Best UK country house hotels for food lovers

Best country house hotels in the UK

Babington House, Somerset

• Check rates and availability at mrandmrssmith.com

The original cool country house hotel, Babington, was one of the very first Soho House Group properties to open. Tucked away down an avenue of trees outside Frome (check out our foodie guide to the best places to eat and drink in Frome here), in the Somerset countryside, the honey-stone 18^th century manor house is part members’ club, part hotel (it’s open to all but there are reduced rates for members). All of the hotel’s 33 rooms are atmospheric and beautifully, if femininely, styled. For groups of friends, the old gatekeeper’s lodge, at the end of the main drive, is a self-contained, three-bedroom cottage. In all the rooms, the detail is the impressive thing: full-length mirrors come as standard, hot water bottles are supplied for chillier nights, full-size Cowshed toiletries in the bathrooms and homemade chocolate chip cookies in the minibar.

Entertainment is in plentiful supply. Within the extensive grounds, you’ll find a gym, two swimming pools (one indoors, under a beautiful timber-trussed ceiling, the other a sleek outdoor number fringed by a giant L-shaped green-and-white striped lounger), tennis courts, a football pitch, croquet lawn, cricket pitch, beautiful sage-green, leather-seated bikes to borrow, a cinema and a sauna, hammam and steam rooms. Overlooking the extensive kitchen garden there’s also a full-service Cowshed spa (book a marhalika massage, an intense but deeply relaxing and unusual treatment that blends Swedish and Thai methods – think sports massage mixed with acupressure). For dinner, book a window table in the main restaurant, the Orangery, and enjoy sweeping views of the lawn and the lake through towering Georgian windows while you eat. If you want a more casual supper, head to the bar to snack on spiced cauliflower fritters and Scotch eggs or sit down to imaginative salads (Castlemead chicken with spiced chickpeas and harissa yoghurt), wood-fired pizzas and pub favourites. The sprawling breakfast buffet is not to be missed, and nor is the complimentary afternoon tea spread out in the deli each afternoon – impossible to resist.

Check rates and availability at mrandmrssmith.com

The Rectory, Cotswolds

• Doubles from £150. Check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or therectoryhotel.com

This honey-stone Georgian property sits on the border of the Cotswolds and makes the perfect spot for a weekend break. With 18 bedrooms, the rectory is small and perfectly appointed, with striking contemporary interiors touches that elevate the building’s original features and give a cool edge to its Cotswold charm. The outdoor pool is just a short walk across the beautifully kept garden, where guests can enjoy the extensive cocktail menu, and the sister pub is just a short walk over the green.

The menu is filled with seasonal and local ingredients, with plenty of choice for those not eating meat. Hero ingredients are handled delicately to deliver elegant plates with real flair. We visited in early summer and enjoyed turbot terrine with tarragon mayonnaise and a lobster and scallop raviolo to start. Mains of nettle cappellacci with walnut sauce and Tamworth pork loin with bagna cauda were beautifully executed but almost eclipsed by an incredibly moreish side of courgettes with olives and marjoram.

Breakfast is a generous affair, served in the orangery where a large table is laden with everything you’d expect from pastries to poached fruit. A menu of cooked plates includes favourites like the classic breakfast and Omelette Arnold Bennett as well as house specials like buttermilk waffles with whipped mascarpone and berries. Again, plenty of options for those not eating meat and all delivered with a relaxed but attentive service.

Doubles from £150. Check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or therectoryhotel.com

The Bath Priory, Bath

• Doubles from £154. Check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

In a leafy part of Bath sits this impressive Georgian house, whose old-fashioned hospitality appeals to all generations. Behind the ivy-clad building is a vast, not-so-secret garden, featuring a spectacular cedar of Lebanon tree, croquet lawn, sunken pool and kitchen garden growing herbs, edible flowers, fruit and veg destined for the dining room. Reassuringly classic, bedrooms are designed for comfort and relaxation, with period furniture and florals and tartan adding warmth to neutral décor.

Chef Jauca Catalin’s imaginative menu celebrates seasonal, local produce with some surprising Asian touches: a crab starter is teamed with lime confit, mooli and chilli peanut caramel; wild turbot is a complex dish of scallop mousse, caviar and miso and kombu tea. Three courses at dinner can be matched with wines from Burgundy and California, and an exciting Château de L’Ou L’Ove Blanc from Roussillon. At breakfast there is a traditional approach with eggs royal, benedict and florentine, alongside the full English and a fluffy omelette Arnold Bennett.

