Tewinbury

Tewinbury is a riverside farm and hotel in Hertfordshire, 30 minutes from London. A place full of life to meet, play, and grow together. 

In today’s always-on and always online world, we’re more and more disconnected from nature, each other, and our own self. We often neglect, or don’t fully appreciate, the important things in life. Tewinbury aims to be the antidote to this. 

 

Our home for almost a century

As stewards of this estate since 1931 (more on our history over here), our family and team of proud farmers and hosts has one simple aim: to nurture our land and guests, creating an environment where both thrive together.

For guests, that environment is one of nourishing moments, natural energy, and good-natured fun. Lively spaces to get together and get inspired. Great food and drink that’s seasonal, homemade, and typically homegrown. Interesting experiences to learn, recharge, and feel good. And of course warm bedrooms to switch off, relax and unwind in.

  1. Farm Etiquette
    • Be naturally curious.
    • Open your arms & be generous.
    • Bring the energy.
    • Take pride in this place.
    • Have fun.
  2. Values

    Our values & vision

    ‘Tewinbury Forever’ is our mindset and motivation. We’re playing the long game here, with our four values working to sustain Tewinbury for generations to come.

    1. Take pride

    We’re responsible for our land, appearance, products, practices, and people. This means prioritising quality over convenience. As our Dad says, “we’re not selling this bag of potatoes, we’re selling the next.” Do a great job today so people come back tomorrow.

    1. Always welcoming

    And generous. From the moment you cross the river and arrive at Tewinbury, you feel like you’re in the right place, surrounded by the right people. However long you’re here, we want to get to know you, hear your story, and help you feel your best.

    1. Stay curious

    Listen, question, learn. We always remain open to - and are never offended by - growth, change, and constructive critiques. As guardians of this estate, it’s in our interests to always do better for it.

  3. Lessons and Learnings Guiding Our Land and People
    • Be generous with your time and attention
      Make people feel truly welcome. Take a genuine interest in who they are and where they’re headed. A little kindness goes a long way.
    • Look after what you have not just what you want
      Care for what’s already here – the land, the people and the community. A solid foundation is key to growing anything worthwhile.
    • You’re selling what you have not just what you want
      In the words of Vaughan, "You can't sell the farm you want, you can only sell the farm you’ve got." Focus on making what you have the very best it can be.
    • Play the long game
      Don’t expect everything to happen all at once. Growth and success take time, patience and a steady hand.
    • Breathe
      The long game only works if you balance it with moments of play and rest. Take breaks, recharge and come back stronger.
    • You’ll always worry about things
      It’s natural to worry but trust in your hard work. More often than not the effort you put in helps those worries sort themselves out.
    • Take opportunities and stretch yourself
      Step outside your comfort zone. Growth happens when you challenge yourself and embrace new chances.
    • Do the right thing
      If something feels like the right thing to do it usually is. Integrity always pays off in the long run.
    • Get out into nature every day
      Step away from the desk, breathe in the fresh air and see the real life around you – the cows, the sheep and even the worms. We’re all connected in one big chain.
    • Bring people on the journey
      Life’s a lot more fun when you share it. Involve others, collaborate and enjoy the ride together.

Meet the Team

Family Farm Forever

Getting invested in Tewinburys Brand

Service & Hospitality

We are in the business of making people happy - longer term friendships/relationships (value) - gates are always open, a place for people to connect.

The food, drink, rooms and setting all play a part in making people feel happy, but that isn’t the full story. - add in the farm (make it a bit more farm-led) 

The atmosphere we create and the service we provide, that’s what our guests are here for. We want to make our customers feel special every step of the way. 

From the moment they arrive on the farm our customers should feel genuinely cared for. They deserve our highest standards of consistently excellent service.

We already have a great reputation, and we want to take that even further, our guests spend a lot of money to come and stay, eat, get married or host a conference with us, so it is up to us to find ways that we can exceed their expectations. 

We love teammates who are naturally warm and welcoming to our guests. We want you to show our guests your personality, we don’t want lifeless robots, we want you to enjoy interacting with our guests and stiving to make their day special in your own unique way!

We strive for a supportive environment for all our teams. We recognise that if everyone is supporting each other then we will have a happy place to work, and when our teams are happy our customers can feel this!

 

  1. Service vs Hospitality

    Believe it or not there is a difference!

