I'd never been to a hotel on a racetrack before. I didn't know they existed, except, maybe, in Monte Carlo. I thought it sounded interesting, possibly a little noisy... But it's only when you drive up to the Brooklands Hotel, which counts Mercedes Benz World as its next door neighbour, and which sits within the legendary Brooklands motor racing circuit, that it's clear just how extraordinary its location is. And with planes from Heathrow (17 miles away) and Gatwick (33) ascending and descending overhead, plus trains between London and Portsmouth speeding past, our stay was certainly going to have the va va voom factor.
In fact the location probably wouldn't be to everyone's taste — we loved it — but I think the hotel would. Everything about it is on a grand scale, its corridors are like catwalks and the foyer is expansive with enormous sculptures and lights hanging down from the ceiling.
And our Panoramic Suite was gigantic (even the smallest standard room is 20 per cent bigger than the average hotel room), with a balcony the size of a five-aside football pitch. My partner wanted to get straight on the phone to find some friends to share it with, channelling Jensen Button and fantasizing about spraying Champagne everywhere — I just wanted to enjoy the space and gaze out at the track and the shiny new Mercedes Benz. And I'm not even into cars.
I am into spas though and I was booked in for a morning massage. The spa is vast and beautiful: there's no clinical white in sight, it's all slate and chrome, buff leather and honey-coloured wood.
Massages and body treatments have been created by Jane Scrivner of La Stone therapy fame, and the oils she has formulated smell truly beautiful. The facials are by Lubatti — no it's not a make of car, it's a skincare brand created by the celebrated facialist Tracey Malone, sister of Jo. The therapists in the spa were really lovely, as were all the staff — really well informed and really knowledgeable. Our barman definitely knew his tequilas and served me the most delicious margherita. After cocktails we had dinner and I loved the fact that you could order starters as main courses and main courses as starters. Such an obvious but brilliant idea.
Much about Brooklands is brilliant — not least its brand-spanking, super-shiny newness. In fact I'd recommend you go now, while you can a still feel like you're venturing into virgin hotel territory.
Brooklands Hotel, Brooklands Drive, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0SL (+44 (0) 1932 335710; brooklandshotelsurrey.com). Rates for a standard king room start at £132.