Take a martini in front of the fire in the drawing room in colder months, or afternoon tea on the wisteria-covered terrace in spring for a quintessentially British experience in every season. You can also order a picnic hamper to enjoy in the gardens, with a bottle of English sparkling wine.

Doubles from £154. Check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

You can win a night and dinner for two at The Bath Priory in our travel competition here, until 14 October.

Coworth Park, Berkshire

• Doubles from £480, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

At Coworth Park, contemporary meets classic in a charming mash-up of design that references the rural location. A four poster is fashioned to look like a tree, halls feature dressers filled with plant pots, and huge floral displays and indoor plants abound. Showers are powerful, and some suites feature free-standing copper baths. Fun horsey references – including two dramatic portraits that dominate the bar – are a firm nod to the hotel’s equestrian links. The renowned Guards Polo Club is here (guests can book lessons in advance) and horse riding is offered. Rooms are in the Stables or Mansion House, so there’s a real sense of being in the Berkshire countryside, even while less than an hour from London. Explore the grounds, where there are hidden lily ponds, fountains and sculptures, as well as champagne pods in the warmer months.

Woven by Adam Smith is all that’s good about modern, high-end British cooking – fiercely seasonal, celebrating homegrown ingredients, imaginative combinations, clever plating and a passionate, young team from Britain and beyond. Chefs, including Adam, are highly visible, prepping canapés in the restaurant’s anteroom – which doubles as cellar – and explaining each course at the table. Isle of Wight tomatoes, Devon eel and Cornish turbot speak to Adam’s careful sourcing, while A5 wagyu, oscietra, lobster and truffle add a luxurious touch. There’s also a strong focus on English wine.

Doubles from £480, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Cliveden House, Berkshire

• Rooms from £445 per night including spa access. Check availability at clivedenhouse.co.uk or booking.com

Sink into grandeur at this mansion retreat where a clocktower distracts from the time with its gilding. Inside, mahogany panelling is studded with oil paintings of former residents, including Frederick, Prince of Wales (mid-1700s) and socialite Nancy Astor (circa 1908) gazing demurely over a bared shoulder by the yawning fireplace. Cliveden also hosted the Profumo scandal, recapped by our concierge as we pass the outdoor pool where, in 1961, Christine Keeler frolicked with the Secretary of State. We’re shown to the Prince of Wales suite, boasting three fireplaces and sweeping views of formal gardens and the Thames cleaving through forested hills. It comes with access to the Butler’s Pantry for complimentary drinks and snacks.

Cocktails in the library nod to the past. The Profumo is richly fruity (lychee and strawberry liqueurs topped with champagne) but we opted for the Prince of Wales, a toned down version with maraschino and bitters. Dinner echoes Cliveden’s initial use as a hunting lodge, with a silky venison tartare among the raw starters, then a surprisingly dainty slow-cooked guinea fowl. Desserts are generally rich with cream, but the lime macaron with lemon sorbet delivers a clean finish. Cooked breakfast is served in the same formal dining room but do venture next door where the continental is beautifully presented in baroque surroundings.

The ‘Profumo pool’ and hot tubs are cloistered by the old stables, which now house the indoor facilities (pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room) in neoclassical style, complete with wafting voile curtains. Massage treatments are administered with lotions specially formulated for Cliveden by Oskia – the Nancy, floral with berries and wild mint, or the spicier Anna Maria with black rose, named after the mistress to the second Duke of Buckingham. Opt for a facial and you’ll be treated to a comforting candle-wax massage between rounds with the Theragun, delivering gentle vibrations and a brightening wash of LED light.

Rooms from £445 per night including spa access. Check availability at clivedenhouse.co.uk or booking.com

Cowley Manor, Cotswolds

• Doubles start at £324, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Experimental Group, the team behind some of the greatest bars, restaurants and hotels across the world, has teamed up with chef Jackson Boxer in this contemporary country hotel. Jackson can take an unfussy British cut like a Tamworth pork chop and elevate it with a French sauce charcutière (onions, wine, cornichons, mustard); pasta sounds simple but tastes superb (tagliolini with smoked butter and black pepper); and a tarte flambée on the lunch menu sees spelt flatbread topped with Rollright cheese and truffle.

The cocktail bar has a clubby feel, in which Experimental’s finest create the classics and their own concoctions, from gin and elderflower-based Saint Germain de Prés, a nod to the group’s French roots, to Horlicks Milk Punch which references a former owner of the manor’s malted drink business. Bar snacks include Old Spot croquettes and cheesy puffs made with local single gloucester, good with a glass of English sparkling, and caviar and crisps is a must order in these decadent surroundings.

