Brockencote Hall

'Truly wonderful. It is run just as a hotel should be.' Praise in 2009 from a frequent visitor to this 19th-century, white-fronted mansion in 'glorious' parkland south-west of Birmingham. The staff, led by owners Joseph and Alison Petitjean, are 'without exception excellent; they treat you as someone special'. Visitors commend the bedrooms: 'Ours was spacious and slightly eccentric.' 'Our superior room had a huge four-poster and a double-aspect view over the lawns. Its bathroom had a shower cabinet and a good-sized bath.' The attractive restaurant is now in two rooms with high ceiling and fine oak panelling. Tables are 'well spaced, each with a nice flower arrangement'. Head chef Didier Philipot's 'exceptional' table d'hôte dinner menu might include rillettes of free-range woodland pork with pickled vegetables; fillet of Brixham line-caught brill, mussel and saffron sauce. A six-course dégustation menu suggests a wine for each course, and there are separate menus for vegetarians and for children. One visitor could have done without the piped music. The landscaped grounds have a lake, a historic dovecote and some fine trees; all-weather tennis courts and a croquet lawn. (Gordon Hands, Jonathan Rose, and others)