It seems this summer is the time for new businesses to open in Stratford. We have already had a number of new openings, many of which we have tried, and it looks like we have more on the horizon in the coming weeks so we thought we would give you a tase of what we have seen so far.

Beaumont Patisserie

At the bottom of Sheep Street, near the Swan Fountain, you will find this lovely little patisserie. They offer some fantastic, sweet treats – we particularly liked their lemon meringue pie. Check out their Facebook page but be ready to salivate.

The Officer’s Mess

Located next to Fourteas and owned by the same people, this 1940s cocktail bar offers a selection of interesting cocktails and some sharing platters. They also provide entertainment at the weekend.

Ur5

Based in Bell Court, Ur5 is a juice & salad bar we haven’t ventured in yet; some might say it’s a bit heathy for us!

Wonderland

Based on Alice in Wonderland and themed to incorporate some of the amazing characters, lights, sound and fun that make Alice in Wonderland so magical. Opened by a friend of ours as a surprise for his 9-year-old daughter (lucky girl!), they sell lovely ice cream, Italian gelato, and plenty of other sweet treats.

They are also set to open Wonderland by Night, an adult offering of champagne & cocktails with background music, still using the all the elements of the daytime. After enjoying their ice-cream, we are looking forward to the evening’s launching.

Café Cocktail

Located near Rother Street Market, this is another place we haven’t tried but plan to later this week. Their menu looks nice, and friends say it’s worth visiting to try their cocktails, craft beer and sharing boards.

Corte Campana

Another new opening in Bell Court. Corte Campana only opened 6 days ago, and we have been twice already and plan to go back later this week. I think that sums it up really. The sell Neapolitan pizza baked in a traditional wood-fired oven.

York’s

The final opening in Bell Court is York’s; they already have a café on High Street but this time they are venturing into all day dining, craft beer and cocktails. We have only had drinks so far and have to say we have really enjoyed them and plan to go again after our pizza with friends later this week.

Upstairs @ Shakespeare’s Distillery

Now we have been big fans of Shakespeare’s Distillery since we were lucky enough to get a bottle of their first batch back in 2015. Since then, they have grown, moved venues and added new gins and spirits to their range, we are particular fans of the Mulberry Gin and their Limoncello. They also have a gin school where you can make your own gin which we have done and really enjoyed.

The next thing they have coming is Rum School and this will be based above their town centre shop rather than their distillery and we believe they will be taking bookings for it very soon.

Stay at Avonlea for 7 nights and save up to £100.

Forget Shakespeare!

… well not entirely, but a 7-night staycation at Avonlea is about so much more than the Bard. Book 7 nights and enjoy a discount of up to £100*.

Once you have had a surfeit of Shakespeare, use Avonlea as your base for a day at Warwick Castle, the finest Medieval Castle in England, which is just 9 miles from Stratford.

Then venture into the real Cotswolds. Nowadays almost everywhere claims to be ‘in the Cotswolds’, but the quintessential Cotswold villages (The BBCs of Bourton, Broadway, Chipping Camden, The Slaughters and Stow on the Wold) are a leisurely half hour drive from Avonlea’s doorstep.

Then there’s Malvern in Worcestershire, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and home to the glorious Malvern Hills which offer magnificent walking for all ages.

The list of possibilities goes on and on. We are always on hand with tips and suggestions to help you build your perfect stay. Click here to BOOK NOW!

(When booking a staycation of 7 nights or longer in 2022, you will receive the last night free up to the value of £100.  You must book in advance and the offer is subject to availability and not available on existing bookings)

Since reopening on 17th May, we have been delighted to welcome guests back to Avonlea. As always, we are following the latest Government guidelines – click here to read our COVID-19 policy or call us on 01789 205 940 if you have any questions.

Back in March, we were just getting ready for a holiday in Gran Canaria but just a few days before we realised that we didn’t want to travel. We were unsure what to do, and then about a week or so later we were told we could not travel.

With a mix of relief that we would now be getting our money back for the holiday and a little worry about the future, lockdown was soon upon us. I will be honest in saying the first few weeks we took a complete break from anything to do with Avonlea as we knew we had plenty of time and we both really need a deadline to work to.

During these first few weeks, we concentrated on helping others locally who have been isolating and unable to leave the house. Doing this was as helpful to us as it was to them, we enjoyed an excuse to get out the house and do something useful for someone else, as we have both always worked in hospitality we are always happier looking after others.

We started going for early morning walks with the dogs and enjoying Stratford-upon-Avon’s springtime beauty. Normally at this time of year, we do not have time to appreciate this so it was nice. We also enjoyed getting to meet more of our neighbours during the clap for NHS and key workers on a Thursday night. We are humbled and grateful to everyone who has put their life on their line to help out during this terrible time. A couple of weeks into the clapping we decided to start dressing up to make the neighbours smile, which it certainly did! Here are some pictures for those of you who have not seen them already.

Although Clare had commandeered room one as her crafting room to give us a little more space, after a little while we realised that our holiday in our favourite Bed and Breakfast in Stratford-upon-Avon could not last forever and we needed to do some work.

Clare has done a fantastic job on the touch up decorating in the B&B; we have been here nine years as of next week and we still have not found the time to decorate our private accommodation!

During this time I have spent many hours researching the protocols we needed to put in place to help us keep ourselves and more importantly our customers safe. I won’t bore you all with everything I have learned as that is one very deep rabbit hole but I can assure you we are confident that when we re-open on the 1st August we will have all the procedures in place to keep you safe. This is backed up by our ‘We’re good to go’ COVID-19 certificate that has been awarded to us by VisitEngland, our national tourism organisation. If you would like to see our policy, please click here.

You may ask why we are waiting until the 1st August. The main reason is we wanted to ensure that we have everything in place and do not rush the re-opening just for a few extra bookings. Also, we have decided to have a short break away ourselves, so we are having 3 nights away in a self-catering property in the UK because 2020 (and hopefully 2021) is the year of the staycation in the UK!

We are looking forward to recharging our batteries ready to welcome lots of wonderful guests for the summer season.

Until recently, understandably, bookings have been down for the rest of the year so we are running a couple of special offers to entice people back to Stratford.  For stays of two nights, you will receive 10% off our standard rate and for stays of 3 or more nights, you will receive 20% off our standard rate. This is available for most dates in 2020 and for new bookings only. We hope you understand with four months closed we are not in a position to discount previously made bookings sorry.

If you would like to book and discuss any of our new policies please feel free to give us a call on 01789 205940 or you can book directly on our website via this link to ensure you get the best rates.

I have also recently made a commitment to myself to get out and take more pictures, which I love to do and I will be sharing them across all of our social media pages but mainly on our Instagram page. I will be sharing lots of beautiful sights around Stratford and many of our wonderful attractions, shop and restaurants. I might even share the odd picture of our holiday.

We look forward to welcoming many of you soon.

Rob and, of course, Clare

Instagram – @avonlea_bnb

Facebook – @AvonleaStratford

Twitter – @avonlea_bnb