It’s a curious and comfortable mix of 70s-style glamour, traditional wood panelling and striking bright lacquered furniture in a 17th-century manor, with a laid-back front of house team determined to make your stay cocktail-fuelled and cosy.

Doubles start at £324, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Glenmorangie House, Scotland

• Doubles from £330, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

Boldly beautiful, this 17th century house looking out over the stunning Moray Firth has been given a maximalist makeover, with a creative Highlands menu to match.

With only six bedrooms and three cottages, and warmly attentive staff who’ll soon know how you take your tea, a stay at Glenmorangie House is designed to feel more house party than hotel. The dining room has one large table, cocktails are taken together before eating, and evening entertainment in the form of music, mixology or stargazing is arranged to make the most of the company. The interiors, by designer Russell Sage, tell the story of Glenmorangie whisky with maximalist styling, sensory interpretation and more than the occasional surprise.

Head chef John Wilson creates Glenmorangie food pairings, dishes that are enhanced by, and in turn enhance the flavours of, each whisky. There are all the Scottish treats you’d hope for, with rich haggis en croûte in a velvety whisky sauce. Surrounded by pristine Scottish waters you can expect fresh langoustine, lobsters and scallops, too. Your bacon, sausages and black pudding for breakfast travel just three miles from a local artisan, and some of the fruit, vegetables and herbs are picked outside the dining room window in the handsome walled garden.

Thanks to the carefully planned design and the eclectic collection of local arts and crafts, there are new details to discover wherever you turn. Seating in the snug mixes traditional tartan upholstery with bright plain seat pads, antique bud vases are displayed with different seed heads and lichen like prized blooms.

Doubles from £330, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

Heckfield Place, Heckfield

• Doubles from £650, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com

The lines between inside and out are beautifully blurred at this Hampshire estate, where guests can bask in the natural surroundings and enjoy food from the hotel’s biodynamic, organic farm and orchards. Saddleback pigs and chickens lead a happy life here, and a micro-dairy provides the house with milk, cream, yogurt and butter from Guernsey cows.

The menu is overseen by culinary director Skye Gyngell (chef-patron at Spring at Somerset House) with two restaurants serving what’s good to eat right now from what’s grown on the estate and Fern Varrow, a biodynamic farm. At Marle you’ll find simple, seasonal dishes such as lamb shoulder with anchovy, and stuffed farm courgettes. During summer, meals are served on the Italian terrace overlooking the gardens and woodlands, with fire pits and sheepskins to keep you cosy on chillier nights. Imaginative breakfasts include bircher muesli and roasted rhubarb, bubble and squeak with fried eggs, and buckwheat crêpes with honey butter. Hearth, open for dinner and lunch on Saturday, focusses on fire cooking with lobster, sirloin or grilled farm veg. In line with Heckfield’s biodynamic ethos, cocktails in the Moon Bar are influenced by the lunar phases and made with unique tinctures and bitters. Try turmeric jingle (chamomile gin, millet, lemon and cardoon liquor, turmeric bitters) or cherry moon (sour cherry spirit, lapsang souchong bitters, egg, lemon and lime).

Rooms are both luxurious and plastic-free, with headboards made by local craftspeople. Interiors focus on muted shades and natural materials such as rush matting, while dried flowers and plants bring the outdoors in.

Doubles from £650, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com

South Lodge, Horsham

This Sussex countryside hotel with three restaurants is making its intention to attract food lovers clear, from the classic three courses at Camellia to the ambitious tasting menu at The Pass and relaxed vibes at Botanica. The latter, with huge, sunny deck overlooking a natural swimming pond, is housed in the modern spa with a plant-focussed menu, and is a window into the hotel’s commitment to sustainability. Brunch is a highlight and goes well beyond pancakes and prosecco. Try poached eggs with spiced green harissa; spanakopita parcels with mojo sauce and yogurt; and rhubarb bircher muesli with crisp ginger rice and stem ginger. Juices are blended in-house and include active botanical tinctures exclusive to the hotel for an extra energy boost.

Natural interiors of rattan, wood and stoneware add to the soothing atmosphere. South Lodge also has wine credentials – its south-facing chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier vineyards, planted in collaboration with Ridgeview, will produce high-quality English sparkling wines.

