Down ‘a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it lane’ in the middle of town, Les and Vanessa Scott’s bohemian, family-friendly hotel is ‘an enjoyable place’ for guests in search of ‘a comfortable bedroom and excellent food’. ‘Up the stone steps of the Palladian-style house, we were greeted by two preening cats. In the sitting area: a wonderfully mad Tim Burton-esque chandelier; arresting, eclectic pieces of art,’ trusted readers said in 2017. Hannah and Dominic Hughes, the Scotts’ daughter and her husband, manage ‘cordial, welcoming’ staff. Bedrooms in the main house and converted outbuildings have ‘quirky, imaginative’ features, such as a Moroccan-style tented ceiling or a mermaid mosaic. ‘Our ground-floor suite had an attractive bedroom and lounge, but the bathroom had a deep bathtub ill advised for people of our age.’ In the award-winning basement restaurant, Jules Hetherton’s modern British dinners celebrate local, foraged fare, perhaps pork and rabbit pithivier, parsnip purée, crispy kale. For midday sustenance, pop in to ‘tiny, bustling’ CoCoes deli, for ‘rightly famous fishcakes with an exceptional fennel slaw’. (MAS, and others)