People from near and far come to visit the Thames and its London landmarks, but few wonder what lies beyond the city’s bends, and fewer still follow it far enough to find out.
Just forty minutes from Paddington, near the Michelin-starred village of Bray, the river curls around a tiny, leaf-shaped island that once lured monks, royals, and the occasional misbehaving aristocrat. Today, Monkey Island Estate, a Georgian idyll reborn by YTL Hotels – the Malaysian group behind Pangkor Laut and The Gainsborough Bath Spa – calls to a new generation of city-escapers in search of countryside calm.
Once a monastic retreat known as Monks Eyot, the island was transformed by the third Duke of Marlborough into an eccentric Georgian hideaway, complete with Palladian pavilions and singerie frescoes of monkeys behaving badly by French artist Andieu de Clermont. Its Georgian façades and riverside lawns remain implausibly picturesque, fringed by willows skimming the water and hedges clipped to cubic perfection, while its playful name (whether from the monks or the monkeys) adds a touch of mystery to what is, at heart, a polished weekend escape from the city.
The Vibe
Crossing the footbridge onto Monkey Island is a change in tempo from commuter pace to countryside stillness. The Thames narrows here, pressing against the riverbank as mute swans glide past the main white Georgian house, framed by ironed lawns.
The island’s history is one of reinvention. Augustinian monks first cast their fishing lines here in the twelfth century and, three centuries later, rubble from the Great Fire of London was barged in to raise the land, paving the way for Marlborough’s transformation. He turned the estate into his own personal folly, commissioning murals of monkeys in aristocratic poses (hunting, drinking, dancing), a sly echo of human indulgence still preserved on ceilings and walls in the Monkey Room.
The island has transformed time and time again, from being a wartime refuge to an artists’ and literary retreat, before finding its wild side in the swinging sixties as a flamboyant party spot where Princess Margaret once danced until dawn. Then, neglect crept in, until YTL’s 2018 restoration returned much of its Georgian glory. A contemplative bronze statue of Yeoh Tiong Lay, YTL’s founder, now stands on the lawn overlooking the island he helped revive.
Today, guests drift peacefully around the seven acres of the island, occasionally slipping into the cabin hideaway or the floating spa. Bar the occasional low pitch of boat motors, the clamour of London is a lifetime away, with the River Thames as the only connecting thread to the city. Close enough for a Friday night train, but far enough to feel gone, this is the countryside with convenience.
The Rooms
The refurbished rooms at Monkey Island Estate strike the same balance as the island itself, conscious of the heritage here, but refusing to be a museum. The Temple Rooms, designed by New York-based interior moguls Champalimaud Design, are a study in understated luxury, a modern interpretation of the English country house. Queen-size beds, marble en-suite bathrooms with Elemis, and custom furnishings sit beneath tall sash windows framing either the Thames or the sculpted gardens.
The Wedgwood Suite (pictured above) is widely regarded as the estate’s most coveted chamber. Panelled in mahogany, with intricate Wedgwood-blue plasterwork where Neptune, mermaids and dolphins coalesce, it feels like stepping inside an heirloom. Many try to book it, but few succeed without planning far in advance, often settling for a stolen glimpse through the doorway instead.
For longer stays or milestone celebrations, the estate also offers a collection of private cottages nearby. These elegant, self-contained residences combine the island’s amenities with the privacy of a country home, extending the island’s serenity just beyond its banks.
The Food + Drink
Given its postcode in Bray, Britain’s most Michelin-star-dense village, expectations are sky-high. The estate’s own Brasserie meets the mark, with a delectable menu that follows a seasonal, local sourcing philosophy. The Thames glints just metres away, with the option to dine al fresco on the terrace or inside with french doors to the view. Its open kitchen serves contemporary English country-house cuisine, with produce coming from small nearby suppliers and the estate’s own gardens, where herbs, fruit and veg are grown, and honey is harvested from the estate’s beehives.
Breakfast offers both a full English and a continental spread, while afternoon tea can be taken floating on the river, should you like. If you’d like your morning eggs with provenance, rumour has it you can collect them yourself from the on-site coop, each hen charmingly named after a royal from the estate’s past.
For drinks, guests can drift between The Monkey Room, The Monkey Bar, and the intimate Whisky Snug, where a carefully selected collection of spirits elongate the night. Don’t forget to try the house tipples, the Monkey Island Estate Gin that uses backyard ingredients, and the Monkey Island Pilsner, brewed in nearby Eton.
The Little Extras
The Shepherd’s Hut Hideaway offers a private interlude on the lawn, an escape within an escape. I sat fireside, wrapped in the warmth of blankets in this small cabin with a dainty, candle-lit interior, a selection of books, and a door that opens directly onto the garden. I was spared of any sound but the ticks and clicks of insects and the occasional ripple of passing boats.
The Spa
The estate’s Floating Spa, moored on the island’s banks, continues centuries-old traditions. Inspired by Chelsea’s Apothecaries’ Barge of the 17th century, it houses three treatment rooms, though I had the barge to myself entirely for an expertly tailored full-body massage as I lay on water-filled cushions. Though I didn’t experience it, the signature Monk’s Elixir Massage is spoken of in reverent tones. It begins with a tasting ritual of one of three monastic liqueurs (Chartreuse, Frangelico, or Bénédictine), reminiscent of the herbal tonics once brewed by the resident monks, served in the light-wood interior of the barge’s bar, followed by a full-body massage using house-infused herbal oils and warm compresses.
The To-Do List
If you can bear to leave an island that feels so wonderfully excluded, the village of Bray and its Michelin pedigree lies beyond the bridge. Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck sits just up the lane, while his Hind’s Head, where I enjoyed a three-course Sunday roast, offers pub classics with a Michelin twist. Michel Roux’s Waterside Inn, still holding its three Michelin stars after four decades, is a short stroll away, best saved for a celebration, or perhaps an understanding accountant.
The estate can arrange everything from clay-pigeon shooting to riverside picnics, and nearby, but to actually move along the water, the estate’s wooden launch, the Dragonfly, can be chartered for private tours along this particularly painterly stretch of the Thames. Or charter a smaller canopied boat, setting course past Bray’s storybook cottages, each with their own private jetty and Marlow’s elegant bridges.
Windsor beckons with its parklands and the backdrop of Eton College across the river. Cliveden House makes for a stately afternoon wander, while Oakley Court – part of the Soho House family – offers members a cinematic riverside outpost for cocktails or a dip in the Thames. You might recognise parts of the area from Pinewood Studios, just up the road, where Bond and countless other British classics were shot. Yet even with all this on the doorstep, the temptation to remain on the island and enjoy doing absolutely nothing might still win.
All image credit: Monkey Island Estate
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