If the historic sites and natural wonders aren't enough to lure you to linger in Northumbria, this luxury boutique hotel might do the trick. The Cookie Jar is exemplary in its class: high-end design, extreme comfort, fantastic food and a management team that makes you feel like honoured guests in their home rather than paying hotel clients.
It came as no surprise that one of the owners was a former chief executive of both Malmaison and Hotel du Vin; you'll find all the things here that make those chains great but on a more intimate scale, a more personal touch and a lower price point. Robert and Debbie Cook are regularly present to cater to guests and ensure the attention to detail that extends to everything, from the in-the-moment, personal-sized bottles of hand sanitizer near the door to take with you on outings to the Hypnos beds to the jar of fresh chocolate chip cookies you'll find in your room when you return from your day's adventures.
The Cookie Jar's location is ideal: throwing distance to Alnwick Castle's main (pre-pandemic) entrance, within easy walking distance of the town centre, but on the very edge where building gives way to countryside. A five-minute walk takes you over Alnwick's famous Lion Bridge and into the pastures along the river Aln below the castle, a landscape so beautiful it's as if you're strolling through a painting. The edge-of-town location means it's also remarkably quiet; we were on the front of the building but slept peacefully with windows wide open.
This is one of those boutique hotels that looks like it’s fallen out of the pages of a high-end house and garden magazine. It's likely to give you decor envy and design ideas in equal measure. The colour scheme is a bold blue and white, flying in the face of the received design wisdom that blue is a “cold” colour inappropriate for interiors. (I had a bit of a battle over this idea with my mother-in-law, a respected interior decorator, when I insisted on a blue, grey and white sitting room. The Cookie Jar not only validated my decision but has me thinking I could be bolder with the blue.) Whether in the rooms, the cozy library lounge or the bistro-style dining room, it’s the interplay of fabrics and decorative items in the highlight colours that bring the scheme to life.
Strikingly different patterns work together because of their shared colours. Blue and white plates in a range of modern designs, both abstract and figurative, ring the upper walls of the dining room. Rather than a single chandelier in the gracious staircase hall there are three enormous bird cages at different levels enclosing the lights. Tripod lamps look like they’ve been converted from arcane surveying equipment. Our otherwise traditionally-appointed bedroom had an alcove in one corner transformed into a glass-walled shower room, made even more delightful by the Penhaligon toiletries provided.
Each of the 11 rooms is distinctively decorated, all within the blue and white theme but each very different in size and shape. (And cost) And just as if you were staying in some peer's ancestral pile, each has a name rather than a number. We stayed in Bamburgh, a generously-sized room on the first floor with three towering sash windows across its length. (£253 per night.) We took a sneaky peak into The Chapel, the room that confirmed my suspicions that the building had once been a convent. This enormous room ... a family of four was just moving out ... was indeed built into an old chapel, complete with an arched roof and stained glass windows. But a super king bed now occupied the nave and a free standing bathtub, with glass shower room behind it, had replaced the altar. The website reveals that the other rooms are equally distinctive, if not quite so dramatic.
I found The Cookie Jar while searching "dog friendly boutique hotel" and was delighted to be able to sink into this level of luxury with pets at my side. The reason for the policy becomes clear when you realise there's a gun room on the first floor and kennels at the bottom of the garden. Though all canines are welcome, the prime motivation for their inclusion is the gun dogs who come with guests on the Duke of Northumberland's shoots. The staff, kitted out in matching tartan waistcoats, are all dog people and make a suitable fuss over your furry friends. They also, of course, take fine care of you, from suggesting the best dog walks to secret local beaches and the lesser-known sightseeing gems.
Alnwick, however, doesn't give them much scope to recommend restaurants. A foodie town, this is not. Fortunately the kitchen at the Cookie Jar is just as good as the decor and service, meaning we were perfectly happy to settle into dinner, B&B for the entirety of our stay. The menu has a set price for two or three courses (£34.50 and £42.50), changes subtly every day and completely every three or four. Seasonal variety drives what's on offer, especially on the fish front where options depend on what was in port that morning. Thus we ate here for six nights but never repeated ourselves. Unsurprisingly, the seafood stood out, particularly local lobster and scallops in a lobster bisque. But duck breast in a luscious sauce was another winner, and the best desserts made the most of late summer berries. My only culinary disappointment was the cheeseboard, which seemed a bit generic in its brie-cheddar-blue range. I'd hoped for some local revelations, but it could be there aren't many options in the county. (We're spoiled by local cheesemakers at home in Hampshire, so I can be a bit picky.)
As you might expect, breakfast went beyond the standard "Full English". Though that was very good, distinguished this far North with exceptional black pudding, it was the range and quality of the other options that stood out. I ran through the whole menu. I'd never had kippers before and fresh-smoked options from nearby Craster are, I'm informed, about as good as they get. They are pungent, firm and imbued with so much smoke you'd think you'd swallowed a Weber kettle. I couldn't eat them every day, but grilled in butter and served with brown buttered bread they were a treat that fuelled you all the way to dinner. Scrambled eggs and avocado on thick slices of sourdough were delicious, and their attempt at American-style pancakes was pretty good ... though as a Midwesterner I can never really get on board with the fussy "dollar size" variety generally thought of as American throughout the UK. Yogurt pots with fruit compote and home made granola were a treat.
Many Brits have felt deprived of a proper holiday this year, "trapped" in the UK and pining for the glories of a foreign escape. If you want proof that a staycation can be just as special as anything on the end of a plane journey, do give the Cookie Jar a try.
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