    Service is what happens to a customer; it's technical. Good service is when all a guest’s expectations are fulfilled – it’s the taking the booking, making sure they have the right room, notes have been read, tables booked, good food served. Everything happens in sequence and at the right time. 

    Hospitality – is what happens for the customer – it's emotional.  Good hospitality is when a customer leaves feeling better than when they arrived. Someone smiles at them; someone knows their name if they are regulars. Everyone they meet along the way cares if they have a good time and are genuinely interested! 

    It’s when people go the extra mile for no reason other than they enjoy doing it.

  2. Training & Development

    We want you to have a great experience working with Tewinbury, and one of the best ways to achieve this is for us to teach you new things.

    We need to have a positive outlook and approach to learning at work.

    You will be amazed how much hospitality will teach you, from food and beverage knowledge, the joy of giving good customer service, being able to speak to people with confidence, reading people and their body language. These are fantastic skills that will benefit you in both your personal and professional life.

    For managers the growth is through learning to manage people, not only manage them but to get the best from the people they manage!

    Learning about management psychology and always a love of great food and beverages as well as people.

    We focus on the 70:20:10 Model

    10% of training happens in a classroom setting
    20% is through feedback, coaching and guidance.
    70% is what happens on the job and is driven by you. This might be what you watch and learn from your teammates, putting into practice the stuff you have learnt from your manager or in training. It also includes your self-guided learning, such as reading this manual!

     

  3. Customer Feedback

    Customer feedback is so important to us, it’s how we can hear about the things we’re getting right and more importantly the things we are not! This is what then helps us improve our guest and customer experience.

    Yes, sometimes we make mistakes and things go wrong, everyone does, and complaints can and will happen. But complaints are also opportunities, and if they are handled correctly these situations can show off our service and hospitality! If we handle the problem correctly, our guests will often leave happier and more impressed than if the problem had never happened!

    The question to ask is will the guest or customer be leaving happy. 

    Will they have a good story to tell all their family and friends about Tewinbury?

    And if the answer is no, what could we have done better or what can we do to make them happy. 

    Word of mouth is so important – even more important than reviews. People talk about Tewinbury, we are well known locally and further afield, we want them say positive things about us!

    There are 3 key opportunities to pick on a problem and to try to turn it around. 

    1.   We pick up on an issue before a customer complains.

    This is the ideal situation – the problem is spotted and resolved before it escalates. No complaint is made, and the customer thinks were great and attentive for seeing an issue before them.

    1.   The customer makes a complaint, and it is dealt with effectively before they leave. How far do we go to make our customer happy…

    If in doubt your manager will be able to help you reach the right decision on what to offer them to ensure they are happy. Sometimes the best thing to do is to ask them what would make them happy, and yes you may not be able to fulfil that request, but you can pass it on and someone else can decide if it is appropriate.

    1.   The customer leaves Tewinbury and then makes a complaint, as either they did not want to say anything at the time, or it wasn’t handled correctly. A manager will be asked to look into what happened and in this case either Marketing or a Director will respond. The same will apply to a negative review online. We will always try to meet our guests needs and admit if we made the mistake, honesty is the best policy, and we want to build trust when things have gone wrong for our customers.
  4. Customer Feedback

    Customer feedback is so important to us, it’s how we can hear about the things we’re getting right and more importantly the things we are not! This is what then helps us improve our guest and customer experience.

    Yes, sometimes we make mistakes and things go wrong, everyone does, and complaints can and will happen. But complaints are also opportunities, and if they are handled correctly these situations can show off our service and hospitality! If we handle the problem correctly, our guests will often leave happier and more impressed than if the problem had never happened!

    The question to ask is will the guest or customer be leaving happy. 

    Will they have a good story to tell all their family and friends about Tewinbury?

    And if the answer is no, what could we have done better or what can we do to make them happy. 

    Word of mouth is so important – even more important than reviews. People talk about Tewinbury, we are well known locally and further afield, we want them say positive things about us!

    There are 3 key opportunities to pick on a problem and to try to turn it around. 

    1.   We pick up on an issue before a customer complains.

    This is the ideal situation – the problem is spotted and resolved before it escalates. No complaint is made, and the customer thinks were great and attentive for seeing an issue before them.

    1.   The customer makes a complaint, and it is dealt with effectively before they leave. How far do we go to make our customer happy…

    If in doubt your manager will be able to help you reach the right decision on what to offer them to ensure they are happy. Sometimes the best thing to do is to ask them what would make them happy, and yes you may not be able to fulfil that request, but you can pass it on and someone else can decide if it is appropriate.

