Mallory Court

A romantic Elizabethan-style Edwardian mansion, built for a Manchester cotton bleacher and set in landscaped gardens, is the epitome of a well-run country house hotel. Part of the Eden group (see also Brockencote Hall, Chaddesley Corbett), with Relais & Châteaux cred, it is ‘at once sumptuous and relaxing … The lovely staff made us feel welcome from the second we arrived.’ First-floor doubles in the Knight’s Suite are most affordable, but main-house rooms with modern comforts and period charm, an espresso machine and fine toiletries, have more ambience. ‘Our room was spacious and practical, elegantly furnished, with a wonderful view across the gardens and south Warwickshire.’ There are further lovely rooms in Orchard House, above the spa. You can eat informally from a lounge menu, while in the dining room produce from the kitchen garden features on a nightly tasting menu. Perhaps Mallory garden salad, goat’s curd and black olives; bavette of Wagyu beef with crown pumpkin, morel and Madeira sauce. ‘Food and drink are of very high quality,’ say readers, with special praise for ‘the impressive sommelier’. (Stephen and Pauline Glover, AB, IW)