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. 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)