‘The amiable staff at this charming country hotel make you feel like a guest in a good friend’s house.’ Praise this year from contented visitors, after a return trip to Julie Leivers and Damien Pease’s ‘splendid’ 19th-century stone manor, where the views over the wooded Tamar valley are ‘spectacular’. The well-tended gardens are just the spot for an alfresco drink in good weather; when cool winds blow in, a fire is lit in the lounge. Most bedrooms are in the converted coach house, a minute’s walk from the main building. Some rooms tend to the traditional, while others are more contemporary, but ‘all are well equipped, stylish and very comfortable’. ‘Ours was faultless, with French windows looking over the valley.’ In the restaurant, new chef Ashley Wright’s modern dishes – ‘perfectly cooked scallops; best-ever venison’ – are ‘a delight’. Mealtimes feed the spirit, too: ‘The vista from the dining room enhances the good food experience.’ Fill up on a ‘good-quality breakfast’ of local produce before striking out for the day. ‘There are plenty of opportunities for walking and sightseeing’; Cotehele and the Garden House are easily reached. (Mr and Mrs R Bradley, Peter Anderson)