With their background in TV and film, Sara Curran and Peter Sussman are experts in presentation. Since taking over in April 2022, they have hung artworks collected on their travels, refreshed the beautiful interiors, and added a Michelin-recommended brasserie to their 'exceptional hotel'. Bedrooms that are the 'epitome of elegance with a dash of country-house chic' are spread across two townhouses and Victorian Foresters Hall. Some have a modern four-poster, a log-burner, an in-room roll-top bath. All have fresh milk, a fridge, a Roberts radio, Farrow & Ball paint shades or wallpaper. Downstairs, Brasserie by Smoking Lobster with its red banquette seating and wood tables serves 'sensational seafood' such as local crab risotto and poached cod with smoked mussel velouté. Meat-eaters will find plenty of choice – and at prices that wouldn't make a lobster blush. In the summer, you can eat outside on the terrace; there is also a pleasant pool. Sara, Peter and their staff are 'kind, friendly and always eager to assist'. A tip: forget the car ferry and take the hydrofoil; it's just a short walk from the terminal. (Nicole LeDoux, and others)