Sarah Eddison, in constant search of the hip and happening, seeks out the newly-opened Vine House Boutique Hotel in Burnham Market, North Norfolk

Is it true that you can never have too much of a good thing? For many visiting North Norfolk from this area, Burnham Market is the destination of choice, filled with shopping and dining hits, and with the opening of this new chic place to stay, it is proof positive that you can have it all; a stylish luxury break coupled with retail therapy, and the big blue skies and stunning beaches just a pebble’s throw away.

Vine House Boutique Hotel comes with a stellar pedigree. Paul Whittome, owner of the famed and hugely successful Hoste Arms Hotel, (and yes you do have to admire this man!), had been looking to buy another hotel for about three years, and was very keen to find a new spot in the village. “My intention was to create the finest boutique hotel outside of London, and Vine House, by being simply a minute’s stroll across the green from the Hoste, enables me to keep more control in every way, including from a management and marketing point of view. The idea behind Vine House is to offer an extremely high quality, luxurious, alternative place to stay, to the Hoste. It is quieter and more peaceful, you take breakfast in your room, hamper-style, or head for the Hoste and dine at the main hotel, where you can of course benefit from all the other facilities that the Hoste can offer, like the fantastic food much of which is locally sourced; such as fresh asparagus and seafood from along the coast. Vine House is extra special, more grown-up if you like. It has a Butler service in the evenings, a cosy reading room, and a drawing room that is also available for small private events and meetings.

“My business is always evolving, I look and learn, and continue to look at other hotels throughout the world, which I do of course find very enjoyable, but I know that at the end of the day everyone who walks through my doors is doing me a favour; not the other way around. We live in a very close community and I have been very conscious not to buy or set up a retail business here; because it would put me in competition with those who have been so supportive to me. I simply love Vine House, and my wife Jeanne has done a tremendous job styling the interiors.”

Jeanne has stylishly embraced the Georgian in the decoration of the interior of this oh-so-luxurious boutique hotel. “I love the balance and symmetry it offered; it’s simply a fashionable Georgian house in fine surroundings and comfortable in style. It has seven luxury bedrooms, all slightly different, fabulous bathrooms, and a charming, tranquil, softly-scented-with-old roses’ walled garden. It’s a very peaceful house, quite private, but with all the advantages that Burnham Market has to offer literally on your doorstep.”

“ I guess it’s Georgian with a twist,” Jeanne says, and tells me how she has sourced mirrors, furniture and chandeliers from dealers far and wide, including “a fabulous rosewood chaise,” which she has had covered in a Brunschwig and Fils gold and cream tapestry fabric.

“Luxurious spacious bathrooms, special bed linen, great mirrors and fantastic (flattering!) lighting, and I think it’s so important that the bathroom is beautifully tiled and maintained, with plenty of thick towels. Guests can also book our beautician for a pampering session in the privacy of their own room, which is a great treat.”

Vine House oozes class and style and attention to detail. As Jeanne says “We hope that Vine House is chic and luxurious but informal as well.”

And I for one can assure you they have. Check in, and you will most definitely agree with me that you simply won’t want to leave!

Vine House Boutique Hotel, The Green, Burnham Market. Norfolk PE31 8HD.
Tel: The Hoste Arms 01328 738257 www.vinehouseboutiquehotel.co.uk www.hostearms.co.uk