‘The hotel, its staff and food were exquisite,’ a reader writes of an anniversary visit to Max and Susan Fischer’s stone manor house, in a village on the fringe of Chatsworth Park. A shady drive leads to the house, built in 1907 in rich Jacobean style. ‘Very comfortable and well-appointed’ main-house bedrooms, replete with swags and drapes and luxury toiletries, overlook a garden with clipped yews and box hedges, flower borders, pond and arboretum. ‘Spacious and extremely comfortable’ Garden Rooms, in contemporary style, have their own private walled garden. From this luxurious base, guests can explore the Peak District, returning for dinner in the dining room, the new wine room or at chef Rupert Rowley’s tasting bench. ‘Fischer’s certainly deserves the Michelin star and other accolades’ for such dishes as Derbyshire pork jowl, piccalilli, langoustine, grilled pak choi – or, from the vegetarian menu, mushroom risotto, truffle mascarpone. Many ingredients are home-grown. At breakfast there’s freshly squeezed juice, honey from the Baslow Hall bees. For a gastropub lunch, look no further than Rowley’s down the road. (Stan Buchanan, Robert Cave)