Fine dining is the order of the day at Max and Susan Fischer’s Jacobean-style Edwardian mansion in ‘prime Derbyshire countryside’, approached by a chestnut tree-shaded drive. Chef Rupert Rowley’s Michelin-starred cooking, including ‘some simply conceived dishes and a few more conceptual ones’, is ‘outstanding in its quality’, guests say. Dress for dinner in the dining room, or perch at the tasting bench in the kitchen if you prefer a buzz. Canapés and a ‘surprise savoury’ might be followed by oxtail ravioli; miso-glazed pork jowl, brown shrimp, coconut. Vegetarians, rejoice: fine menus use abundant produce from the kitchen garden. In the main house, spacious bedrooms are traditionally styled, with leaded windows overlooking mature landscaped acres. ‘Modern, airy’ Garden House rooms, grouped around a ‘pleasant’ walled courtyard and garden, are ‘excellent’. All rooms have Egyptian cotton sheets, organic toiletries, comfy seating, fluffy towels and robes. After a breakfast of freshly squeezed juice, home-made granola, local bacon and sausages, perhaps toast with honey from the hives, take a stroll to Chatsworth House. (Richard Osborne, AB)