Brockencote Hall

A woodland drive brings you to a lake, a 17th-century dovecote and the very image of a Loire château amid sheep-grazed pastures. A Victorian mansion, built for a carpet tycoon and remodelled in the 1940s for a member of the Butler brewing dynasty, it is part of the Eden Hotel Collection (see also Mallory Court, Leamington Spa). Bedroom style is country house contemporary. The cheapest rooms have a walk-in or over-bath shower; if you want both a bath and shower, trade up to a superior room. New this year is the converted Gate Lodge, with three double rooms, private dining and outdoor hot tub, which can booked on an individual basis or for exclusive use. A welcome letter, bowl, bed, toy and chew await your dog in designated rooms; for you, there are luxury toiletries, home-made biscuits, fresh fruit and savouries. You can order light bites in the bar, ask for a picnic, or dine in the restaurant, where Tim Jenkins’s short menus hit the spot with a trusted reader. ‘Dinner was fantastic, from the lovely canapés amuse-bouche and pre-dessert to the actual meal.’ Typical dishes: variations of pork with Madeira jus, brown-butter celeriac, garden apples, hispi cabbage; roast monkfish, mussels, curried cauliflower, samphire. ‘The value was excellent and we look forward to returning.’ (JC, SH)