Independent hotels like this are the bedrock of British hospitality
About half the staff of The Priory have worked there for years, in some cases well over 20. It’s unusual to see older bar staff, waiters and waitresses in expensive hotels these days and they bring an immediate sense of dignified reassurance, a haven from the turbulent outside world. “I’ve known some of them since I was a small child,” says Katie, who with her brother Ben (the chap with the mustache) is very gradually taking over the reins from their father Jeremy Merchant. “They are family.”
With one dazzling exception, The Priory feels resolutely traditional, especially in the public…
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