Review: The Pig in the South Downs

Set the scene
When I wonder about the local reception, I’m thinking of my own neighbors, who are fiercely protective of Sussex from miles off, and what would happen if an operation such as this one moved in next door. Owner Robin Hutson doesn’t pretend this isn’t a concern. But it’s about being a good resident over time, like anyone else, he says. The management handed out vegetables from the kitchen garden during lockdown and delivered bottles of wine door to door at Christmas. They bought a defibrillator for the cricket club. It turns out that the day after I visit, 80 people from Madehurst are coming over for drinks and a little music ahead of the official opening. There were only 120 people recorded here in the last census. It seems like so far, so good. The backstory 
There are 300 people in the one-pub village where I live in Sussex, and just about everybody has something to say of Hutson’s latest hotel. Namely, is the historic county—white cliffs, family-run vineyards, pebbly beaches, brick-and-flint towns and all—about to be rumbled? The area is often forgotten by tourists. It’s puzzling given the landscape, as Arcadian as any in Britain, and the one-podcast-and-you’re-here train from London. But for better or worse, things here are on the move. In the same year, we’ve had a Polizzi Collection property—The Star—open in Alfriston, East Sussex, and now a Pig in Madehurst, West Sussex. Tidbits about the arrival have been making the rounds in these parts for some time. In 2017, Home Grown Hotels (HGH), The Pig’s parent company, bought Grade II-listed Madehurst Lodge in a hamlet just outside hilltop Arundel. It had been a private home and, according to Hutson, founder of HGH, the locals weren’t thrilled about the buyer. The small estate was once the dower house to Dale Park, a hulking Georgian mansion on a pristine sweep of downland that was demolished around 1960. The lodge came with about 20 acres of similarly untouched countryside and what Strutt & Parker, the firm that was selling it, called “the feel of a bygone era:” original sash windows, plenty of outbuildings ripe for conversion, footpaths from the door and private views of the South Downs National Park. A glass-slipper fit for a hotel, in other words. HGH got the keys for about $3.7 million. Cue a sensation in the neighborhood. And then—and then!—crickets. But Hutson has had his skates on these past few years. At one point, he had three Pigs under development—Kent, Cornwall and Sussex—and had to decide where to focus efforts first. He went with Kent, because the logistics around the building works were the most straightforward. Then it was a toss-up between Cornwall and Sussex, and he chose the former, he says, because the latter borders Kent and he didn’t want anyone to feel as if he was steamrolling willy-nilly through south-east England. The rooms 
Rooms are oak-and-brass rustic, with plump beds, Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers next to the coffee machine and the usual monsoon showers. In the month before opening, Hutson had been trying out each of the 28 guestrooms at the South Downs outpost. At the time of writing, he had slept in 20 and counting. Food and drink 
At breakfast, the eggs and tea are scalding, as they should be. A two-acre kitchen garden was dug out in 2017, so it’s long established now, and supplies head chef Kamil Oseka, previously at The Pig at Bridge Place, with peppers and tomatoes, stone fruit and edible flowers.  The area 
What may be a revelation is the location in the heart of British wine country, a lane of tourism still unplumbed by many travelers. Hutson would like The Pig in the South Downs, which laid its own vineyard of 4,000 vines in 2020, to be “a beacon” for the oenophile community. Alongside the 25-mile dining menu, the Pigs now sell about 30,000 bottles of English sparkling from 52 wineries every year, and the latest addition’s placement is perfect for vineyard hopping. Heavy hitters including Ridgeview, Wiston, Bluebell, and Rathfinny are an easy, picturesque drive away. 

The service 
The staff are young, warm, and confident, a mix of keen new faces from the area, most of whom hadn’t worked in hospitality before, and seasoned managers such as hotel director Mairead Gleeson who came from Soho House. 

Eco effort 
Up to The Pig’s usual high standards, particularly when it comes to the food and drink—the team have seriously reduced airmiles by sourcing only local, ethically grown ingredients. Accessibility for those with mobility impairments There is wheelchair access to the ground floor rooms and garden of the hotel, with gravel tracks around the property. Anything left to add? Arundel is the U.K.’s first bee-friendly town, and has successfully rewilded Dalmatian pelicans in the wetlands nearby. If you can tear yourself away from your roll-top bath or well-stocked table, get out and explore the South Downs and all it has to offer.