Escapade Silverstone Weekend
Discussion
Last weekend I attended the BRDC Classic at Silverstone and stayed at Escapade. This is the housing development that runs from the exit of Club Corner all the way down to the Becketts complex. I thought I'd do a thread about it, as I think the view we had is probably the best I have had at any circuit anywhere on the planet.
I wasn't sure whether this should be in the F1 section or 'Holidays and Travel', but I thought it might find more interest here. It's relevant, too, as it is, of course, possible to stay at Escapade for the British Grand Prix weekend. The apartment we had costs around £48,000 for the Grand Prix, so start saving... I will come to what we paid later; it was far more reasonable!
The development is futuristic and feels a bit like something from a science fiction film or series:
We had a three-bedroom trackside apartment. This includes garage parking for two cars, although we just left ours outside (but under cover):
The three-bedroom apartment is a very decent size, about 1,000 square feet. The bedrooms are identical, and each comes with its own ensuite:
What it's all about, of course, is the view from the balcony.
And here it is:
The plant pot is on wheels and easily moved out of the way.
The view, 30 feet from Becketts, is absolutely staggering.
And noisy.
After a full day of spectating, plus a quick wander around the infield, we made our way to the on-site restaurant for dinner. For the Classic weekend, it was a set menu, three courses for £65 per person. Here's what I had:
With a bottle of wine and some other drinks, the dinner bill was around £350 for the three of us. We felt that it was a bit steep for what it was.
The room and bed were very comfortable, and I got a good night's sleep. Our rate included breakfast, which was a buffet affair:
We all found breakfast underwhelming and, at this level, felt we should have been able to order something like an Eggs Benedict instead of just getting a Premier Inn-style buffet.
We'd done some shopping ahead of time, and the apartment has a decent kitchen, albeit with just a microwave rather than a proper oven. We'd bought lots of cheese, olives, etc, which we did for lunch. Here is the apartment's lounge:
We had another great day watching the racing from the balcony. Old F1 cars were impressive through there, but the most fun was a couple of original Minis that were being driven through the entire Becketts complex in a controlled four-wheel drift! Lovely to see up close.
After the day's racing, we took a taxi to Towcester and went to an Italian restaurant there. It was crap, and I am not including any photos.
We relaxed on the balcony in the evening, enjoying a few drinks and the night view, which was sort of spooky and very cool.
I mentioned the alarming cost of doing this for the British Grand Prix earlier. However, for the Classic weekend, it was much more realistic. The Escapade accommodation, which was a three-bedroom trackside apartment, came in at £1,900 for two nights.
All three of us loved it, and I can't wait to go back.
I wasn't sure whether this should be in the F1 section or 'Holidays and Travel', but I thought it might find more interest here. It's relevant, too, as it is, of course, possible to stay at Escapade for the British Grand Prix weekend. The apartment we had costs around £48,000 for the Grand Prix, so start saving... I will come to what we paid later; it was far more reasonable!
The development is futuristic and feels a bit like something from a science fiction film or series:
We had a three-bedroom trackside apartment. This includes garage parking for two cars, although we just left ours outside (but under cover):
The three-bedroom apartment is a very decent size, about 1,000 square feet. The bedrooms are identical, and each comes with its own ensuite:
What it's all about, of course, is the view from the balcony.
And here it is:
The plant pot is on wheels and easily moved out of the way.
The view, 30 feet from Becketts, is absolutely staggering.
And noisy.
After a full day of spectating, plus a quick wander around the infield, we made our way to the on-site restaurant for dinner. For the Classic weekend, it was a set menu, three courses for £65 per person. Here's what I had:
With a bottle of wine and some other drinks, the dinner bill was around £350 for the three of us. We felt that it was a bit steep for what it was.
The room and bed were very comfortable, and I got a good night's sleep. Our rate included breakfast, which was a buffet affair:
We all found breakfast underwhelming and, at this level, felt we should have been able to order something like an Eggs Benedict instead of just getting a Premier Inn-style buffet.
We'd done some shopping ahead of time, and the apartment has a decent kitchen, albeit with just a microwave rather than a proper oven. We'd bought lots of cheese, olives, etc, which we did for lunch. Here is the apartment's lounge:
We had another great day watching the racing from the balcony. Old F1 cars were impressive through there, but the most fun was a couple of original Minis that were being driven through the entire Becketts complex in a controlled four-wheel drift! Lovely to see up close.
After the day's racing, we took a taxi to Towcester and went to an Italian restaurant there. It was crap, and I am not including any photos.
We relaxed on the balcony in the evening, enjoying a few drinks and the night view, which was sort of spooky and very cool.
I mentioned the alarming cost of doing this for the British Grand Prix earlier. However, for the Classic weekend, it was much more realistic. The Escapade accommodation, which was a three-bedroom trackside apartment, came in at £1,900 for two nights.
All three of us loved it, and I can't wait to go back.
bergclimber34 said:
And in the real world where people dont have that much money...
