Valentine’s Day Special Offer at Leonardslee House

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens has a special Valentine's Day offer, with a charming country house stay in luxurious accommodation and a romantic Michelin Star dinner for two at Restaurant Interlude, the perfect winter getaway for couples in 2023. 

When visitors book to stay at Leonardslee House between Sunday and Thursday during February the booking for a second nights accommodation is half price. There will be a bottle of bubbly in the charming ensuite bedrooms to toast the couple’s arrival - award-winning Joie de Vivre sparkling wine from the estate’s sister property at Benguela Cove in South Africa.  

The great Victorian plant collector Sir Edmund Loder purchased Leonardslee in 1889 and planted the extensive gardens and exotic flora that have created the estate’s charismatic charm, offering guests a holiday break to remember. In 2019 the Grade II Listed garden estate was extensively restored and reopened by new owners, the Streeter family. 

In 2022 new luxury accommodation was created, with each bespoke bedroom featuring the fabric and wallpaper style of a quintessential British interior design house. This creates an immersive experience for guests with a classic English garden theme by some of the best known and loved British designers.    

Located just an hour from London, Leonardslee offers its Valentine’s Day guests a stay full of romance and luxury. Visitors are greeted on arrival by a self-playing piano and a warm welcome by the staff in the elegant hallway of Italianate Leonardslee House. 

After settling in, guests can take their time exploring this unique venue, which includes enchanting walks through woodland gardens with its lakes, wallabies and other wildlife, and open-air sculpture exhibition, with 80 pieces by South African artist Anton Smit. 

In the afternoon guests can step back in time to enjoy a classic English afternoon tea at Leonardslee House, and then in the evening an intimate Michelin Star dinner for two in Restaurant Interlude, overseen by executive chef Jean Delport. 

The multi-course tasting experience explores the best of what the woodland gardens have to offer in the hunter-gatherer seasonal menu, with many ingredients foraged on the estate or produced locally. 

Visitors can also visit Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate - which is just three miles away and also owned by the Streeter family - for a Valentine’s Day Dinner with perhaps a round of golf in the afternoon. 

Leonardslee also offers vineyard tours and wine tastings, and there is a magical world in miniature at the Beyond the Doll's House exhibition, garden nursery and gift shop, for lovers seeking a Valentine’s Day gift souvenir. 

For further information visit Leonardslee House or contact stay@leonardsleegardens.co.uk

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Editors notes

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is a family-owned vineyard estate, near Horsham in West Sussex, which features ‘the finest woodland gardens in England’, Grade I Listed, as well as a Michelin Star restaurant and luxury vineyard accommodation.

The 240-acre estate was established by Sir Edmund Loder, the great Victorian plant collector, and now includes a Sussex Wine vineyard, with the first release of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier sparkling wine in 2024.

The estate features outstanding displays all year round. In the spring this includes rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, magnolias and bluebells. The collection is exceptional in its diversity and maturity, with several rare ‘champion’ trees, threatened in their natural habitat.

The gardens offer a protected ecosystem for rare wildlife such as Emperor Dragonflies and Damselflies, White Admiral and Purple Hairstreak butterflies and migratory and native birds - Kites, Great Tits, Tree Creepers, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and Nightingales.

The estate reopened in April 2019, following acquisition and two years’ intensive work by entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE to restore the woodland gardens after eight years of closure and neglect under previous ownership. It was the largest garden restoration project in the United Kingdom since Heligan 30 years before.

Since further restoration work in 2021, visitors can also stay in the luxury vineyard hotel after dining at Restaurant Interlude in Leonardslee House, the Grade II Listed Italianate mansion house, to experience the Michelin Star multi-course tasting menu created by chef Jean Delport.

Visitors can view a magical world in miniature at the Beyond the Doll's House exhibition, which depicts the Edwardian estate and neighbouring villages at 1:12 scale. They can then enjoy a classic afternoon tea in the mansion house, making for a great family day out. It is one of the top places to visit in Sussex and is open all year round except Christmas Day.

For great days out, there is an extensive programme of entertainment that includes winter garden illuminations and light trails, wine and beer festivals, photo and art exhibitions, live music events, cooking and gardening demonstrations, arts and crafts fairs, modelling and toy shows, and children’s events and adventure trails.

Vineyards –

Leonardslee Estate: Acquired 2018 - 3.1 Acres - 2018 First vines planted - 4,000 Estimated bottles Experimental planting of Pinotage - 2022 First estate Pinotage

Mannings Estate: Acquired 2017 - 34 Acres - 2017 First vines planted - 70,000 Estimated bottles Sparkling wine cultivars 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier - 2024 First release of wine