Ideal for a romantic Georgian escape with genuine wit and eclectic charm…
GuestHouse Hotels was founded by brothers Tristan, James and Tom Guest. Nominative determinism at its finest, given how well they understand hospitality. The group now has properties in York, Margate and Brighton, but this Bath outpost was their first acquisition.
The hotel originally opened in December 2016, and after the Guest brothers took over in 2019 and relaunched it under the GuestHouse brand in 2021, No. 15 has become one of the city’s most beloved boutique stays. After spending two nights here, it’s easy to see why.
No. 15 occupies one of Bath’s most enviable positions on Great Pulteney Street, the grand Georgian boulevard where Bridgerton’s carriage scenes were filmed. Three interconnected Grade I-listed townhouses have been transformed into a 36-bedroom hotel that straddles the line between intimate and grand impressively. Jane Austen’s former Bath residence sits just around the corner, which feels rather fitting given the hotel’s ability to blend period grandeur with contemporary wit.
Location
Great Pulteney Street is Bath’s widest and grandest thoroughfare, a sweeping Georgian boulevard that could have been lifted straight from an Austen adaptation. The neighbourhood is residential and refined, a welcome contrast to the busier tourist-clogged centre. The hotel sits directly opposite Henrietta Park, home to some magnificent mature trees including a particularly impressive copper beech. It’s the ideal spot for a morning stroll to wake up the senses at any time of year.
The Holburne Museum (which doubled as Lady Danbury’s mansion in Bridgerton, should you care about such things) sits at one end of the street, whilst Pulteney Bridge, one of only four bridges in the world lined with shops on both sides, lies just moments away. The usual suspects (the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent, really heavy hitters, all of them) are all within comfortable walking distance, making this an ideal base for exploring without ever needing transport.
One practical note: parking in Bath is a nightmare. No. 15 has seven spaces in their private car park off Henrietta Mews, priced at £25 per night and best booked in advance as they fill quickly. Otherwise, the Podium car park is nearby, as is Manvers Street. If all else fails, try Charlotte Street. It’s a bit of a walk but usually has a space.
The Vibe
Walk through the entrance and you’re immediately greeted by an extraordinary collection of art and curiosities. There’s something almost Alice in Wonderland about it. At check-in, you collect your key from an oversized doll’s house (a recurring theme here), whilst a chandelier constructed from thousands of mismatched earrings hangs overhead. A giant Big Ben sits in the corner. Musical instruments are mounted on walls. A gramophone has been repurposed as lighting. On one corridor, there’s a wall of kaleidoscopes, all lined up for you to peer through. You might feel a bit giddy here.
Glass-topped cocktail tables reveal collections of vintage costume jewellery and beaded trinkets underneath. The walls are covered floor to ceiling with paintings, sculptures balance on ledges, and even the doll’s houses in each room (which cleverly conceal tea and coffee stations) feel like miniature art installations. In one room, you might find hand-printed Tracy Kendall wallpaper cataloguing household objects in meticulous detail. In another, a graffiti mural of the cosmos serves as the backdrop to a king-size bed.
The collision of contemporary pieces with Georgian bones gives the place its particular energy. The decor is eclectic in the truest sense. Any more could tip into hoarding territory, but somehow the curation holds.
There’s a lovely residential feel to the place too. You’re staying in townhouses rather than a purpose-built hotel, and that distinction matters. The floors buckle here and there, the walls slant in the attic rooms, but these quirks only add to the charm. The proportions are beautiful, the natural light exceptional (those tall Georgian windows earn their keep), and everything feels considered rather than merely decorated. It’s playful without being precious, elegant without taking itself too seriously.
The Rooms
Thirty-six individually designed bedrooms spread across three townhouses and a Coach House ensure no two stays feel quite the same. Room categories range from Small Guest Rooms in the former servants’ quarters (snug but characterful, tucked up in the attic with sloping ceilings and views over Bath’s rooftops) to the grand Pulteney Rooms and sumptuous suites featuring four-poster beds, Regency-style fireplaces and soaring ceilings.
We stayed in a Henrietta Junior Suite overlooking the rear courtyard, blissfully quiet and decorated in a restrained khaki palette with a cut-glass chandelier and playful stencilled details. The Pulteney Rooms, designed by Martin Hulbert (the talent behind Chewton Glen and Coworth Park), represent the hotel at its most refined. Think marble washstands, vast sash windows and clever plexiglass furniture adding a modern twist.
The Coach House rooms, set behind the main buildings in a separate structure with a Gothic-style frontage and quatrefoil windows, have their own distinct character. Recently renovated, they feature deep olive greens and candy pink tones, with bathroom vanities by local maker Walcot Fabrication and headboards handmade by Somerset upholsterer Gabriela Turnbull.
What unites every room is exceptional attention to detail. Hypnos Lansdowne cashmere mattresses paired with 200-thread-count Egyptian cotton bedding deliver the sort of sleep that makes checkout feel genuinely painful. The in-room amenities border on excessive in the best possible way: Nespresso machines tucked inside those signature doll’s houses (which light up when you open them), Dyson hairdryers, Chromecast-enabled TVs, and Crosley record players with curated vinyl selections. There’s also a record library on the ground floor if your room’s selection doesn’t appeal.
