All photos by Bryan Dearsley / LuxuryUK
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Hotel Indigo Stratford upon Avon occupies one of the most photographed buildings in one of England’s most photographed towns. Set on Chapel Street directly across the road from New Place, the house William Shakespeare bought in 1597 and where he died in 1616, the oldest parts of the building date from around 1500, and it was trading as an inn known as The Falcon by the 1650s.
Reopened in 2019 after an 18-month restoration, this Grade II* listed building has retained a lot of original features, including its leaning upper storey, its oak beams, and its wood-panelled front rooms. Behind the Tudor frontage is a 93-room hotel arranged in three distinct styles: Tudor rooms in the original building, Georgian Townhouse rooms, and Contemporary rooms in a new wing at the rear.
The ground floor is home to The Woodsman, a wood-fired British restaurant run independently of the hotel by restaurateur Mike Robinson, co-owner of the Michelin-starred Harwood Arms in Fulham, together with Executive Chef Greg Newman. The old front bar rooms now operate as a tea room by day and cocktail bar by night.
Hotel Indigo Stratford upon Avon
The building’s story is a good one, and worth telling. Starting off around 1500 as a single-storey timber-framed house, it was one of a row of substantial homes built on Chapel Street in the decades before Shakespeare was born a few hundred yards away on Henley Street in 1564. The second storey (the one you see leaning out over the pavement) was added around 1645, and by 1655 the property was being used as an inn.
The oldest continuously licensed premises in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare would certainly have known the house since it stood opposite the home he bought in 1597, though he died some four decades before it started serving ale. The neighbouring pub on Chapel Street claims to have been pouring drinks since 1594, which gives an idea of how long this stretch of town has been welcoming visitors.
The Falcon name is tied to one of the town’s oldest institutions. The Shakespeare Club of Stratford-upon-Avon, founded in 1824 and still active today, was established at the hotel and has held its annual dinner in the building for the best part of two centuries. The St James Hotel Group bought it in 2014, the restoration of The Falcon required specialist heritage contractors due to the building’s important history and Grade II* status and took 18 months to complete.
Tea Rooms and Plush Rooms
Though the property dropped the hotel’s original name, The Falcon’s legacy lives on as the name of the tea room at the front of the building (look for the specially commissioned wooden falcon sign hanging outside). Inside, the restoration retained the original oak beams, some of which dated to 1622, the slanted leaded windows, the wood paneling and the stone fireplaces in the front rooms. New construction behind the older building included a glass-roofed atrium leading to a courtyard garden and the new bedroom wing behind.
The Tudor rooms are situated in the original 16th- and 17th-century structure at the front, complete with the exposed timbers, uneven floors, and low ceilings that come with a building of this age. Several look directly across Chapel Street to New Place, which is the view to ask for when booking. And these are, of course, the rooms with the most character… and the most quirks. So, if you’re tall or traveling with large luggage, be sure to factor in the beams, the stairs, and all that “old world” charm.
The Georgian Townhouse rooms take their cue from the town’s theatre tradition, with a more formal look, panelled headboards, and heavier fabrics and raw wood finishes. I stayed in one of the Contemporary rooms in the new wing at the rear. The most conventional of the three categories, it was large, quiet, and featured a modern, spacious bathroom.
Whatever category you choose, expect a Nespresso coffee machine, a 40-inch flat-screen television, and IHG Connect Wi-Fi. On-site amenities include a small gym with treadmills, bikes, cross trainers, and free weights, a library with reading nooks off the atrium, and a boardroom. The atrium serves as the hotel’s main lounge space and looks out onto the large courtyard garden. It’s planted with herbs used in the kitchen, has outdoor seating and a barbecue area, and is very quiet and comfortable.
The Woodsman’s British Cooking
Booking a table at The Woodsman Restaurant is a must. Field to fork here means venison from private estates that’s processed by the owners’ own butchery and larder, a formula that’s been repeated at their “The Elder” restaurant in Hotel Indigo Bath, another historic property I highly recommend.
The dining room is built around a large wood-fired oven and charcoal grill, fuelled mainly with oak and alder, and the open kitchen lets you watch the cooking. Wild venison, wild boar, old breed beef, Hebridean lamb, and pork from farms with high welfare standards dominate a menu that changes with the seasons, alongside fish from small day boats in Cornwall and vegetables from farms in the surrounding countryside.
