The smart hotel choice in Newcastle has always been overlooking the river or rolling Northumbrian countryside. A classy hotel in the suburbs is a new concept.

Jesmond Dene House, which opened this month, is a new approach in lots of ways. It's not part of a chain, it doesn't believe in gimmicks - no spa, no Playstations, no jelly beans - staff seem genuinely pleased to see you and it doesn't care that it's not at the heart of the action; it's a 10-minute drive from the centre.

Instead, it's taken an Arts and Crafts mansion, injected a smooth, understatedly modern style, and majored on food. Terry Laybourne, the region's leading chef/restaurateur, is one of the hotel's owners. And, for a city hotel, it boasts a genuinely leafy setting, not just a token row of bay trees. It overlooks the semi-natural, wooded valley of Jesmond Dene.

A grand building, in typical hotch-potch Arts and Crafts style - tall chimneys, a bit of mock-Tudor, quirky rooflines - I got lost several times trying to find my room; there are only 32 (with 8 in a new building). The maze of stairs, corridors and landings are a reminder that this was a private house.

Original Victorian features have been highlighted - oak panelling, inglenook fireplaces, Gothic windows - yet the decorative style is sharp and faintly '70s retro. Definitely no frills and flounces or cascading floral displays - though I could have done without the nude artwork.

Bedrooms manage to be both relaxing and 'wow' at the same time. Big, uncluttered, in sober Farrow and Ball paints, one wall might be wallpapered, or a shocking pink.

There are nifty Italian lights, gorgeous brocade chairs and art deco-ish bathrooms that push all the right buttons: walk-in showers, underfloor heating, proper bath-tubs.

For some, the rooms might be too pared-down - decoration is restricted to a goldfish bowl (minus fish), a frilly pink pig in the bathroom, a couple of mirrors - but I found it soothing. Such a relief to get into bed without having to turf off half a dozen cushions, cashmere throws and chocolates.

It's quietly high-tech (flat screen TVs, broadband access) though I gave up the fight with the digital radio; it switched off after five minutes as though nannying me to go to sleep.

Instead, I slept to the sound of silence and awoke to gaze straight into woodland. Other bedrooms have garden views, window seats, private terraces while the two loft apartments (one with flamingo wallpaper - yikes!) sprawl amongst the eaves. One or two rooms look onto a stone wall; check when you book.

Dinner was very grown-up. We were escorted through double doors to a choice of glass-windowed garden room (romantic) or smart, black velvet chaired dining room.

The food is imaginative but not fussy: roe deer carpaccio with juniper berries, grilled cod with potato rosti, fillet of beef with wild mushroom fricassee. Puddings are almost too adorable to eat; a steamed lemon pudding snugly sitting in a tea-cup had me weeping as I plunged in my spoon. Leave time (and room) for breakfast. Home-made muffins, organic porridge, fruit compote, smoothies, poached pears, croissants - and that's just for starters.

Despite the grandeur of the building - a cocktail bar (with Italian leather chairs on castors!), billiard room, Great Hall - it's not stuffy, helped by the friendliness, if occasional over-attentiveness, of the staff. It's not cheap but for a hotel that gives a fresh, modern interpretation to that old-fashioned concept of hospitality, probably a fair price.

Information:

Jesmond Dene House, Jesmond Dene Road, Newcastle upon Tyne (www.jesmonddenehouse.co.uk)
Doubles from £145, without breakfast. Dinner for two, without wine, £70 - £80.

Other choices:

Malmaison, in a converted warehouse, has a peach position overlooking the Millennium Bridge, a small spa and groovy bar - beware rooms at the back. greystreethotel (as it irritatingly styles itself) on lovely Georgian Grey Street, has softly minimalist, albeit identikit, rooms in a former 19th century bank.

Otherwise, the choice is four-star corporate Copthorne and The Vermont or five-star Hilton Gateshead: comfortable, bland, with riverside locations. Out of town, Matfen Hall does the country house thing with spa and golf courses while Seaham Hall has its swish Serenity Spa.

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