'Steeped in history', this Tudor Gothic-style Elizabethan mansion, extended over centuries, overlooks parkland with a rare 17th-century parterre, walled rose garden, cascade, lily pond and follies. Owned by the National Trust, it is now a luxury hotel and spa, part of the Historic House Hotels group (see also Hartwell House, Aylesbury, and Middlethorpe Hall, York). Public rooms have oak panelling, magnificent fireplaces, oil portraits, antiques. Stone-mullioned windows frame views to Conwy Castle and Snowdonia. Bedrooms are presented in traditional country-house style. Suites, one with a four-poster, have a sitting room. All have an espresso machine, home-made biscuits, classy toiletries. There are further rooms in charming stone cottages in the grounds, sleeping up to four, some with a private garden, some dog-friendly. Chef Abdalla El Shershaby uses organic produce from the potager in dishes such as roast sea bass fillet with charred aubergine, polenta fritters, Bodysgallen tomato butter. A reader on a multi-generational break enjoyed the 'inviting pool' and 'tasty meals', though 'a children's menu would have been appreciated'. (Jane Bailey)