From £465 for bed, breakfast and spa access, check availability at booking.com or spabreaks.com

Boys Hall, Ashford

Only an hour's train ride from London, this revived Grade II listed Jacobean manor is home to a soaring oak-beamed restaurant and nine rooms kitted with antique finds. We stayed in Romney, one of the super-suites located in the eaves of the house and reachable via its own miniature staircase. The lofty space is enriched with dark sage walls, burnt orange cushions and bamboo furniture. The focal point – a freestanding roll-top bath – sits in front of the original stone mullion window and overlooks the front lawn. Rooms also feature super king beds, Dualit coffee pod machine and enviable toiletries from Pelegrims, made with grape extracts from nearby Westwell vineyard. TVs are swapped for Roberts radios; for entertainment, pick up a board game, weekend paper or magazine from the panelled lower sitting room.

If you’re feeling peckish, the honesty bar is stocked with treats such as Tunnock’s Caramels. For extra pampering, pre-book a massage in the comfort of your own bedroom on a pop-up massage bed – Swedish, sports or deep tissue massage, plus various facials, are all available. The dining room – crafted from reclaimed local green oak and stone – puts Kentish produce at the forefront. Expect a menu of luxury comfort food: smoked Ashmore and speck croquettes with saffron mayo; 30-day dry-aged rib eye steak; cookie dough with salted caramel ice cream. There is also homemade cakes, served with locally sourced teas and coffee, available in the cosy lounges, or retire to the wood-panelled pub serving Kentish ales and bar snacks.

From £190, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or boys-hall.com

The Samling, Windermere

• Doubles from £290 per night, check availability at booking.com

A luxurious country house hotel (think al fresco hot tubs, fine-dining and ornamental water gardens) set in nearly 70 acres of woodland, gardens and fields. It sits right on the banks of Lake Windermere.

Most of the rooms overlook a tree-lined Lake Windermere (only two have woodland and garden views instead), and all are decorated in plush neutrals, with sash windows, marble bathrooms and goose down pillows and duvets. For an extravagant stay, pick the Windermere Suite: it’s at the very top of the estate and benefits from its own private patio (with astonishing views) and a copper-clad freestanding bath.

The kitchen garden, surrounded by apple and nut orchards, is well worth exploring. Cucamelons and microgreens grow in the central greenhouse, and wildflower meadows buzz with bees (their honey is used to sweeten desserts and cocktails). At the restaurant, which is made entirely of glass to make the most of those lake views, executive head chef Robby Jenks is in charge of a modern menu that includes the likes of shellfish raviolo with citrus bisque, turbot with mussels and samphire, and rhubarb with vanilla, ginger and lemon. Breakfast has a short menu, but one which includes kedgeree, homemade granola with yogurt, and fresh fruit.

Doubles from £290 per night, check availability at booking.com

Leonardslee, West Sussex

Where else can you take a walk though woodlands, join feeding time for baby wallabies, enjoy a vineyard picnic, follow a sculpture trail and then settle in for an evening of imaginative food and wine pairings? At Leonardslee House, part of Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens on which the UK’s first pinotage vineyard is planted, you can be as active or as laid back as you like. Inspired by the South African owner’s appreciation of Cape Winelands experiences, it’s a grown-up playground centred around the very best food and wine.

Restaurant Interlude offers a tasting menu featuring ingredients from the estate. Each dish is presented with a card showing a map of where it was grown, foraged or raised. Chef Jean Delport’s technical skill makes for a unique experience with playfully named dishes such as “rabbit eats carrot” and the visually arresting “chef’s pasture raised egg with crispy (chicken) foot”. There are 18 well-paced courses, a clever balance of South African-inspired dishes and the more local, including honey from Leonardslee’s beehives with salted caramel. Dishes can be paired with wines, notably those from the owner’s estate near Cape Town.

Book in advance for a wine tasting to try wines from family-run Benguela Cove Lagoon in Hermanus. You can also take a tour of the pinotage vineyards, which will produce their first wine next year. With input from interior designers including Nina Campbell and Sanderson, bedrooms have muted, tranquil tones with feature wallpapers and textiles, giving a contemporary feel to a classic English country house.

Doubles from £408, check availability at booking.com

Rudding Park, North Yorkshire

• Rooms from £249 per night. Check availability at ruddingpark.co.uk or booking.com

This 2,000-acre Georgian country estate just outside Harrogate is a lesson in country luxury with a contemporary edge. Stone fireplaces and staircases contrast with pops of colour including pink chandeliers, mustard window seats, striking sculptures and modern art. This playful design extends through to the 89 rooms, split between the original Ribston wing (eight rooms of which have terraces that back onto rhododendrons) and the newer Follifoot wing, its larger rooms boasting standalone baths in copper-tiled bathrooms. All are kitted out with luxuries including tea and coffee from local favourite Taylor’s of Harrogate.

