‘From the excellent service, decor and food to the exceptional attention to detail, they’ve certainly got it right.’ There’s a chorus of praise this year for this ‘impressive’ small hotel. A former Victorian country retreat, it is a five-minute walk from the lake shore, and a stroll from town. Caroline and Jonathan Kaye are the owners – nay, ‘the stand-out feature of the place’. ‘Caroline is helpful and charming; Jonathan, a wealth of local information, exuberantly answered all our questions about the area.’ Further admiration: ‘We arrived at 9 pm, hungry and tired, and they provided us with cheese trays that included a variety of local products.’ The ‘superbly appointed’ bedrooms are each different – choose one with a canopy bed or a four-poster, perhaps one with a view of the eponymous ancient cedar. Sandwiches and light meals are served all day in the lounge; in the evening, chef Roger Pergl-Wilson’s ‘first-class’ modern menus, which might include hake in dry sherry sauce, caramelised fennel, sea vegetables, make a ‘wonderful dining experience’. (Jane Brown, Beth Caplan, the Brass family, Rick Fairclough)