Another year’s Festival of Speed creeps up on me, I had put the date in my calendar but only made a mental note to start planning the trip. The year before I was calling around frantically trying to find a hotel close to Goodwood house but on announcing the dates to the hotel I was met with a hearty chuckle, “I’m sorry, we’re fully booked”.

Imagine my surprise then when I managed to get two rooms in Bailiffscourt Hotel, around 15 minutes from the entrance to the Festival - on the afternoon that I was due to leave. It was time to pack our bags and set off; we left London after the Friday traffic and headed south towards the Coast.
We were waved down the long drive by the security guard and as we approached the main entrance I was shocked to see only 6 other cars parked.

We checked in and were shown to our rooms promptly, I enquired about the quiet, this would be a quite night for any hotel, but a hotel this beautiful, this close to Goodwood? It turns out that we are not the first people to discover this little gem, Toyota, Ferrari, and various other manufacturers book large allocations of rooms here and according to the porter, “are rarely used”.

The rooms at Bailifscourt are kept free by the manufacturers for last minute hospitality of VIPs that suddenly decide to stay over for more than one day at the Festival or Revival.

A 400 meter stroll across the grass brings me to an old rural building, there are only two rooms in this block. An old fashioned and heavy duty skeleton key unbolts the old and creaky door, but as it swings open I dont see my room, but a corridor, leading to a small staircase. At the top of the stairs lies a slightly more modern lock which opens up into a gorgeous period room, with four-poster bed, a few armchairs dotted around and a chaise. The bathroom features a beautiful rolltop bath and seperate shower enclosure. I was going to be refreshed for the Festival tomorrow - this place is a find!
My photographer alas was not in one of the feature rooms, but in the modern block which was built at the back of the grounds - although the exterior of the modern block is built to reflect its surroundings, it still needs a few years weathering to match in properly.

In most circumstances the addition of modern, Hilton-style rooms onto a hotel this quaint would frustrate me, but I can’t help but feel grateful for this addition, if it weren’t for that block there probably wouldn’t be any space here at all.

After setting our things down we headed back to the lobby to have some dinner. Even though the restaurant was nearly closed my photographer’s dress code wasn’t suitable (hardly surprising considering he was in shorts and tee shirt!). The staff were very apologetic and sat us in the empty hotel lounge, where we were offered a choice from the lounge or restaurant menu, if I’m honest, I think I prefered the peace and quiet of the deserted lounge.

Both the food was fantastic and was enjoyed with an with excellent local beer. The staff were knowledgable and attentive - we really couldn’t have asked for more.

We finished our food and sat in the lounge for a few more drinks, discussing tomorrow’s plans. As the night drew to a close I returned to my room, darting from window to window, lamp to lamp trying to decipher how to make it go dark. - then finally, settled into bed.

There’s something about a countryside hotel that makes it easier to wake up in the morning. Within a few minutes I was ready to go, but not before diving into the restaurant... after all we hadn’t been able to see it yesterday.
There’s nothing more impor
tant than breakfast when you’re heading off to any Goodwood event - I was greatful for the ability to savour my breakfast and take my time, this morning’s drive to the Festival of Speed would be brief and trouble free. Thanks to Baillifscourt, this trip to Chichester was one of my favourite to date.