Breakfast is taken in all-day restaurant Clocktower, with dishes such as harissa mushrooms on toast and the Full Yorkshire, as well as a modest cold buffet. We recommend finding a spot on the south-facing terrace or beside the 400-year-old olive tree in the conservatory. The hotel’s kitchen garden-led restaurant, Horto, is housed in the swish spa, so expect a relaxed approach, with guests padding through in robes and slippers. Sharing plates include crisp tempura broccoli, honey roast fig and walnut flatbreads, toasted focaccia club sandwiches and tandoori monkfish kebabs. Hazelnut and chocolate choux are filled with hazelnut praline for a decadent finish.

300 acres of landscaped gardens and woodlands make relaxing walking routes, with views over the golf course all the way to the Kilburn White Horse in the North Yorkshire Moors. The impressive spa was the first rooftop spa to open in the UK. Take a leisurely circuit, alternating between hot and cold experiences such as an outdoor hydrotherapy pool, steam rooms and panoramic woodland saunas as well as sunlight therapy rooms, oxygen pods and a dedicated foot spa.

Rooms from £249 per night. Check availability at ruddingpark.co.uk or booking.com

Beaverbrook, Surrey

• Doubles from £545, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or beaverbrook.co.uk

A curiously brilliant mix of traditional British and modern Japanese makes this character-packed Surrey hotel a playground for food lovers. Once the home of Winston Churchill’s Minister of Aircraft Production, newspaper magnate Lord Beaverbrook, the hotel’s aviation theme is evident, from the Spitfire at the entrance, to vintage photos and artworks throughout the house.

Japanese Grill serves exquisite sushi, sashimi and Josper-grilled specialities, including charcoaled wagyu. The eight-course tasting menu includes popcorn shrimp with ponzu mayo, scallop ceviche, nigiri topped with Kentish ants (which add a wonderful citrussy kick), black cod and beef tenderloin, and a chocolate flowerpot with nasturtium – a nod to Beaverbrook’s commitment to growing its own. The estate’s relaxed The Garden House restaurant is a short stroll from the main house, reached via the kitchen garden, where chefs harvest leaves, veg and herbs. The menu here is British with Italian influences, such as pici with Cornish crab and crispy polenta squid. Nearby Albury Vineyard produces the house English sparkling wine, which is best enjoyed on the terrace overlooking the gardens and Surrey Hills countryside.

Each of the luxurious bedrooms in the main house are named for Beaverbrook’s illustrious guests – Churchill, the Kennedys and Liz Taylor, to name a few – and decorated in an appropriate style, from muted masculine tones and bold stripes and graphic tiling, to delicate floral fabrics. In The Garden House, wicker and wood provide a neutral backdrop for bright glasses and cruet sets, and the botanical prints and patterned plates that line the walls.

Doubles from £545, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or beaverbrook.co.uk

Sopwell House, St Albans

• Rooms from £239 per night including spa access. Check availability at sopwellhouse.co.uk or booking.com

Tucked away down a country lane in the historic Roman city of St Albans lies Sopwell House, a modernised Georgian property with a newly refurbished spa, plush bedrooms, and fine dining at its award-winning Omboo restaurant. Omboo offers a sharing menu inspired by the spice routes of Asia and the far east. Highlights include pulled duck, cashew and orange salad, and melt in the mouth miso-glazed black cod. Afternoon tea features tiered stands of delicate cakes (don’t miss the matcha cherry mousse), traditional finger sandwiches and warm scones. Swing by the Octagon bar to discover a little of Sopwell’s history through its carefully curated menu; The Battenberg Wine cocktail is a tribute to Lord Mountbatten, who was a former owner of the estate. The hotel has 128 guestrooms, 16 of which make up the exclusive Mews courtyard – the place to stay if you’re looking for luxury. Rooms are elegant and cosy with duck-feather duvets and super king-sized beds.

A trip to Sopwell wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the world-class Cottonmill spa. A spa day includes use of the indoor pool, vitality pools, gym, sauna, steam room and poolside terrace. Upgrade to a Club package for use of the state-of-the-art relaxation rooms, a heated indoor and outdoor infinity pool and spa gardens. Don’t miss the botanical steam room and sensory deprivation pods for the perfect way to unwind. If you're making a weekend of your visit, check out our picks of the best restaurants in St Albans.

