Visitors this year were ‘very happy with everything’ at this former stately home set in landscaped gardens and parkland on the edge of the Chilterns. The Grade I listed, part Jacobean, part Georgian building, filled with original antiques and paintings, was restored by Historic House Hotels, and given to the National Trust in 2008. Grand but ‘relaxing’ public rooms, with damask-covered walls and ornate stuccoed ceilings, are perfect for ‘tea and cakes’ on arrival. The ‘sumptuous’ bedrooms and suites are mostly in the main house. The first-floor ‘Royal Suites’ (the exiled King Louis XVIII of France lived here from 1809 to 1814) have a spacious bathroom, a sitting room and south-facing views. ‘Royal’ rooms are equally plush; some have a four-poster bed. ‘Classic rooms’ have a sofa, writing desk and king-size bed, but one older reader was ‘unable to use the over-bath shower’. Dinner in the formal but unstuffy dining room might be crab and courgette cannelloni followed by pan-roasted fillet of cod, cooked to perfection by chef Daniel Richardson and his team. ‘An awesome place to stay.’ (Geoffrey Bignell, and others). Hartwell House is a member of Pride of Britain hotels.