Number One Bruton

With its bright yellow front door and rhubarb-pink sitting room, this Georgian town house with cottages, forge and low-key Michelin-starred dining is stylish but unstuffy. Aled and Claudia Rees have created ‘chic interiors’ that ‘blend the past beautifully with the present’, says a Guide insider: original fireplaces and wooden floors complement the fashion photography and striped furnishings. Main house bedrooms have Georgian-coloured walls, artistic wallpapers and vintage furniture. Overlooking the courtyard garden, Cottage rooms – two with log-burner – and Forge rooms are more rustic, with exposed beams and stonework. All have original art and treats of local Cheddar and crackers, ‘just one of the nice details’. Bathrooms are bold, some with hand-painted tiles, others with freestanding baths. Expect ‘tasty and unusual dishes’ in Merlin Labron-Johnson’s Michelin-starred restaurant Osip, which is partnered with the hotel. They might feature smoky duck with beetroots and elderberry, and ewes’ milk pudding with rhubarb. Breakfast has just boiled eggs as the cooked option, but it’s a fine spread with ham, cheese, rice pudding and home-made brioche.