Pensons

With just two rooms, Pensons is ‘possibly Britain’s smallest Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms’. Added to the successful restaurant in 2021, they are ‘certainly no afterthought’, says our inspector. ‘As much care has been lavished on them as on the food.’ Styled in azurites and sea greens, they are ‘compact’, with a super-comfy bed and ‘a walk-through bathroom behind a statement headboard, fresh milk in the minibar, home-made cookies’. Guests can roam on the Netherwood Estate; there is a deep sense of place here. ‘Fabrics are made on the estate’s mill, local artists’ works hang on bedroom walls, where furniture is made by the estate joiner.’ In a double-height beamed barn, walls display ‘items unearthed on the estate, including Jacobean smoking pipes and a mammoth set of bellows from the farm forge’. Chris Simpson’s estate-to-plate tasting menu was ‘exquisite, starting with individual loaves and yeast butter. John Dory with crab butter sauce was particularly good, and a starter of mushroom, hazelnut truffle, artichoke and sourdough was memorable.’ In the morning, ‘young, smiling staff’ serve a ‘perfectly cooked’ breakfast.