Bathrooms feature either generous rain showers or freestanding tubs (some rooms have both), complemented by Wildsmith toiletries and Egyptian cotton bathrobes.
If you want to splurge, consider booking The Hideout, the hotel’s signature suite. It comes with its own private steam room and three-foot-deep hot tub, a spacious lounge with fireplace, Sonos sound system, and a small private garden. At around 60 square metres, it’s essentially a private apartment.
Families are well catered for too. Children get Yoto Players with a library of audio cards, Polaroid cameras with film, and in the larger rooms, cosy mini teepees for story time. Oh and all rooms other than their smaller guest rooms are dog friendly too. Expect a dog bed, bowls, treats, a welcome pack – you can even book a dog walker through the hotel. These are the kind of touches that show real care, and we love it.
Breakfast
The restaurant occupies a calm basement space where an eclectic mix of framed portraits shares wall space with decorative copper ladles and sculptural paper wigs. It’s the sort of atmospheric room that makes even a Tuesday morning feel rather special.
With both breakfast and brunch menus available, No. 15 takes the first meal of the day seriously. We opted for the continental breakfast with cooked additions; a wise, nourishing choice.
The breakfast muffin alone justifies a visit: sausage patty, maple bacon, fried egg, dijonnaise and Emmental layered into something approaching breakfast perfection. It ranks comfortably among Somerset’s best hotel breakfasts.
The salted caramel and banana waffles from the brunch menu prove dangerously addictive. Other cooked options felt just as thoughtfully composed: the black pudding Benedict and the breakfast hash were both executed with skill. Lighter options include house granola and smashed avocado on Bertinet sourdough.
Breakfast is served from 7.30am on weekdays and 8am weekends until midday, with weekend brunch running noon to 3pm. You can also request breakfast in your room between 7.30am and 10.30am.
The Pantry
On the first-floor corridor sits The Pantry, a self-service station stocked daily with homemade sweet and savoury snacks, available around the clock. This isn’t some token gesture: we’re talking proper ice cream (theatre-interval-sized tubs), homemade shortbread, vegan brownies, crisps and fresh fruit.
Midnight ice cream cravings? Covered. Scones with jam and cream? Yours for the taking. It’s the sort of facility that sounds minor but transforms the guest experience completely. Basically, you will never feel hungry here.
The Bar & Restaurant
From midday through late evening (11pm, with food served until 9pm), The Bar serves seasonal cocktails that lean decidedly local. The Somerset Old Fashioned is the one to order: aged cider brandy from the county, house bitters, bourbon and Bristol-made demerara syrup, finished with orange zest and dried apple. It captures the regional character without labouring the point.
Meanwhile, the kitchen delivers seasonal British cuisine with confidence. Expect to find small plates like Bath chaps with chorizo jam atop fried brioche, a local delicacy executed with proper respect for the dish’s heritage. Larger offerings range from Dorset charcuterie to sirloin from Stokes Marsh Farm. The wine list remains thoughtfully curated, and the space works equally well for a pre-dinner aperitif or a proper evening of drinks and small plates.
The space itself continues the hotel’s magpie aesthetic. Jewellery collections sit beneath glass tabletops, and behind the bar, an unusual feature wall has been covered in overlapping leather pieces arranged to suggest scales or feathers. It’s pastel-coloured, quirky and surprisingly easy to lose an afternoon in.
The Spa
The spa ranked second in the Good Spa Guide for Best City Spa category at their 2024 awards. Set in stone vaults beneath the hotel (open 9.30am to 7pm), the six treatment rooms have instantly soothing vibes, all painted in a calming blue with vintage apothecary decor.
The star attraction is the Copper Room, an intimate space available for exclusive booking, centred around an oversized freestanding copper bath for two. We booked the 90-minute Copper Room ritual: 30 minutes soaking in the opulent bath with organic, magnesium-rich salts, followed by side-by-side back, neck and shoulder massages. You then choose between a foot treatment or facial to finish. The spa uses organic, vegan and sustainably sourced products from brands like Pinks Boutique, Wildsmith and Proverb Tea & Tonic, all Soil Association accredited.
Ideal Tip
If arriving by train, book ahead and have the hotel meet you at Bath Spa station with their cargo bike. They’ll take your luggage back to the hotel, allowing you to explore unencumbered, even swapping your bags for a map of the city and an umbrella if you ask nicely. The hotel is just a 15-minute walk from the station across Pulteney Bridge, incidentally.
Why Visit?
No. 15 by GuestHouse delivers boutique luxury with genuine Georgian grace. It’s soothing and spoiling in equal measure, occupying one of Bath’s most beautiful streets and making the absolute most of that privileged position. The staff are genuinely warm without being overbearing, the attention to detail is impressive throughout, and the overall experience feels considered in a way that chain hotels simply cannot replicate.
Yes, it’s priced at the premium end. But spend a night or two here and you’ll understand why. This is weekending in Bath at its most refined, most romantic and most utterly charming.
Rooms start at £175 per night.
Website: guesthousehotels.co.uk