Rooms from £239 per night including spa access. Check availability at sopwellhouse.co.uk or booking.com

The Pig at Bridge Place, Kent

• Doubles from £210. Check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or thepighotel.com

Just three miles from Canterbury sits this carefully converted Jacobean mansion. Style-wise, it ticks every Pig box: a focus on the kitchen garden, a relaxed restaurant and homely but luxurious bedrooms. The Grade II-listed building at the hotel’s heart, once bright pink in places (it was a popular nightclub in its heyday, hosting the likes of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd), was expertly restored during a £5.5million makeover. An imposing elm staircase takes centre-stage, while cosy snugs are great places to sit and ponder, with huge open fireplaces, gnarled wooden panelling and Persian rugs. The bar, refreshingly bedecked with female portraits, is all mahogany and maroon and, as with all Pig bars, is generously stocked with multi-coloured cocktail glasses that shimmer on window shelves.

Some bedrooms benefit from original doors, four poster beds and freestanding baths, though all have mini bars stuffed with Kentish treats (grab a bag of crisps, made with Canterbury’s very own Ashmore farmhouse cheese). You can also stay in a hop pickers’ hut – a romantic log cabin for two, set on stilts in the water meadows near the kitchen garden – or a family-friendly two-bedroom lodge, complete with kitchen.

Pigs don’t stand on ceremony – there are no white tablecloths or leather-bound menus here. Instead, expect cheery waiting staff and a dining room that wouldn’t look out of place at a posh garden centre. The restaurant’s biggest commitment is to locality: what can’t be grown in the kitchen garden, which you can see from your table, is mainly sourced from within a 25-mile radius, including Kentish Pip apples and wild meat from Mallards Farm. Breakfast is a feast: try dairy-free banana bread, stewed home-grown rhubarb, and nut-free muesli with coconut yogurt. Or, indulge in The Full Pig-Out, made special by the addition of zero-mile mushrooms and poached eggs from the hotel’s hens (they keep quails, too).

Doubles from £210. Check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or thepighotel.com

Askham Hall, Penrith

• Check rates and availability at askhamhall.co.uk

The Lowther name is everywhere in this part of Cumbria – pubs, a ruined castle, even a village bears the name. Capitalising on its organic estate, the Lowther family turned to hotels with the opening of Askham Hall, home to Michelin-starred Allium restaurant and 18 rooms.
All of the spacious bedrooms have their own character. The Admiral’s Room (located in the 13th-century Pele tower, the oldest part of Askham Hall) benefits from a central four poster bed and River Lowther views. The Train Room (where the family used to keep their model railway set) has a duplex-style layout, with two extra beds upstairs for children. The Old Dressing Room combines original features, such as mullion windows, with modern luxuries, including an open-plan drench shower.
In the Allium restaurant, head chef Richard Swale works in an environment most chefs dream of. His sunny, conservatory-style restaurant opens out onto acres of its own kitchen gardens and farmland. “Pick, cook and serve vegetables within the hour,” explains Richard, “and their freshness is amazing.” The kitchen is often busy pickling damsons or preserving edible flowers, either to deal with gluts or to extend the shelf life of ingredients. Meat used to be the centrepiece of Richard’s dishes, but now he gives equal prominence to creatively treated vegetables. You can choose either a la carte or a tasting menu; the latter may include native lobster with smoked bone marrow, home-reared goose with sour cherry sauce and chocolate tart with milk sorbet and candied walnuts.

Check rates and availability at askhamhall.co.uk

Lime Wood, Hampshire

• Rooms from £495 per night including spa access. Check availability at limewoodhotel.co.uk or mrandmrssmith.com

Secluded in its own estate in the heart of the New Forest, Lime Wood is a luxuriously renovated 13th century hunting lodge. The owner’s outstanding art collection adds a contemporary feel to reception rooms, made cosy with squishy armchairs, crackling fires and heaving bookshelves, set around a chic central atrium with retractable roof. Aperitifs at the bar include a trio of arancini paired with refreshing Americano cocktails and a six-strong espresso martini list. The restaurant, Hartnett Holder & Co, has a hushed, elegant ambience, serving Italian dishes such as house-cured Loch Duart salmon with pickled rhubarb, frilly mafalde pasta with slow-cooked ragu, and monkfish in a spiced shellfish and fennel broth. Finish with a dozen delicate madeleines served hot from the oven in their scalloped tray. A breakfast grazing table awaits in The Scullery come morning, laden with homemade pastries, house-smoked salmon, DIY granola bowls and more, while you decide between cooked-to-order plates such as caramelised pear buckwheat pancakes.

