‘At night, surrounded by floodlit cedars and oaks, it felt like a movie set,’ writes one reader this year, after visiting the luxury New Forest retreat. Almost correct. The mellow-stone mansion, apart from a tiny original section, is a 21st-century recreation of a Georgian property. So theatrics, but no drama, just ‘friendly, professional’ staff and a ‘gloriously relaxed’ atmosphere in the ‘delightful’ public spaces sprinkled liberally with artwork. The main house’s ‘tasteful’ rooms have coolly casual categories: eaves, cosy, spacious. Around the grounds, a thread of rustic family cottages, and two-storey suites and lodges with fireplace, dining area and forest or estate views. New this year, a linear timber-clad hideaway, cantilevered over the small lake, as if Frank Lloyd Wright had designed a log cabin. Wellies, waterproofs and bikes are provided, but may well be ignored for the acclaimed spa’s soft grey robes. In the ‘elegant, softly lit’ restaurant, Luke Holder and Angela Hartnett’s seasonal, locally sourced Italian fare includes such dishes as velvet crab, blood orange, fennel and basil risotto. Breakfast brings a ‘terrific’ buffet, or cooked options: smoked haddock, steak and eggs. (IB, and others)