A linden avenue leads to this apricot-washed Georgian mansion in parkland, beside St Andrew’s 
church in a Vale of Belvoir village, with a river running through. ‘The surroundings are beautiful,’ write trusted readers. In the same family since 1868, it was opened as a hotel in 1983 by the late, much-missed Imogen Skirving. Today, her granddaughter, Lila Arora, continues the welcoming tradition. Each bedroom has character, from The Nursery to Barbara Cartland’s favourite, no longer pink but with Cole & Son silver birch wallpaper. Edwards has the original four-poster. Dog-friendly Barristers, beloved of a learned friend, is on the ground floor. Cottage-style Cricketers, in a separate wing, has a country cottage feel. It’s not perfect (‘our room was small and the window could not be shut’) but it has many saving graces. Chef Gary Booth, in his 19th year here, devises menus around local ingredients. For instance, braised shoulder of Langar lamb, roast Belvoir partridge or wild mushroom risotto. Breakfast is served in a ‘cheerful, sunny conservatory’, cocktails in the bar, tea on the lawn. (J and JM)