The main house features stone fireplaces, Italian marble bathrooms and large sash windows with magical forest views. Other rooms around the estate include Pavilion rooms with forest-fringing patios and rustic-chic forest and lake cabins, the latter perched on the water with a terrace tub and log burner. All are enveloped in country elegance, with upholstered bedheads, Bamford toiletries and mini bars kitted out with New Forest shortbread, Flack Manor Brewery beer and Hambledon sparkling wine.

A night at Lime Wood includes full use of the Herb House Spa, a serene complex nestled on the forest edge. The sauna and hydro pool have windows to soak up the forest zen before a nature-inspired Ground massage ritual. Take a pilates class, work out in the gym or do laps in the indoor pool and cool off on a lounger amongst the aromatics of the rooftop herb garden. Sip cold press detox juices and CBD drinks while picking from nourishing plates at the adjacent Raw & Cured café, including the likes of British-grown quinoa with harissa roasted cauliflower and house-cured sea bass ceviche in a zingy rhubarb dressing.

Rooms from £495 per night including spa access. Check availability at limewoodhotel.co.uk or mrandmrssmith.com

Lucknam Park, Wiltshire

• Rooms from £472 per night, including spa access and breakfast. Check availability at lucknampark.co.uk, booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

This five-star Palladian mansion blends old-school opulence with high-tech wellness, secluded within its own 500-acre estate. A short drive from Bath, Lucknam offers a country retreat as well as a trip back in time, restoring many of its 18th-century features to impeccable condition. Roam around the hotel and you’ll be transported to its aristocratic past, with high-ceilinged rooms furnished with chandeliers and antique furniture. Each of the 42 individually styled rooms evoke Georgian grandeur, with 13 suites offering views stretching out over the manicured lawns. There are also seven chic country cottages within the estate. We stayed in Juliet, a plush suite with first-class attention to detail: fresh fruit, juicy dates, shortbread and champagne all awaited in the lounge, with a Nespresso pod coffee machine, dinky milk bottles and a fridge stocked with soft drinks at our disposal. In the bedroom, a luxurious four-poster bed promised the most luxurious sleep. The bathroom was finished in smooth marble, with underfloor heating and Lucknam branded fig & vanilla toiletries.

Head to the most majestic of all the rooms, The Drawing Room, for preprandial cocktails showcasing the premium whiskies lining the bar cart. Make a beeline for the Cotswold Old Fashioned, combining Cotswold Single Malt, vanilla bitters, orange bitters and maple syrup. Lucknam has two restaurant options – Michelin-starred Restaurant Hywel Jones and The Walled Garden Restaurant. The latter is a stylish all-day brasserie flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows to invite the outdoors in. Menu highlights include lemon sole with seafood linguine, chicken schnitzel with green beans and caper and lemon butter, and strawberry and pistachio knickerbocker glory. Breakfast is also served here, showcasing West Country produce including sausages from Huntsham Farm, bread from Hall Quality Bakers and strawberries from Cheddar Valley.

Lucknam’s award-winning spa within the walled gardens brings guests back into the 21st century, with a contemporary complex drenched in light from the towering window walls. Available to use for all guests, the spa includes eight state-of-the-art treatment rooms and four thermal cabins, as well as a programme of wellness classes, including pilates and yoga. You can also book a high-luxury treatment (try the 111SKIN Celestial Black Diamond, a non-surgical lift facial involving 10 steps to lift, contour and boost the skin).

Rooms from £472 per night, including spa access and breakfast. Check availability at lucknampark.co.uk, booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

South Lodge, Sussex

• Rooms from £415 per night including spa access. Check availability at exclusive.co.uk/south-lodge or booking.com

Located in the verdant Sussex countryside is South Lodge, with its dark wood interiors and plush carpets, and the air of a grand private home. The staff here are friendly and attentive, in a way you rarely see in hotels today. There are 88 rooms ranging from smart standards to luxurious suites and cottages. Our room had views over the gardens with a luxuriously large bed, soft pillows, a coffee machine and sizeable bathroom with a bath and Molton Brown toiletries. There was a handy tablet for ordering room service, snacks, fresh milk or late-night desserts. Not to mention a pillow menu, ensuring you get the best night’s sleep.

There are multiple restaurants and bars, so you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to food and drink. Book at The Pass for intimate Michelin-star dining. Head Chef Ben Wilkinson changes the menu with the seasons – during our stay we enjoyed scallop on a bed of sweet roasted squash with rich almond foam and salty coppa ham, succulent roast venison with liver dumpling, toasted hazelnuts and bitter leaves, and a wonderfully sweet-sour dessert of blackberry, yogurt and lemon thyme. With interesting wine pairings, like crisp Slovenian Pinot Gris, and a course of fantastic local cheeses, this is the kind of meal you won't forget.

