If there was a 12-step program for compulsive property refurbishers, Peter de Savary would be a charter member and no doubt running the meetings. The roguishly charming 60-year-old British entrepreneur has never met a down-in-the-dumps Camelot he didn’t want to resurrect. As a hobby he and his wife buy, restore and sell private homes on both sides of the Atlantic—over 45 at last count. But for the last quarter century, his day job has been collecting clubs and castles and giving them an extreme makeover far deeper than any cosmetic facelift.
His current magnificent obsession is Bovey Castle, once the country home of W.H. Smith, a name business travelers will recognize as the newspaper, magazine and book purveyors in big city airports and posh hotels. But while de Savary is sinking $50 million of his own money into the five-story, 100,000-square-foot, 64-room stone fortress that now includes an elegant spa, indoor swimming pool and suites, he has no intentions of flipping it for a fast profit.
Indeed, the 358-acre estate, a mere 98 years old, has been transformed into a hideaway hotel and club, deep in Dartmoor National Park in North Devon and not all that far from the city of Plymouth where the Mayflower shoved off for the New World five centuries ago. Bovey is not exactly a certifiable castle. It is more of a relaxing and quiet regal retreat where anyone willing to pony up $250 a night and up for a room can live like royalty with a 180-person staff at his disposal.
During a recent visit, I had the sheer luxury of doing absolutely anything I wanted, when I wanted to do it. While deadlines are my life, there is something delightfully sinful of waking up in history on 350-thread-count sheets without a wake-up call, flipping on a new flat-screen TV to BBC World News, catching a few headlines, and then sinking into a bubble bath in a deep tub before toddling down to a breakfast buffet that rambles over a full one-fourth of the bright and airy dining room. At breakfast, it fully dawns on you that Bovey Castle is more five-star resort than a B&B. De Savary, an indulgent gourmand, wouldn’t dream of serving muffins and coffee. The full English breakfast is lavish, filling and pricey—$33 at the current U.S. dollar to Sterling exchange rate. Porridge anyone? Ask and you will be served.
A word to the wise—go easy on the hearty English morning fare because you have a full day of vigorous activities ahead of you. Bovey is not the place to come if you expect to climb on a tour bus and tour the lovely countryside 150 miles southwest of London and two hours from Paddington Station by train. As the Web site (www.boveycastle.com) heralds, this is a true sporting refuge and I’m not talking badminton on the green.
An ala carte menu of adventures is offered that includes shotguns and clay pigeons, fly casting, fishing for salmon and trout, riding spirited horses, playing tennis, archery and rumbling around the acreage in 4x4 off-road vehicles that remind you of small Humvees.
The centerpiece of Bovey Castle’s cardiovascular-strengthening activities is a round on the beautiful and challenging 6,303-yard Old Course designed in 1926. It was created by the same architect who designed the legendary Gleneagles and Turnberry links courses in Scotland, two of the finest in the world. Of course, de Savary can’t leave well enough alone and he is planning a second, even more challenging 18-hole course for Bovey. He certainly has no shortage of lush acreage and scenery.
The fact is Peter de Savary, or PDS as he is called by almost everyone, has something of a Midas touch when it comes to private sporting clubs. He built his reputation with a chain of exclusive St. James’ Clubs in the 1980s that stretched from London to Los Angeles. The sports there were gastronomy, gaming (in the U.K. club) and mingling with a crowd of hip, bright, worldly and, yes, often beautiful people. PDS pulled off with style what Hugh Hefner tried to do with his successful-for-a-while global chain of Playboy Clubs, filled with leering young and old gits.
Since then de Savary rescued Andrew Carnegie’s summer home in Dornoch, Scotland, Skibo Castle, from certain oblivion and refurbished it, putting it on the map as a haunt for the likes of Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas and Madonna who, everyone knows by now, took it over in its entirety for her last wedding. Skibo was also a destination for Fortune 500 companies, royals and oil sheiks who wanted a place to meet, unwind, team-build away from prying eyes. Today, the de Savary portfolio includes Carnegie Abbey in Newport Rhode Island, Cherokee Plantation in South Carolina, and The Abaco Club at Winding Bay in the Bahamas, which is a work in progress. Coming and going to Bovey but want to stop over and savor a crossroads-of-the-world city? His London Outpost is a discreet 11-room one-time private townhouse on a tree-shaded street in the Chelsea District. A colleague of mine has overnighted there and gave me a glowing report on its exceptional service.
Attentive, personalized service seems to be the hallmark of de Savary’s ventures and he hires people who deliver it with skill and genuine enthusiasm. At Bovey Castle, which does not require membership to be treated like a 19th century Lord or Lady in a historical home filled with 21st century conveniences, I found the staff eager to please and respond to my every request. Want a snack at two in the morning? Ring down and a night porter will go in the kitchen, make it for you, and deliver it to your door with a smile and not a bill that’s festooned with all sorts of taxes, tips, delivery charges and service charges which, in many places, almost equals the cost of the nibble.
But it is the little touches that make Bovey Castle a delightful diversion for pressure-cooked business travelers who either want to get away on a holiday or hold a brainstorming session with no disruptions. There is a small business center with several PCs and gratis high-speed Internet access in a separate building along with a full theatre that has already been discovered by drug companies hawking the newest pill to their sales armies. You can also find an Apple Mac tucked inside an old red London payphone posted just outside the The Oak Bar. If you don’t have worldphone or a global pocket e-mail gadget, you’re never out of touch.
The Oak Bar is a particularly nice touch—warm, woodsy, paneled and filled with leather Chesterfields, not to mention 50 single malt Scotches and a menu with 150 classic and specialty cocktails. This libational library is something everyone thirsts for in their own home—a place to meet in the early evening, chat up friends and acquaintances over a superbly crafted drink, and let the sun go down and the world sort out its problems. Again, the service was prompt and the drinks were expertly crafted.
There is no chance of going hungry at Bovey Castle or being fed that heavy British food that has been dished out for so long in England. Dinner here is the equal of London’s new crop of fine dining restaurants, but bring your appetite to the table. A recent menu included pan-fried chicken breast wrapped in Parma ham, seared Skate wing with prawn and caper butter, a salmon rillette with coriander and gazpacho dressing. For traditionalists, there was a roast leg of lamb carved from the trolley with mint sauce and rosemary juice.
The appeal of Bovey, to me at least, is that you can hang out at the estate and never be bored. Or you can get a ride to a lovely centuries-old coaching inn, small bar and exceptional restaurant in nearby Moreton Hampstead called White Hart (owned by Peter de Savary) or drop into the 400-year-old Sandy Park Pub in Chagford for a pint and a sing-along (owned by Peter de Savary).
Beginning to get the message? When Refurbishers Anonymous has its first meeting in North Devon, you can bet PDS will be there—with blueprints for his next escapade.
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