You can take afternoon tea, as Queen Victoria did, at this ‘VERY good hotel’, perhaps on the Geranium Terrace, ‘the whole length adorned with superb pink geraniums’. Sub-tropical gardens roll out before you, with views past the pool to the bay. Established in 1832, the former Fisher Hotel, now owned by William Bailey, attracted the Mayfair set, keen to swap London smog for sea-bathing and clean air. A reader this year praises the ‘high-quality accommodation’, the ‘personal, friendly service’, the advice given when choosing a room. These range from small to family, some in contemporary style, some with a country house feel. Another reader found Room 20 ‘spacious, well equipped, very comfortable, with two large windows facing the gardens and sea’. Lunch can be taken in the brasserie, bar, conservatory – or, in summer, from a hamper on the Riviera Terrace. Dinner is served under chandeliers in an opulent dining room. Chef Jon-Paul Charlo ‘aims high and delivers’, with such dishes as south coast crab with hand-rolled linguine, chilli, lime, coriander; lamb sausages, creamed potatoes, local greens, crispy onion, lamb sauce. Cooked breakfasts are ‘excellent’, too. (Graham Angel, MW)