Monkey Island sounds like it should belong in a Bond film, or at least in an archipelago somewhere in southeast Asia. But no, Google Maps is telling me it’s on a slip road off the M4, just fifty minutes from London.
Tucked behind the village of Bray in Berkshire (blink and you’ll miss the turn-off) is a tiny seven-acre sliver of an island which, despite its exotic name, couldn’t be more quintessentially English.
On the day we arrive the hydrangeas and dahlias are in full, blowsy bloom, afternoon tea is being served on the terrace of a wedding cake of a Georgian hotel and even the muddy old Thames is sparkling in the summer sunlight. You would never guess this serene vision of loveliness, which is now a member of the Small Luxury Hotels group, has a wild, old past.
The seven-acre island was once owned by the Duke of Marlborough
(Fiona McIntosh)
Back in 1723, the Monkey Island Estate was owned by the Duke of Marlborough, who built two pavilions on the island as a fishing retreat and playground for his aristocratic mates.
Over the years, the estate has variously become a hideaway for Eton scholars, a favourite afternoon tea spot for Edward VII and an artistic retreat for pretty much an entire generation of English actors, singers and artists – including Clara Butt, Sir Edward Elgar, Siegfried Sassoon and HG Wells.
This former high society hotspot was restored to its full Georgian glory in 2018
(Fiona McIntosh)
In the 1960s the pavilions were extended, and the estate became a raucous high society party hotspot and favourite of Princess Margaret. But by the 1980s it had fallen into disrepair and was pretty much on its last legs, before being rescued by YTL Hotels in 2015. Three years and millions of pounds later, with the help of English Heritage, the estate was restored to all its former Georgian glory.
We arrived for a one-night, midweek escape and it’s all so ridiculously bucolic we couldn’t believe Monkey Island is so close to London. One of the pavilions now houses 27 bedrooms and three suites, while the other contains a restaurant, ballroom and bar, spilling onto terraces overlooking immaculate lawns and the river.
One of the island’s two pavilions houses 27 bedroms and three suites, including the Wedgewood suite
(YTL Hotels)
Everywhere you look you find monkeys – brass monkeys giving you the side-eye at the Monkey Bar,…
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