Standing quayside, overlooking estuary and salt marshes, in a coastal village of flint cottages, gift shops and galleries, Emma Stannard’s hotel is ideal for outdoorsy family holidays. With crabbing, mud sliding, seal-watching trips and sandy beaches, there is plenty to entertain children. The ‘welcoming staff make it clear that they like looking after people’, writes a reader this year; they are ‘universally friendly and efficient’. The ‘relaxing, comfy lounges’ have ‘wonderful views’. Bedrooms are contemporary, ‘tastefully decorated’. Some interconnect. The more expensive have additional features, cafetière coffee, perhaps a four-poster, a balcony, a garden patio. ‘Delicious, locally sourced food’ is available for most of the day, with sandwiches from the bar. In the restaurant, ‘ambitious’ seasonal menus, ‘with some unusual combinations’, include such dishes as slow-cooked belly pork, Parmentier potatoes, green beans, sage jus. ‘Dinner is up there with the best’, the wine list is ‘first rate’. The ‘marvellous breakfast suits all tastes’, and when it rains, the games room offers table tennis, pool, darts. It isn’t cheap, but ‘we will return for sure’. (Andrew Warren, Patsi Ryan)