Read the reviews of 40 more Bolt Hole hotels

The hotel: this whitewashed, 16th-century dairy farm smoulders with the suggestion of naughtiness.

It’s partly down to the location, which is wild in every sense – marooned among melancholic Carmarthenshire marshes and anchored by the town of Laugharne, a “legendary lazy little black-magical bedlam by the sea”, according to its most famous former resident, the poet Dylan Thomas.

The locals will tell you that Laugharne is – technically, at least – beyond the law: a charter granted to Sir Guido de Brian the Younger in the 1290s means that, in theory, this eccentric enclave could thumb its nose at parliament. In practice, it settles for testing legality’s limits enthusiastically most Friday and Saturday nights.

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The town’s infectiously reckless image is enhanced by the fact that the actor Neil Morrissey, of Men Behaving Badly fame, is a co-owner of Hurst House and regularly brings the Brit Pack’s thirstiest thesps to the hearth.

But don’t be intimidated; the hotel has recently been renovated and is now definitely more Lagerfeld than lagered up.

The rooms: the revamp is the work of interior designer Juliet de Valero Wills (aka Billy Bragg’s other half) and she’s created not so much rooms as louche love shacks. All 18 have voluptuous furniture and vampish 1960s-inspired fixtures, including lipstick-red triffid lamps, enticing tangerine velvet drapery and fabulous pebbled bathrooms. There are many thoughtful touches: complimentary hot chocolate and cookies, wall-to-wall Bang & Olufsen, and scented Natural Magic candles flickering seductively.

In the public spaces, endless nooks and crannies have been decorated with an eclectic collection of travellers’ treasures, from seed-pod sculptures to intricate Moroccan doors. Combined with the exposed brickwork, flagstoned floors and sink-in chesterfields, it’s hard to resist one more cup of coffee and one more glossy mag.

The food: just as sloth sets in, chef Scott Davis bustles by, setting out tempting afternoon tea and providing yet another reason to delay that bracing walk. Served on slate tiles, this is a modern Mediterranean take on a British tradition, featuring feta cheese frittata and overstuffed ciabattas, as well as endless creamy desserts.

And then there’s dinner. The Pembrokeshire crab cake and ravioli of Pant Mawr goat’s cheese were excellent, the local corn-fed chicken juicy – but you really should try the salt-marsh lamb. These sheep wander across the sea meadows, munching on sparta grass, samphire and sea lavender to create the most tender meat imaginable – even the French rave about it. It’s so fabulous, we didn’t even mind the prices: starters about £8, mains £18, veggie side dishes an extra £3.

The great outdoors: the hotel is surrounded by wind-whipped MoD land, and we managed to motor onto the ranges while they were letting off flour bombs and disguising themselves as lowlying shrubs – or whatever they do on military manoeuvres. So we legged it.

The Dylan Thomas Boathouse museum and a stroll around Laugharne’s medieval castle kept us out of trouble for the rest of the afternoon. The next morning, we visited Pendine, a time-warp resort with a stunning seven-mile stretch of beach. Which is where, finally, away from the food and the sloth, we got our walk in.

— Hurst House on the Marsh, East Marsh, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire SA33 4RS (01994 427417, www.hurst-house.co.uk; doubles from £265, B&B)

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