‘In lush, beautifully tended gardens, this wonderful cliff-top hotel offers a sense of timeless peace and isolation.’ Guide readers this year continue to be drawn to Toby Ashworth’s family-friendly hotel and spa, founded 29 years ago by his grandmother. ‘The warm hospitality makes the train journey worthwhile. Even among strangers, here, there’s a feeling of old friends reunited.’ Traditionally decorated bedrooms, many sea-facing, have a ‘sumptuous bed’ and ‘excellent reading lights’, but it’s the old-fashioned touches that make them special: a valet to unpack your bags, a hot-water bottle, a laundry service. ‘It is, in many ways, a time warp, but that’s what makes it enjoyable.’ Dress up to dine from a nightly-changing table d’hôte menu in the silver-service restaurant (perhaps including ‘superlative pork in Calvados from the flambé trolley’), or eat more informally in the Quarterdeck. There may be a faint hint of change in the air – wasabi paste in a roast-beef sandwich! – but the ‘varied breakfast spread’ and ‘delicious afternoon tea’ remain key moments in the day. ‘Fellow guests said it’s the best hotel they’ve stayed in. I can only agree.’ (Matthew Caminer, Stanley Salmon). The Nare is also a member of Pride of Britain hotels,