GETAWAYS • Jersey
It takes less time to fly from London to Jersey than it does to get to York or Manchester on the train. The quick flight across the Channel situates you on the small, picturesque island. Outside the central area of St. Helier, bustling with financial institutions and fishing companies, I booked a stay at Longueville Manor, Jersey’s only Relais & Châteaux property. The 14th-century manor house, a family-owned hotel since 1949, emphasises Jersey’s upscale casual approach with 29 spacious, comfortable rooms and suites, an outdoor pool, a state-of-the-art wine cellar with thousands of bottles and a kitchen garden almost as big as the hotel itself.
It’s that garden that supplies Longueville Manor’s restaurant, run since 1990 by British chef Andrew Baird, who focuses on hyper-local ingredients like Jersey Royal potatoes, hand-dived scallops, spider crab and Jersey butter. The scallops come in by the barrel-full and are served in a variety of ways over lunch and dinner. During my stay in early June, the chef paired courgettes from the garden with halibut and octopus that were fished nearby – a clever way of showcasing the local land and sea in one bite.
Nearby, history buffs can find the remains of the German occupation during World War II, including at the Jersey War Tunnels museum, while surfers populate St. Ouen's Bay. Longueville guests can also charter the hotel’s own yacht, the Fizz Too, for the day. I opted to hop on a (very fast) RIB boat with Jersey Seafaris to explore the protected Les Ecréhous islands, where I spotted Longueville’s scallop diver, hard at work. –Emily Zemler
→ Longueville Manor (Jersey) • Longueville Rd • Standard room from £275 • Book.