Dunkery Beacon Country House

This Edwardian hunting lodge with a veranda from which to gaze out to the highest point on Exmoor, or at the starry black sky, is today a ‘delightful, well-managed’ hotel, run by owners John and Jane Bradley. Much has changed since the days when 20 single rooms were let exclusively to male shooting enthusiasts. Bedrooms are furnished in smart contemporary style. A ‘comfortable, spacious’, dog-friendly ground-floor suite proved to be ‘right up to date with all the 21st-century gadgets: music system, DVD-player and a vast TV screen (rather large for the sitting area!)’. One bedroom has a sunken bath with a shower over, another a mahogany sleigh bed. All are supplied with a cafetière, fresh milk and Keiji toiletries. In the Coleridge restaurant, John Bradley uses produce from Somerset suppliers, and from their own and local gardens, in such dishes as poached supreme of salmon with linguine, white wine and herb sauce, and sprouting broccoli. Jane, front-of-house, spent 15 years with venerable wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd. ‘Service was impeccable.’ Breakfast brings an ‘excellent choice’.