'Over five decades the dear old George has never missed a beat, and our stay was as perfect as ever in this beautiful, old but supremely comfortable hotel in a lovely town.' Readers love this historic coaching inn – 'a confident, bustling place' – that has retained its character and high standards for half a century. These days some bedrooms have contemporary decor, and all have air conditioning. 'Our room was a delight – spacious, tasteful, modern.' But this is a classic hotel, so you might sleep on an antique four-poster, while in the panelled Oak Room restaurant guests are wooed with silver-domed carvery trolleys and 'perfect Dover sole and succulent roast beef'. 'The wine list remains very good,' reports a returning reader. You can eat less formally in the Garden Room, where every taste is catered for, from pasta to steak-and-kidney pudding and 'the best sea bass I can recall'. 'Tea in the courtyard with a pianist playing 1930s songs was a delight,' another guest related. Service is 'perfect', though very busy times can occasionally test it. It is 'lovely to stay in a famous hotel of such character'. 'Long may it remain.' (Ingle Dawson, Mary and Rodney Milne-Day, Ralph Wilson, GB and others)