‘We arrived on a golden Indian summer late afternoon to a warm welcome, culminating in tea on the lawn, looking beyond the ha-ha to a field.’ A much-loved hotel, this apricot-washed Georgian mansion in the Vale of Belvoir lies at the end of a lime avenue, beside the church of St Andrew. ‘A charming place, relaxed and caring’, it is run by Lila Arora, granddaughter of the late chatelaine, Imogen Skirving. Bedrooms (three in a separate wing) are characterful, with views over parkland ornamented with sculptures. From pretty Marks, named after Imogen’s brother, and decorated with Louise Body’s ‘Pavilion Birds’ wallpaper, to four-poster Bohemia with poetry on the walls, via The Nursery and Barbara Cartland room (beloved of the romantic novelist), each is a picture, and each picture tells a story. ‘The warmth of the welcome carried on to our excellent dinner in a beautiful, classical dining room.’ Gary Booth’s menus include such dishes as assiette of Langar lamb, beetroot, home-made ricotta, pistachio pesto. There are niggles (a limp 
kipper, a mix-up over a booking), but ‘the delightful ambience and excellent dinner cancelled out the shortcomings’. (Jock and Jane Macdonald, and others)