The Maids Head is a 4-star luxury hotel in Norwich city centre, opposite the famous Norman Cathedral and just around the corner from Norwich Castle. With its central location, the Maids Head Hotel is a great base for a walking tour of the historic city of Norwich with its boutique shops and attractions.
Originally owned by the early Bishops in the day of William the Conqueror, the Maids Head Hotel dates back to the 13th Century and is the oldest hotel in the UK. A blend of architectural styles and unique spaces, such as an oak-panelled Jacobean snug bar and period character rooms, make the Maids Head Hotel the perfect complement to a city steeped in history.
Choose from 45 wines, some rare, to enjoy by the glass in the award-winning WinePress restaurant. The WinePress offers a special five-course tasting menu with wine pairing, including Norfolk black chicken matched with the Côtes du Rhône spicy French red, ‘Les Coumbarelles.’
Follow in the footsteps of Maids Head Hotel’s illustrious guests – Queen Elizabeth I, the ‘Black Prince,’ Catherine of Aragon, Horatio Nelson and Edith Cavell. Norwich railway station is just a mile and Norwich airport is three and a half miles away. Ample free parking on-site.
2 AA Rosettes for culinary excellence
TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2019 Winner
Norfolk & Suffolk Tourism Awards Winner 2019 – Best Independent Hotel
Norfolk & Suffolk Tourism Awards Winner 2019 – Investing in the Future
Contemporary style en suite bedroom, 172 sqf, offering free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, digital radio, in room iPad guest services directory providing hotel information, writing desk, seating area, tea and coffee making facilities, direct dial telephone, ironing facilities, toiletries, hairdryer, and key card access.
Contemporary style en suite bedroom, 118 sqf, offering free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, digital radio, writing desk, direct dial telephone, tea and coffee making facilities, in room iPad guest services directory providing hotel information, writing desk, seating area, ironing station, toiletries, hairdryer and key card access. Single bed.
Contemporary style en suite bedroom, 260 sqf, offering free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, digital radio, writing desk, direct dial telephone, tea and coffee making facilities, seating area, in-room iPad guest services directory providing hotel information, toiletries, hairdryer, ironing facility, and key card access. King-size bed or twin beds. please confirm at the time of booking. Z bed can be added.
Period style en suite bedroom offering free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, digital radio, writing desk, direct dial telephone, ironing facility, tea and coffee making facilities, seating area, in room iPad guest services directory providing hotel information, toiletries, hairdryer, and key card access. Feature rooms are individual in design and layout with exposed beams and, or period fireplaces. Double bed.
Contemporary style en suite bedroom, 260 sqf, offering free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, digital radio, writing desk, direct dial telephone, tea and coffee making facilities, seating area, in room iPad guest services directory providing hotel information, toiletries, hairdryer, ironing facility and key card access. King-size bed or twin beds. please confirm at time of booking.Please be aware that dogs are not allowed in the main Hotel. We operate a well behaved pet dog policy. Any damages caused by your pets must be paid for before departure. Should dogs be particularly noisy and disturb other guests then you may be asked to vacate your room. Pets must not be left unattended in guest bedrooms.Each room can accommodate a maximum of two dogs and included in the price we will provide a bed and a water bowl.
Period style junior suite, each with their own unique design. If you would like to request a specific room, kindly call the call the Hotel to check it is available, 01603 209955. En suite bathroom, several with walk in showers and roll top baths in the bedroom, free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, digital radio, writing desk, robes and slippers, in room iPad guest services directory providing hotel information, direct dial telephone, ironing station, tea and coffee making facilities, upgraded toiletries, hairdryer, and key card access. Adding another dimension of history to your break in medieval Norwich, our suites each have their own unique style and features, with views of the city, solid exposed beams, feature fireplaces, antique furniture and luxurious bathrooms. Junior suites have a spacious seating area. King-sized bed.
Period style suite, each with a unique design. If you would like to request a specific room, kindly call the call the Hotel to check it is available, 01603 209955. En suite bedroom offering free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, digital radio, writing desk, direct dial telephone, ironing facilities, tea and coffee making facilities, in room iPad guest services directory providing hotel information, upgraded toiletries, robes and slippers, hairdryer, and key card access. Adding another dimension of history to your break in medieval Norwich, each of our suites have their own unique style and features, with views of the city, solid exposed breams, feature fireplaces, antique furniture and luxurious bathrooms. Spacious, suites either have a separate lounge or a substantial seating area. King-sized bed.