Visit the spa during your stay to sweat it out in the sauna, swim lengths in the infinity pool, take a dip in the outdoor pool or watch the sunset from the bubbling jacuzzi. For an extra treat, indulge in a massage, facial or nail treatment. Included in your booking is breakfast in the Camellia restaurant or brunch in the dairy-free Botanica restaurant located in the spa.

Rooms from £415 per night including spa access. Check availability at exclusive.co.uk/south-lodge or booking.com

Seaham Hall, County Durham

• Check rates and availability at seaham-hall.co.uk

A short amble away from the rugged Durham Heritage Coast lies Seaham Hall Hotel, a beautiful hotel and spa just outside the village of Seaham, around 30 minutes’ drive east of Durham. The imposing Georgian country house is home to 21 huge suites as well as a luxurious Asian-themed spa. We stayed in an executive suite, which ticked all the five-star hotel boxes: a huge king-size bed with a ‘pillow menu’, a beautiful white-tiled bathroom with walk in shower, freestanding bath and fancy Elemis toiletries, and the fluffiest robes and slippers. In the separate lounge area, squishy sofas, a Nespresso machine, a fridge with free soft drinks and huge windows out onto the garden meant we had everything we needed for a good few hours’ lounging.

For dinner we visited Byron’s Restaurant. This is Seaham Hall’s fine dining offering and the vibe is one of opulent indulgence (Lord Byron has history here – he married the daughter of a past owner). A pewter-topped oak bar sweeps along one side of the grand high-ceilinged room. Prized tables are the velvet-lined curved booths in the corners of the room and the rest is made up of intimate small tables. Afternoon tea is also a highlight at the hotel. Served in the lounge at the back of the hotel, overlooking immaculately tended gardens, it’s not to be missed. After a brisk walk along the coast (a path at the back of the hotel leads you directly down to the sea) we attempted to burn off some more calories before dinner with a trip to the Serenity Spa. Even if you are not booked in for a treatment the spa facilities are great. As well as a huge pool surrounded by loungers there is a separate hydrotherapy pool, plunge pools, salt sauna, Indian steam room, jacuzzi and outdoor hot tub.

Check rates and availability at seaham-hall.co.uk

The Forest Side, Lancrigg

• Check rates and availability at theforestside.co.uk

This imposing Victorian manor sits above the road, skirting the slate-strewn prettiness of Grasmere. It looks staid and traditional, but behind the old-fashioned façade is one of the most innovative restaurants in the Lakes.

A ramble through The Forest Side’s personal fellside (home to roe deer, red squirrels and blankets of wood sorrel) will help you work up an appetite for fine dining at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant. Chefs draw on a one-acre vegetable and herb garden (everything is cooked on the days it’s picked), planted with over 100 varieties – try golden beetroot with cuckoo flower and smoked yow’s curd, or roast mooli with cherry bell radish, at a 4- or 8-course dinner. Pickling is big here (try the walnuts), as is foraging – sup a ‘Forager’ at the bar, made with pineapple weed-infused vodka and homemade ginger beer.

Bedrooms are cosied up with plush wool carpets and locally built Westmorland beds, and some have panoramic views of The Lake District. Choose from Cosy (petite, but still stylish, with Zoffany fabrics), Superb or Master; the latter comes with astonishing Lake District views and Bramley bath products. At breakfast, expect all the classics plus homemade granola, foraged wild mushrooms, Bannerigg Farm duck eggs, Slack’s Farm bacon and Cartmel Valley smoked salmon.

Check rates and availability at theforestside.co.uk

Trewornan Manor, Wadebridge

• Doubles from £180, check availability at booking.com

Luxury B&B Trewornan Manor may date back to the 13th century but its attitude to food is firmly forward thinking. Close to the Camel Estuary, and surrounded by 25 acres of gardens and meadows, the seven-bedroom property (Porthilly and Daymer feature freestanding tubs) is fast becoming a gourmet destination.

Highlights include an honesty bar stocked with Sharp's Doom Bar, a beer brewed down the road in Rock, and Camel Valley sparkling wine; breakfasts that focus on the best Cornish produce (butcher Philip Warrens in nearby Launceston is one of the suppliers); and a location that’s just a napkin’s throw from Rick Stein's empire in Padstow.

Doubles from £180, check availability at booking.com

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