‘High standards are upheld’ at Ariane and Jamie Jones’s ‘lovely’ small hotel deep in Thomas Hardy country, say returning guests in 2017. ‘The staff are charming, always friendly; the meals are superb.’ ‘Our dogs were made very welcome, too.’ The 18th-century shepherd’s home, with a newly thatched roof, is run as a family affair: the Jones’s son, Nikolas, has begun apprenticing in the kitchen. ‘Warm, comfortable’ bedrooms, each with ‘lashings of hot water’ in the bathroom, face the garden or green fields. ‘Our spacious room had been upgraded since our last visit. The peaceful location and comfy king-size bed gave us a consistently good night’s sleep. A bonus: home-made rosemary-lemon biscuits.’ In the evening, the host’s ‘good-value’ meals are ‘inventive, flavourful, consistently outstanding’. ‘The fish dishes – divine scallops! – were especially tasty and original.’ Guests on a special diet needn’t despair: ‘They produced a separate gluten-free menu for me, with extensive choice.’ ‘Breakfast is good, too’: home-made yogurt, plenty of fruit and cereals, ‘a variety of freshly cooked dishes’. (Sara Price, Steve Hur, Simon Rodway)