Bar snacks such as muntjac lollipops with red cabbage ketchup have become something of a signature, and the à la carte menu is served from the wood-fired oven from 6 pm to 9.30 pm, with a Woodsman Sunday lunch that runs into the evening.
The restaurant’s Feasting Room doubles as the hotel’s breakfast room. In the mornings, it’s laid out with a continental table of cold meats, cheeses, fruit, yogurt, and bread and pastries baked in-house. Hot dishes such as a full English or smoked salmon with scrambled eggs cooked to order are available, as is my go-to breakfast, avocado on toast with a poached egg on top.
There’s also an elegant tapestried room that’s set aside for private dining. Whether you’re booking it or a table for two, The Woodsman’s popularity (and the fact it holds a listing in the Michelin Guide) means booking ahead is essential at weekends and during the Royal Shakespeare Company season, when pre-theatre tables go quickly.
Shakespeare’s Everywhere in Stratford
A big part of the hotel’s appeal is undoubtedly its location. Pretty much everything a visitor comes to Stratford-upon-Avon to see is within walking distance of the hotel’s front door. New Place and the Guild Chapel are steps away across the street, Shakespeare’s Schoolroom is around the corner on Church Street, Shakespeare’s Birthplace is on Henley Street, and where he’s buried, Holy Trinity Church, is a pleasant 10-minute riverside stroll away.
In the opposite direction, Hall’s Croft on Old Town, the Jacobean home of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her physician husband John Hall, is a short walk south. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Swan Theatre on Waterside are a five-minute walk east, with the riverside gardens, the canal basin, and the chain ferry across the Avon just behind them.
Several properties connected to Shakespeare are located just outside town. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, the thatched farmhouse in Shottery where Shakespeare’s wife grew up, is 1.5 miles from Chapel Street along a signposted footpath and takes around 30 minutes each way. A little farther afield, Mary Arden’s Farm was the Bard’s mother’s family home in Wilmcote.
A third site worth checking out is All Saints Church in Billesley. A short distance from Shakespeare’s mum’s place in Wilmcote, this cute little church was built in 1692 on the site of even older churches dating back to the 1100s. Legend has it that Shakespeare may have used its earlier rendition for his wedding. While unverified, it is known that his granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall, was married at the church in 1649. Afterward, pop into Billesley Manor Hotel and Spanext door for a drink or a meal (or both) on its lovely garden terrace.
I also used my stay at Hotel Indigo Stratford upon Avon to cross several other items off my UK attractions bucket list. Right across the river from the hotel (head over the Tramway Bridge), the Stratford Butterfly Farm is as great an outing for families as it is for couples and solo travelers like me. And the British Motor Museum was tackled the morning of my arrival as I drove pretty much right past it on my way into town.
Tips & Tactics
For a Shakespeare-focused getaway, it’s hard to beat Hotel Indigo Stratford upon Avon. Here’s what you need to know to book (and enjoy) a great time in Shakespeare’s hometown.
- Tudor rooms at the front have the most character and the New Place views, but also the lowest beams and the most stairs. Contemporary rooms in the new wing are larger, quieter, and come with air con for those summer heatwaves.
- Book a table at The Woodsman well ahead, particularly for pre-theatre dining during the Royal Shakespeare Company season. Dinner from the wood-fired oven is served 6 pm to 9.30 pm.
- Afternoon tea in The Falcon Tea Room is open to non-residents and worth booking even if staying elsewhere. The same rooms become the cocktail bar in the evening.
- Shakespeare Birthplace Trust sells a combined ticket covering New Place, Shakespeare’s Birthplace, and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, which works out cheaper than paying at each property.
- Parking so close to the town’s attractions is a real perk, and is plentiful, safe, and not overpriced.
- Hotel Indigo Stratford-upon-Avon is located at 4 Chapel Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6HA.
- Visit their website at hotelindigo.com.
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Travel and lifestyles writer Bryan Dearsley is Editor of LuxuryUK, a leading source of news and reviews relating to luxury lifestyles and travel in the United Kingdom.
