The Great House

In one of England’s most perfect medieval villages, this timber-framed house may show the world a handsome Georgian face but within, it is all beams and slanted ceilings. Run as a restaurant-with-rooms and long ‘loved for its French ambience’, it has lost none of its je ne sais quoi since it was bought by Dominique Tropeano, owner and saviour of Colchester Zoo. Each bedroom has its own style. Bastille, though short on storage, is ‘lovely’, with a separate seating area. ‘The bed was very comfortable, with blanket and sheets as we’d asked,’ reported our inspectors. Versailles has a Jacobean four-poster. Extras include a coffee machine, minibar, fresh fruit and sherry. There is no lounge, but a small bar, and a patio for alfresco dining. Chef Swann Auffray cooks inventive dishes such as lemon sole with sautéed mushrooms, porcini oil foam and Jerusalem artichoke purée; for vegans, carrots every which way, with cumin caviar and orange-scented quinoa. At breakfast there is a buffet with freshly squeezed orange juice, cheeses, charcuterie, home-baked croissants and Lavenham honey, with cooked dishes charged extra.