A hostelry of some sort has stood on this spot for a millennium, gradually sweeping up a church, motley outbuildings and a hospital to create this traditionally run hotel that remains ‘very much a part of the town’. No wonder: with log fires and deep sofas, a panelled bar, and a courtyard for alfresco entertaining, ‘the place heaves from morning coffee to afternoon tea’. Arrive to ‘a friendly welcome’ – the staff are ‘pleasant, attentive, efficient’. Bedrooms are variously sized and shaped, with different outlooks. ‘Our mini-suite, actually a comfortable, large double room, had a sunken bath and lots of storage space in the bathroom. The room overlooked the courtyard; there was some noise in the early evening, but all was quiet at night.’ Join the revellers for a ‘faultless’ informal dinner in the Garden Room (‘our lobster spaghetti and summer pudding made one of the best meals of the year’), or an ‘excellent’ traditional meal in the Oak restaurant. In the morning, alongside good cooked dishes, the ‘impressive fruit selection’ might include a ‘perfect exotic fruit salad’. (JM, PA, and others)