Perched on a breezy ridge in East Sussex, the
Tillingham occupies a former hop farm reimagined as a winery, restaurant and guest retreat. It feels at once rustic and deliberate - a place where fermentation, farming and design coexist with an easy, slightly bohemian confidence. Old agricultural buildings meet modern additions, and gravel paths connect barns, cellars and gardens - while vines ripple down the slopes beyond.
The winery's grapes are farmed with biodynamic principles and handled with minimal intervention, yielding skin-contact whites, pét-nats and small-batch of still wines. Tastings are held in the airy tasting room or out on the terrace. Guests can even try their cider, beer and even sake - brewed on site - which further proves the estate’s obsession with fermentation.
When it comes to the accommodation, they are distinctly grown-up (it is an adults-only property, after all). Rooms in the farmhouse and converted outbuildings favour limewashed walls, raw timber, wool throws and vineyard views. No televisions, no distractions.
Part working farm, part winery and part culinary destination, Tillingham draws an eclectic, design-aware crowd seeking something unique. It's not a resort, nor a conventional hotel - and that’s precisely the point.
9.0 superb
Price from
BHD 113 / night
