Chewton Glen

There’s a ‘great atmosphere’ at this privately owned country house spa hotel (Relais & Châteaux), unstintingly luxurious yet completely family friendly. Fifty years strong – with a commemorative book to prove it – it continues to innovate, The  Kitchen (a purpose-built cookery school and restaurant complex opened in March  2017). ‘The attention to detail is excellent,’ enthuses a reader in 2016. If the sky’s the limit, book a tree-house suite, built on stilts in a secluded forest setting – each suite has floor-to-ceiling windows, a wood-burning stove, a whirlpool tub, a kitchenette, and a breakfast hamper delivered to the door. In the main house, even the cheapest rooms are large, traditionally and lavishly furnished, ‘absolutely pristine, relaxing and very comfy’, says a guest, for whom the whole experience was ‘unreal’. Come hungry: ‘delicious’, sophisticated meals are served in the conservatory dining rooms, perhaps Wiltshire venison saddle, parsley root, sloe gin; line-caught sea bass, mussels, monk’s beard. The estate is on the edge of the New Forest, a stroll from the sea – make your way through ‘beautiful’ grounds for ‘lovely’ walks along the beach. (Aminah Gianfrancesco, Sarah Heineman)