One aspect of British life that has improved immeasurably is eating out in
hotels. Travellers who believe the country is going downhill should remember
the days when surly waiters slapped down a watery bowl of soup followed by a
gristly hunk of beef in a sea of overcooked vegetables.
Today, if you choose carefully, you can eat fresh local produce cooked with
sophistication and presented with flair. Here is a selection of 10 hotels,
gastropubs and restaurants-with-rooms that have won a deserved reputation
for their cooking.
1 THE MASONS ARMS, Branscombe, Devon
This popular old inn is in the centre of a National Trust village (good cliff
walks). Some of the bedrooms — which have antiques, beams and, in some
cases, four-posters — are in cottages across the road. The chef, Richard
Reddaway, uses local ingredients, including West Country scallops and smoked
Dartmouth duck breast. Great breakfasts.
01297 680300, www.masonsarms.co.uk; 19 bedrooms; doubles from £75, B&B,
dinner £25pp
2 THE MUSEUM INN, Farnham, Dorset
Delicious bistro-style cooking from Daniel Turner, in a warm, busy atmosphere,
has made this 17th-century inn in a quiet village on the Wiltshire border a
clear favourite with locals. Goat’s-cheese starter, spicy crab cakes, and
rhubarb-crumble tart are among the bistro-style dishes served by cheerful
Australian staff on wooden tables in the bar and, at weekends, in the former
village hall. Ask for the best bedroom, General’s, with a four-poster and
two balconies. There are smaller, cheaper rooms in converted stables.
01725 516261, www.museuminn.co.uk; eight bedrooms; doubles from £95, B&B,
dinner £26pp-£30pp
3 THE HOWARD ARMS, Ilmington, Warwickshire
This 400-year-old pub, with thick walls, oak beams, log fireplace and flagged
floor, is on the green of a village south of Stratford-upon-Avon. The
bedrooms, upstairs, have antiques and artworks. The menu ranges from beef,
ale and mustard pie to roast cod, spinach, potato and chorizo. Breakfast
features delicious toasted home-made bread and strong cafetière coffee. In
summer, meals can be taken in the garden.
01608 682226, www.howardarms.com; three bedrooms; doubles from £105, dinner
£30pp-£40pp
4 THE YORKE ARMS, Ramsgill, North Yorkshire
The Michelin-starred cooking of Frances Atkins draws visitors to this
creeper-clad old inn in a village in Nidderdale. (There is excellent walking
in this designated area of outstanding natural beauty.) A main course of
belly pork and pork loin with borlotti beans and tomatoes has been much
praised. Other dishes that have been enjoyed include lobster with ravioli
and Nidderdale lamb pie (from local fields). Sitting areas have flagged
floors, settles and wooden tables. Bedrooms vary in size.
01423 755243, www.yorke-arms.co.uk; 14 bedrooms; doubles from £150, B&B,
dinner £50pp
5 THE CASTLE, Taunton, Somerset
The owners, Kit and Louise Chapman, have a remarkable record in helping four
chefs to acquire a Michelin star. The latest, Richard Guest, serves modern
British cooking, such as baked organic egg with white-truffle cream, crispy
duck with cranberry compote, and splendid British cheeses. The
wisteria-clad, castellated building has elegant public rooms with tapestries
and paintings.A wrought-iron staircase leads to bedrooms of varying size and
style.
01823 272671, www.the-castle-hotel.com; 44 bedrooms; doubles from £217.38,
dinner from £25pp
6 SUMMER ISLES HOTEL, Achiltibuie, near Ullapool
Sublime views over the sea match Chris Firth-Bernard’s Michelin-starred
cooking in this “croft-style” hotel/restaurant. Almost everything you eat,
from spiny lobsters and scallops to asparagus and venison, is locally grown
or caught. The pudding trolley is “irresistible”. The bar, a friendly local,
also serves good meals. Bedrooms range from smart in the main house to log
cabin style, and there’s a boathouse suite.
01854 622282, www.summerisleshotel.co.uk; 13 bedrooms; doubles from £122, B&B,
dinner £50pp; closed until April 1
7 LINTHWAITE HOUSE, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria
Simon Bolsover exploits local produce on his modern British menu, with dishes
including Grizedale venison carpaccio, and slow-cooked feather beef with
herb dumplings and hot pot vegetables. There are also memorable desserts and
an excellent cheese list littered with regional specialities. The
creeper-covered house, in private grounds, has views of Lake Windermere,
with warm, welcoming public rooms sporting Edwardian décor and bedrooms of
varying sizes.
015394 88600, www.linthwaite.com; 27 rooms; doubles from £168, B&B,
dinner £46pp
8 THE FELIN FACH GRIFFIN, Felin Fach, near Brecon, Powys
Between the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains, on a main road, this
terracotta- coloured inn is nicely relaxed. The chef, Ricardo Van Ede, had a
Michelin-starred restaurant in Amsterdam at the precocious age of 21. His
dishes, served piping hot and stylishly presented, range from cep-mushroom
risotto to roast partridge with muscat grapes and braised puy lentils. The
bedrooms are simple but comfortable; decor is a mix of old and new. No
residents’ lounge, but leather sofas round a fireplace.
01874 620111, www.eatdrinksleep.ltd.uk; seven bedrooms; doubles from £97.50, B&B,
dinner £36pp
9 THE BELL AT SKENFRITH, Monmouthshire
A 17th-century inn facing the ruined castle in a tiny village in the wooded
Monmow valley. The chef, David Hill, serves beautifully presented modern
British dishes, using fillet of Brecon beef and Monmouthshire lamb with
locally grown vegetables. Huge breakfasts include freshly baked croissants.
The bedrooms (some are large) come with CD player, DVD player and internet
connection.
01600 750235, www.skenfrith.co.uk; eight bedrooms; doubles from £100, B&B,
dinner from £30pp
10 BALLYMALOE HOUSE, Shanagarry, Cork
The Allen family, led by the veteran Myrtle, have run this luxury Georgian
hotel, famed for its cooking and its cookery school, for more than 25 years.
It stands in large grounds, with tennis, a swimming pool, a five-hole golf
course and ponds with ducks and geese. Guests like its “atmosphere of a
cultured home”: paintings and books everywhere. Some bedrooms are in a
Norman keep. The chef, Jason Fahey, delights visitors in the intimate dining
rooms with his five-course dinners. A typical menu ranges from onion and
thyme leaf soup to locally smoked fish and roast duck.
00 353 21 465 2531, www.ballymaloe.com; 33 bedrooms; doubles from £141, B&B,
dinner £44pp
The Good Hotel Guide 2007 Great Britain & Ireland is out now,
priced £18 (www.goodhotelguide.com)
