The Boar's Head

'Standards are just as high as on our first visit, and the food is possibly even better.' Praise from a visitor returning in 2009 to this 18th-century former coaching inn which has been renovated by Sir Thomas and Lady Ingilby. It stands within the Ripley Castle estate, his family's domain for 700 years. Steve Chesnutt is the manager. An 'agreeable' combination of pub and country hotel, it is 'elegant but not stuffy'. 'Service is uniformly excellent; the efficient young waiting staff are charming.' Lounges have antique and period furniture, portraits and pictures from the castle's attics. In the smart restaurant, Oliver Stewart is now the chef; his dishes might include cured beef carpaccio with rocket and Parmesan salad; plaice with spinach and tomato confit. 'The menu didn't change, but provided plenty of choice for a three-night stay. The pièce de résistance was the perfectly executed hot praline soufflé with banana ice cream.' Simpler meals are available in the bistro. Many of the bedrooms look over the cobbled market square and historic church. The 'superior' bedrooms in Birchwood House, across a courtyard, are 'light, airy and beautifully presented'; they have flowers, fresh fruit, bottled water, sherry. Hotel guests have access to the castle grounds. (Jenny Buckley, and others)