Escape to Country Club: Inside The Georgian, a beautiful clubhouse with luxury accommodation in a quaint corner of Surrey, just an hour from London

Driving out of London, it’s always a surprise how quickly the suburbs give way to a much more pleasant landscape.

Roads open into fields and forests, weave through small towns, giving glimpses – a historic pub, the thriving high street, footpaths in every direction – of how wonderful it must be to live there.

Haslemere is such a place. Just over an hour’s drive from London, with the Surrey Hills to the north and the South Downs National Park to the south, this is a pretty Georgian town of half-timbered and tiled houses served by a parade of independent shops and lively sidewalk cafes.

Community seems to be at the heart of Haslemere’s The Georgian, a small, independent chain of 12 Coppa clubs based mainly in (or near) London, all membership-free.

Each room is designed as a social space for eating, drinking and participating in organized activities ranging from paddleboarding to mindful drawing. Three of the clubs also have rooms and The Georgian is the newest.

The hotel is a striking monumental building on the main street. As we enter the hotel, up the stairs and through the colonnade, the double-height hall with its wide wooden staircase literally makes a grand entrance.

But once you reach the living room (filled with colorful velvet sofas) and walk past cozy plant-filled halls, roaring fires and armchairs, the feel becomes modern and inviting.

There are 12 rooms upstairs (those facing the street are quite noisy), with an accessible 13th lower floor near the parking lot.

Rooms range in size from compact to grand and are simply but well appointed in a soothing Georgian color palette of duck egg blue walls with oatmeal accents.

We are in Room 12 which has a large wooden desk, computer ports on either side of the comfortable super king size bed and good coffee. There is no bath, but there is an excellent rain shower.

The hotel’s rooms are simply but well decorated in a soothing Georgian color palette of duck-egg blue walls with oatmeal accents, Jennifer reveals

Jennifer says sitting at the dining room table is “like eating in a stylish terrarium.” The hotel also has a large terrace and garden

Downstairs we meet a crowd of locals at the bar before entering the restaurant, which has glass doors opening onto a large terrace and garden. The space is a botanical delight: the ceiling is an airy grid of skylights with funky geometric shades and plants, it’s like dining in a stylish terrarium.

All Coppa Clubs offer the same menu of seasonal, healthy food (although it may not include the truffle and pecorino chips).

The ribeye steak with porcini sauce was impressive, while grilled trout on a bed of spiced freekeh was both virtuous and delicious, so no shame in brushing off the combination of chocolate cake, gooey toffee pudding and creme brulee custard.

The next morning, after a breakfast of mashed avocado on sourdough toast and a Full English, with fresh juice and a good shot of coffee, we cross the road straight onto the Serpent Trail.

This is a magnificent 104 mile walk through rare moors and meadows, winding from Haslemere to Petersfield.

We explore a wooded area where we are serenaded by singers before returning via the award-winning Blackdown Ridge Winery.

If you think Haslemere is the perfect place for a weekend break, join the club.