The Seaview

Families are actively welcomed at this 'well-run' hotel/restaurant near the sea in a 'delightful' little village on the Solent. Owned by Brian Gardener, it is managed by Andrew Morgan. Children's teas are served in the bar; there is a child-friendly Sunday brunch; a teddy bear is left on the pillow during the evening turn-down. 'The delightful staff saw to our needs with unruffled calm,' one parent wrote. Ship's lamps, framed photos of warships, and other seafaring memorabilia give the 'charming' public rooms a nautical air. Meals are served in the small Victorian dining room, the larger, blue-and-white Sunshine restaurant (with a conservatory), or informally in the bars. Readers praise chef Graham Walker's modern British cooking ('with a simple twist'), eg, crab, lime and coriander tagliatelle; venison haunch, braised red cabbage, sultana and thyme sauce. Vegetables and herbs come from The Seaview's own farm, which has a herd of deer. There are seagrass carpets and luxurious fabrics in the bedrooms. A large ground-floor room was 'spruce, quiet, light; sheets and blankets on bed; flat-screen TV/DVD-player; table and chairs on a terrace by the pretty garden'. 'Nothing packaged' at breakfast, which has 'succulent kippers'. The path for a seashore walk starts at the bottom of the road. (FM, and others)