The WinePress fine dining restaurant offers splendid surrounds in which to enjoy freshly prepared modern British dishes. Its glassed pitched roof, terracotta floor and large clock keeping time over black lacquered statuettes imbue the restaurant with a real sense of history. The menu at the WinePress is overseen by Daniel Galmiche, a Michelin-starred chef, who works in conjunction with the head chef at the hotel to create inspired, unstuffy food. If you’re a cheese lover and want a true taste of the region, we recommend you start with Wensum White goats cheese mousse with glazed beetroot salad, smoked Norfolk cider caviar, Cox’s apple and ruby chard. For a main, the Norfolk Dapple cheese and pearl barley couscous fritters are delicious. Round it off with a mouth-watering selection of Norfolk cheeses. Wine features heavily and guests can enjoy over 40 handpicked wines - including rare Tour de Belfort and local Norfolk wines - by the glass from the restaurant's extensive list. The latest technology ensures that each wine is served in peak condition. A gourmet, five-course tasting menu paired with wines is also available.
Please reserve a table for dinner in advance.
The Maids Head bar is something of a time machine, transporting you back to the reign of James I with its Jacobean oak panelling and snug. One of the oldest bars in the City, it is the perfect watering hole for a glass of fine wine or a pint of local beer.
In the summer, dining at the Maids Head Hotel reveals an altogether different flavour. Take a seat in the fresh open air – sunny or shade – and dine al fresco. Guests wanting to make the most of the fine weather can take their bar meal outside to the hotel courtyard, which offers an oasis of calm to spend a long summer evening after exploring the local area.
Don’t miss the opportunity to indulge in afternoon tea whilst staying in this glorious setting – savour homemade scones with fruit preserve and cream, sandwiches, cakes and a pot of tea. Both traditional afternoon tea and champagne afternoon tea are available to order and can be enjoyed in the Maids Head bar. Afternoon tea can be booked in advance, at a special price, when booking your room via classicbritishhotels.com.
The unique surroundings of the Maids Head Hotel present a wonderful setting for private dinners and celebrations. The hotel caters for reunions, anniversaries, family gatherings, birthday parties, charity and club events, and business dinners. Choose from a range of private rooms, each with its own individual character. Call Classic British Hotels on 0844 967 0984 for advice and let us help you organise a memorable private dinner.
20 Tombland, Norwich, Norfolk NR3 1LB, Great Britain
A grand Palladian mansion on the north Norfolk coast… Envisioned by Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, and built by the architects William Kent and Lord Burlington, this austere Palladian Hall — in the style of an Italian villa — is set in a thriving 25,000-acre agricultural estate and has been the ancestral home of the Coke family since the 1750s.
Inspired by the buildings of Venetian architect Andrea Palladio, his classical style and use of symmetry, taken from Ancient Greek and Roman architecture, can be seen from the imposing columns and pediments of Holkham Hall. Indeed, the building and its interiors comprise some of the finest examples of the Palladian revival style of architecture in England. The façade owes its colour to the yellow-brick replicas of ancient Roman bricks cast specifically for Holkham. Constructed of Derbyshire alabaster, the ‘Marble’ Hall features a magnificent colonnade that was copied from the Temple of Fortuna Virilis in Rome; its exquisite coffered, gilded ceiling – rising to a height of over 50 feet – is an imitation of the capital’s Pantheon. In stark contrast to this chaste grandeur, master paintings by Peter Paul Ruben and Anthony van Dyck hang on the saloon’s red velvet walls. Ruben’s painting has been noted for its unusual depiction of Christ as a young boy, rather than as an infant or a man. Twenty–two Old Master paintings hang in the landscape room. Significantly, this room holds a collection of seven paintings by Claude Lorrain, the great French landscape painter.
The green state bedroom on the piano nobile has played host to nobility of all ranks over the years, including Queen Mary. Indeed, for The Queen’s visit, the painting of the god Jupiter caressing his wife Juno, by Gavin Hamilton, was considered too lewd for the lady and banished to the attics. In the bedroom, tapestries woven by the great Flemish weaver, Albert Auwercx, hang either side of the fireplace. The statue gallery houses what is perhaps the most complete private collection of classical statuary in Britain. Here, all of the statues, bar three, are Roman and were sculpted between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. In Victorian times, they too were shrouded to cover their modesty.
Please note that some rooms, such as the libraries and the chapel, whilst frequently open for public view, are private areas of the Hall, and thus cannot be guaranteed on the day of your visit. We apologise for any disappointment this may cause.
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