Documents detailing land and premises known as "Chewton Glen House" were produced in 1732, at which time the building on the present site of the hotel may have been in existence. The proportions of the building suggest a date in the early 18th century.

The house has a famous literary link. Capt Frederick Marryat stayed for periods during the 1840s and gathered material for his famous novel "The Children of the New Forest". Captain Marryat must have found the area inspiring, on the edge of the New Forest and within easy reach of the sea attracting smugglers to bring their contraband from the Continent up through the grounds and into the forest beyond. Marryat's brother, George, owned the property from 1837 until 1855, when it was sold to the Elphinstone family.

Clearly, the Captain was much attracted to the New Forest and it is appropriate that the hotel has many of its rooms named after his novels and characters.

Between 1947 and 1967 the property had three different owners, and it was the Duval family who first made it into an hotel. The Skan family purchased the hotel in January 1966, and embarked on a modernisation plan refurbishing all the existing rooms. This programme of conservation, enhancement and updating has continued ever since. The hotel now has 23 suites and 35 bedrooms all individually decorated.

In 1976, ten years after the Skan family purchased Chewton Glen, the hotel won the Egon Ronay Gold Plate Award for Hotel of the Year. It is particularly fitting that Martin Skan was named Hotelier of the Year in 1991, on the 25th anniversary of his ownership, and that the hotel was proclaimed Hotel of the Year by the English Tourist Board in the same year. 40 Years after Martin and Brigitte Skan bought Chewton Glen they sold the hotel in 2006 to a private owner and regular guest. Today Chewton Glen remains as one of only a handful of privately owned 5 star hotels in the UK.

Through until the present day, Chewton Glen has continued to develop winning countless national and international awards and accolades. From being an author's forest retreat to being voted the "Best Country Hotel in the World" is an astonishing history!