Lime Wood

A New Forest bolt-hole, this country house hotel has an easy glamour, romantic and family-friendly rooms, heart-warming Italian food and top-notch spa. ‘Laid-back luxury at its very best,’ says our Guide insider. Public rooms in the Georgian main house mix panelled walls and checkerboard-tiled floors with leather chairs and modern art. Particularly atmospheric is the glass-ceilinged courtyard bar. Bedrooms in a chic country house style radiate comfort, and range from main-house rooms with woodland views and a bath by the window to rustic cottages and cabins in the grounds, perhaps with an open fire. The Lake Cabin is the ultimate in privacy with a wrap-around balcony over the water. After a walk in the grounds or New Forest (there are trails from the door), relax in the Herb House Spa with its choice of pools, rooftop garden and Raw & Cured café offering nutritious dishes such as home-cured salmon, and borlotti bean salad. Come evening, Angela Hartnett and Luke Holder serve ‘the best of Italian and British food’ in Hartnett Holder & Co. The short menu could include confit cod with white onion risotto or venison with spiced pear.