Widbrook Grange

Nick and Charlotte Dent have had a field day converting a Georgian stone farmhouse and outbuildings in 11 acres into a dog-friendly, fun hotel brimming with character and ‘so many appealing, endlessly inventive features’. Upcycled agricultural paraphernalia is everywhere: here a vintage tractor, there a hay cart or old milk churns, ‘mirrors created out of old door panels’, a sheep fashioned from spark plugs. A stables bedroom had ‘plain brown carpet, grey/brown painted walls, some of stone’, no boutique pretensions, but was warm and comfortable, with the drinks tray on an old suitcase. ‘The spacious bathroom was rustic, too, with panelled walls.’ There is a gin bar, a cosy lounge with leather armchairs, and a conservatory perfect for afternoon tea – which is also served for dogs, with a tennis ball to take home, a choice of food and a puppichino. In the dining room, where garden tools and old fruit boxes adorn the wall, a menu of local produce includes dishes such as monkfish with saffron risotto. Readers who booked a short stay found it ‘so enjoyable’ that three months later they were back. (Catherine Held, and others)