Hotel Endsleigh

A Regency fishing lodge built for Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford, stands in a ‘magical’ landscape of grottoes and follies created by Humphry Repton, on the banks of the Tamar. ‘I confess I never [was] so well pleased myself,’ exclaimed the Duke, when he saw Repton’s plans; our readers agree: ‘A walk around the beautiful grounds makes one feel so good to be alive.’ Within the cottage orné, Olga Polizzi contrasts rustic simplicity with antiques, hand-painted wallpaper and modern artwork. There are blazing fires, fresh flowers, a library thick with books; ‘at night, myriad small candles burn in the public areas’. Many of the ‘charming’ bedrooms have views over the gardens; for more space, splurge on a new suite in the converted stables, with a sitting room, and a kitchen dresser for preparing coffee and tea. Come dinnertime, sit down to Jose Graziosi’s ‘good’, ‘reasonably priced’ modern European dishes, perhaps hare arancino, Parmesan; partridge pithivier, pancetta, wild mushrooms. ‘A memorable experience.’ (Ann Reynolds, and others)