It's a three bed apartment, share with two other couples and it's less than £160 pppn. That's well within the real world reach of most full time working people's disposable income in the UK - obviously it might come at the expense of not having a few other nice things such as meals out etc.People spend more money buying a new sofa, just because they're bored of the old one
Pmsl, Christ, I didn’t realise anybody took the container port at HMS Silverstone seriously!!! Let alone thought it was bespoke or futuristic!!!
A cpl or so yrs back I posted pics (I think) somewhere on here of that s
thole being built. They are essentially “posh” ship containers plonked on top of each other at jaunty angles in a very prison block manner. They look absolutely horrific.
£110/night next door gets you Whittlebury Hall which is infinitely better.
Found one of the pics below…
A cpl or so yrs back I posted pics (I think) somewhere on here of that s
thole being built. They are essentially “posh” ship containers plonked on top of each other at jaunty angles in a very prison block manner. They look absolutely horrific.£110/night next door gets you Whittlebury Hall which is infinitely better.
Found one of the pics below…
paulguitar said:
It's in my post, about £48k.
I just can't get my head around the value proposition for anyone that isn't so wealthy that they're already accruing money faster than they can spend it anyway.But of course there are easily enough F1 fans in the UK in that position to fill those apartments, so good for them
paulguitar said:
cliffords said:
I have seen those properties so interesting to learn more .
I wonder what the cost is on the F1 weekend?
Would be interesting to know .
I am guessing £20k but I may be miles out .
It's in my post, about £48k. I wonder what the cost is on the F1 weekend?
Would be interesting to know .
I am guessing £20k but I may be miles out .
It's a shame the Italian restaurant was so poor.
I think the food proposition at the circuit could be much better and given the audience it should be . Good write up . Thanks
DeejRC said:
Pmsl, Christ, I didn t realise anybody took the container port at HMS Silverstone seriously!!! Let alone thought it was bespoke or futuristic!!!
A cpl or so yrs back I posted pics (I think) somewhere on here of that sthole being built. They are essentially posh ship containers plonked on top of each other at jaunty angles in a very prison block manner. They look absolutely horrific.
£110/night next door gets you Whittlebury Hall which is infinitely better.
Found one of the pics below
I have stayed at Whittlebury Hall. It was certainly not 'infinitely better' than Escapade, and it is entirely lacking the USP of being located right above one of the greatest corner sequences anywhere on earth, which is the whole point of Escapade.A cpl or so yrs back I posted pics (I think) somewhere on here of that s
thole being built. They are essentially posh ship containers plonked on top of each other at jaunty angles in a very prison block manner. They look absolutely horrific.£110/night next door gets you Whittlebury Hall which is infinitely better.
Found one of the pics below
I have no idea what motivated you to post something so ridiculous, but I suggest a quiet word with yourself in the corner.
cliffords said:
paulguitar said:
cliffords said:
I have seen those properties so interesting to learn more .
I wonder what the cost is on the F1 weekend?
Would be interesting to know .
I am guessing £20k but I may be miles out .
It's in my post, about £48k. I wonder what the cost is on the F1 weekend?
Would be interesting to know .
I am guessing £20k but I may be miles out .
It's a shame the Italian restaurant was so poor.
I think the food proposition at the circuit could be much better and given the audience it should be . Good write up . Thanks
Yeah, Towcester seems not to be a particularly great place for restaurants, having looked at online reviews. Might have to take Regbuser up on local recommendations if/when I go back to Escapade.
Sandpit Steve said:
£1,900 was your personal cost, or the cost of the whole apartment for the weekend?
That was the accommodation cost for two nights.We spent £900 each altogether, which included the Escapade accommodation, race tickets, taxis, two dinners, a supermarket shop and a race programme.
You may remember that I had previously sold our F1 grandstand tickets due to concerns about superclipping... Concerns that were well founded, as it turned out! Anyway, we had about £3k in the pot from that, and we did the whole Escapade weekend on that and got a little bit back.
Very pleased we chose this instead of the GP.
paulguitar said:
That was the accommodation cost for two nights.
We spent £900 each altogether, which included the Escapade accommodation, race tickets, taxis, two dinners, a supermarket shop and a race programme.
You may remember that I had previously sold our F1 grandstand tickets due to concerns about superclipping... Concerns that were well founded, as it turned out! Anyway, we had about £3k in the pot from that, and we did the whole Escapade weekend on that and got a little bit back.
Very pleased we chose this instead of the GP.
I remember you worrying about selling or keeping those tickets. I'm extremely glad you sold them! We spent £900 each altogether, which included the Escapade accommodation, race tickets, taxis, two dinners, a supermarket shop and a race programme.
You may remember that I had previously sold our F1 grandstand tickets due to concerns about superclipping... Concerns that were well founded, as it turned out! Anyway, we had about £3k in the pot from that, and we did the whole Escapade weekend on that and got a little bit back.
Very pleased we chose this instead of the GP.
It's not on to tell another chap how to spend their hard earned money, but I knew these cars couldn't possibly deliver the goods through that complex of turns as they have done in previous seasons so I quietly had everything crossed that you'd sell!!
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff