Bingham Riverhouse in Richmond might be in London but it’s a million miles from the grind
Richmond doesn’t get nearly enough credit as a genuine escape. Just 35 minutes from central London on the District line, yet somewhere between Kew Gardens and the first glimpse of the Thames, something shifts. Bingham Riverhouse sits on Petersham Road in a Georgian townhouse originally built as two separate houses in 1740, and it has that quality only very old, very good buildings possess: the feeling that the world outside is moving at a different pace.
The hotel has 14 rooms. What began as a bed and breakfast in the 1980s became Richmond’s first boutique hotel in 2006, before evolving into a hotel, members’ club, restaurant and home to bhuti, the wellness brand founded by Samantha Trinder. Her mother, Ruth, owns the wider Riverhouse operation, and together they’ve built something that feels part countryside retreat, part neighbourhood institution.
We arrived in time for a Rest & Restore yoga class in the garden igloos. Late afternoon sunlight poured through the space and, somewhere during the session, we fell completely asleep. Even the instructor couldn’t wake us. A promising start.
Dinner followed at Riverhouse Restaurant, where head chef Vanessa Marx focuses on seasonal produce sourced from local farmers and growers. It’s a neighbourhood restaurant housed inside what feels more like the drawing room of a country estate. Think peach panzanella, summer pea risotto and Isle of Wight tomato gnocchi, all designed for sharing.
We stayed in the River Room, which overlooks the Thames and comes with a roll-top bath positioned directly in front of the window. The amenities include electrolyte sachets, which tells you everything you need to know about the direction of travel here.
The next morning started with breakfast and a particularly worthy wellness smoothie before an Iyengar yoga class. Less about movement for movement’s sake, more about attention. Afterwards came a massage treatment with Diane in bhuti’s dedicated wellness space inside the Riverhouse itself: a calm room complete with a Sunlighten infrared sauna and an approach to bodywork that sits somewhere between therapeutic and restorative.
Bingham Riverhouse is a great spot to properly switch off for 24 hours, and Richmond rewards the slower pace. The Thames path, the park, the particular quality of light on the water in the morning – it hits differently when you’re not rushing through it on the way to Heathrow. The easiest escape to the countryside London has to offer.
Key Information
Address | Bingham Riverhouse, 61-63 Petersham Road, Richmond TW10 6UT
For more information | binghamriverhouse.com
