our stay and treatments were fully gone for two months. If a couples' massage is part of the plan, book it the moment your room reservation is confirmed — not the week before you arrive.
The Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel in Ware is a genuinely beautiful 4* hotel. The manor house, the grounds, the converted chapel with its vaulted ceilings — it all delivers on the country house promise. My Marriott Platinum status earned us a top-floor room with garden views and a late checkout without any fuss, which made the whole stay feel properly looked after. If that's what you're coming for, you won't be disappointed.
The food is where it falls down, and I won't pretend otherwise. The bar food was poor. Breakfast was inconsistent — fine on a quiet Monday morning, not so great when the hotel was packed. The spa treatments were booked out for two months, so if a couples' massage is the plan, sort that well before you arrive. And no air conditioning. Which is manageable in autumn. Less so in July.
Bottom line: the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel in Ware is the right choice if you're a golfer, a Marriott loyalist looking to spend your status somewhere it actually counts, or someone who just wants a proper English country house an hour from London. If food is central to the trip, lower your expectations before you check in. I'd stay again — but I'd book Vardon's before I left home and I'd pick a cooler month.
If you're a Marriott loyalist who wants a city option to bookend a country break, my JW Marriott Grosvenor House London review is worth a read — very different setting, same loyalty programme.
The Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel in Ware is a comfortable four stars. Not flawless — the food is a genuine weak spot, and the lack of air conditioning will sting in summer — but the grounds, the converted chapel, and the spa pool add up to a genuinely relaxing weekend.
For Marriott Bonvoy members, the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club Ware is a solid points redemption. The upgrade potential is real, the rural setting is a proper contrast to London, and late checkout is granted without a fight.
If a UK weekend escape is becoming a habit, my Intercontinental Edinburgh The George review is worth adding to the list — a five-star in the heart of Edinburgh that I genuinely enjoyed.