A country retreat just outside St Albans occupies an extended 300-year-old manor house, once the home of Lord Louis Mountbatten. The hotel is ‘professional and well run’, say inspectors in 2018. It has plush seating in the cosy cocktail lounge and an ‘airy, pretty conservatory’. A choice for diners: the ‘bustling brasserie’ for classic bistro dishes, or the restaurant’s sophisticated dining. ‘Modern, clean lines’ abound in the ‘practical, neat, if slightly characterless’ bedrooms, which have ‘an excellent shower’; in the stable block are stylish ‘more tasteful’ mews suites. A gallery of signed football shirts reflects the hotel’s popularity with top teams (Barcelona stayed here). There is a popular spa; several walled gardens are within the extensive grounds. Breakfast was ‘plentiful, nicely served with freshly squeezed orange juice’.