Matfen Hall has completed a six-year, £50m transformation that turns the Grade II listed Northumberland country house into the county’s only five-star hotel, with the final phase, a new spa called The Retreat, opening on 15 September.

For business travellers in the North East, the reopening delivers something the region has lacked: a genuine five-star base in the countryside west of Newcastle, combining 63 restored rooms and suites with fine dining, extensive wellness facilities and a championship golf course where tee times are included in every stay.

The Jacobethan mansion, which dates back to 1836, has been restored by specialist local architects, tradesmen and builders in a programme spanning the hotel, leisure and golf facilities. The Gothic Great Hall has been returned to its original role as the principal entrance, complete with historic stonework, carved timber panelling, decorative ceilings and a vast stained glass window at its centre. Ten new guest rooms and suites bring the total to 63, all fitted with new furnishings and marble bathrooms with freestanding baths, while original fireplaces, mouldings and timber detailing have been carefully preserved. Full details of the estate are on Matfen Hall’s official website.

The Retreat doubles Matfen Hall’s spa footprint

Opening on 15 September in an expansive new wing, The Retreat doubles the footprint of the former spa. At its heart is an 18-metre indoor pool set beneath a vaulted beamed ceiling, joined by a Jacuzzi pool, Himalayan salt sauna, traditional sauna, aromatherapy steam room, steam and experience showers, sunlight and red light therapy rooms, Brass Monkey ice baths, a cryotherapy chamber and a hyperbaric chamber.

Six treatment rooms sit alongside dedicated relaxation spaces, including a relaxation room, sun room and private lounges, plus a TechnoGym-equipped gym with a Pilates and yoga studio. For travellers tacking a recovery day onto a working trip, it is one of the most comprehensive wellness line-ups in the North of England, and a strong option for anyone exploring what’s new in NewcastleGateshead with a night to spare.

Dining from the library to the courtyard

Adjacent to the Great Hall is Emerald, the hotel’s fine dining venue and Northumberland’s only AA 3-Rosette restaurant. Housed in the property’s former library, it keeps its oak panelling, book-lined walls, fireplace and large windows overlooking the gardens and golf course.

The most striking addition is Cloisters, a seafood, grill and champagne bar created by Northumberland-based Doonan Architects. Formerly an open service courtyard, the space is now enclosed beneath a dramatic glass roof supported by sweeping curved timber structures and finished with brass detailing. A slatted brass spiral staircase leads to a glass-floored mezzanine with views along the courtyard and up to the Great Hall’s stained glass window.

The 1832 Bar, fashioned from rich oak beneath ornamental plasterwork, serves signature cocktails and the hotel’s own special-edition 1832 gin, while The Drawing Room hosts afternoon tea beside a fireplace originally commissioned for Buckingham Palace.

Championship golf included with every stay

New for 2026 is The Douglas, an 18-hole championship course combining nine newly designed greens with the classic character of the existing Standing Stone nine, featuring dry-stone walls, natural water hazards and the meandering River Pont. Complimentary tee times are included in all hotel stays, a benefit that will interest anyone entertaining clients or unwinding between meetings.

Supporting facilities added this summer include The Academy at the driving range with a new simulator and teaching bay, 15 Toptracer bays, a short game practice area, an all-weather 18-hole putting course and an oversized Himalayas-style putting green beside the Hall. The Keepers, a golf lodge overlooking the 18th green, houses The Golf Lab, pro shop, restaurant and bar, with the North East’s first Foresight Hawk golf simulator, championship virtual courses, custom fitting and PGA one-to-one coaching.

The investment lands amid a wider wave of country house hotels courting corporate and bleisure custom, from Dunston Hall’s £2 million refurbishment in Norfolk to the properties on VisitEngland’s 2026 Hotlist. For Northumberland, promoted by tourism body Visit Northumberland, it marks the county’s first entry into the five-star market.