Bingham Riverhouse

You can paddleboard on the river, stroll to see the deer in Richmond Park, and feel a world away from central London at this smart, multifaceted Thames-side hotel. Owned by mother and daughter Ruth and Samantha Trinder, the Georgian house is home to a members’ club and fine-dining restaurants. Designer bedrooms with contemporary furnishings are named after poems and verse dramas by Michael Field, nom de plume of two Victorian poets, Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper, who lived here until 1914. All have climate control, and the best, such as river-view Sappho and Baudelaire, have an in-room copper bathtub. Dinner is served in the library, which is lined with Penguin classics, in the parlour, the members’ lounge/bar, in a garden ‘pod’ or on terraces. Flexible tasting menus by Steven Edwards allow you to mix and match such dishes as beetroot tartare, horseradish ice cream and coriander; lamb rump with salsify and braised celery; John Dory with salt-baked celeriac and lovage. The staff are ‘friendly, relaxed and thoughtful’. Cooked breakfast items include ‘eggs Florentine cooked to perfection’.