Up the tree- and hedgerow-lined road from the National Arboretum, this Cotswold-stone country hotel stands in gardens and woodland. It enters the Guide at the urging of regular readers in 2017. ‘Standards are consistently high, and the staff are always attentive and obliging,’ says a repeat guest. ‘It’s good value, too, for the area.’ ‘Well-furnished, log fire-warmed sitting rooms’ in the Victorian building (part of Cotswold Inns & Hotels) have paintings of not a few hares and handsome hounds; there are books, board games, wide armchairs and a relaxed, dog-friendly bar. Choose one of the individually decorated bedrooms in the main house or garden annexes – some are traditional, others are more modern, others yet open on to a terrace. (Light sleepers might discuss accommodation before booking – rooms above the bar may have some noise.) In the lawn-facing restaurant, ‘skilfully prepared dishes’ include, perhaps, beef fillet, hay-smoked shin, girolles, truffle terrine. Simpler plates and sharing platters are served in the bar. Ask for a map, when it’s time for walkies – Fido has woodland paths and country lanes to sniff out. (Mary Coles, ME Olorenshaw)