    1.   The customer leaves Tewinbury and then makes a complaint, as either they did not want to say anything at the time, or it wasn’t handled correctly. A manager will be asked to look into what happened and in this case either Marketing or a Director will respond. The same will apply to a negative review online. We will always try to meet our guests needs and admit if we made the mistake, honesty is the best policy, and we want to build trust when things have gone wrong for our customers.
  5. Dealing with Complaints

    Complaints are tricky to manage but if we get it right, we can win over and create customers for life! Things we should be aware of that can make complaints easier to deal with….

    -          Try to spot a mistake before a customer does

    -          Errr on the side of generosity with both your time attention and what we offer them as compensation.

    -          Don’t argue or make excuses, JUST APOLOGISE

    -          Listen to what they are saying, thank them for the feedback, and do whatever it takes to make them leave a happy customer.

History of Tewinbury

From rustic farm to ever-evolving estate

Three generations of Williams’ have called Tewinbury home - the fourth are currently in nursery - growing it from a dairy farm into a place full of life for stays, dinners, celebrations, members, meetings and more. Come take a trip down memory lane…

 

  1. How it started

    Tewinbury has been the Williams family home, our home, since 1931. That’s when our Grandad arrived here on a train from London with 50 cows. Yep. 50 cows. On a train. Bananas. In the years that followed, our Uncle Ivor looked after the farm (and still does today). 

    Fast-forward to 1980 when the dairy herd was sold in order to buy some of the surrounding land and open a farm shop stocked with local produce. At the same time, our Dad Vaughan advertised four rooms in the family home as guest rooms for visitors. They were pretty popular, and so began Tewinbury’s next chapter as both a farm and a hotel.

     

  2. How it's going

    Tewinbury has continued to change with the times - with more spaces and places added for people to meet, play, and grow together. The estate is now in the hands of us three brothers (Jack, Tom and Sam Williams), the wider family of Lauren and Salem, and our 200+ local friends who work here every day. All under the occasional watchful eye of Dad!

    We still farm the land and are passionate about guests connecting with it in fun and informative ways. We want people to see where their food comes from and enjoy everything that nature can nurture. 

  3. How it’s evolving

    ‘Tewinbury Forever’ is our mindset and motivation. We’re playing the long game here, working to sustain Tewinbury for generations to come. We’ll continue to experiment and adapt, just as Dad Vaughan and Uncle Ivor did, with financial and environmental responsibility. That’s the benefit of building something with soul, not shareholders. 

    From a sustainability standpoint, our Green Policy is already in place and we’re always working to reduce our carbon footprint.

Tewinbury Venues

  1. Cowshed Restaurant

    Renovated from the original building housing our dairy herd, a contemporary touch now fills Cowshed’s rustic walls. Food is available every day of the week, with a fine dining focus that’s inspired by produce from the area and our kitchen garden.

    This is also where we serve our famous Afternoon Tea of homemade scones and sweets.

  2. Farm Shop

    Right by Reception in the main house, the shop provides fresh and local meat, produce and sweet treats. Stock up on snacks or grab ingredients for dinner. 

  3. Granary Kitchen

    A restaurant full of stories and good food. Located in the old chicken shed, Granary Kitchen does daily breakfast, brunch and lunch. Sunday roasts are a favourite here, while the outdoor bar and terrace are ready for warmer days.

  4. Horsebox

    Alongside our main farmhouse, the Horsebox does fresh barista coffee and snacks. Be sure to fill your boots before you head off on a long country walk.

  5. The Stable

    A relaxing space to read a book, get competitive over a board game, or enjoy a garden-to-glass cocktail on the riverside terrace. The walls are lined with vibrant art from local painters and makers, while the stage is set for live pianists every Saturday night. 

  6. The View

    This is our industrial-style sports bar at Panshanger golf course, just a short stroll across the road. All sports are shown, so if there’s a game on then this is the place to be. Cocktails, small plates and street food are accompanied by views across the 18th hole and further afield to Tewin Farm’s land. 

  7. Cookery School
  8. Picturehouse
  9. Farm Fit Gym
  10. Kingsbridge House
  11. Bedrooms & Huts
  12. The Farm
  13. Woodland Walks
  14. Conference & Events
  15. Animals
  16. Conference & Events