Ducks glide on a pond and guests take tea in front of this beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion in a hamlet between the Cotswolds and the Mendip hills. Owned for more than 40 years by Baba Hine, it is traditional, with some of the decor and furnishings a little dated and weathered, but still a 'fine hotel' with plenty of appeal. Guests who have been visiting since 1986 love the 'large comfortable bedrooms, a really useful indoor pool, the tennis court', while first-time visitors were 'very impressed and greatly enjoyed our visit'. Walls are painted in shades of peach; armchairs propose a fireside snooze. 'Bedrooms are large and opulent, with every extra you need' – fresh milk, ground coffee, leaf tea. 'Our room had a fridge, an ottoman, old brown furniture, a good selection of fresh fruit, home-made shortbread.' The bistro and dining room differ only in ambience, with changing menus that might feature pan-seared pigeon breast or field mushroom and stilton gratin. 'The food has remained interesting and enjoyable over the years,' reports our long-term visitor. 'We really want to return,' add the first timers. (Ingle Dawson, Stephen and Pauline Glover, CH, and others)