Hotel Endsleigh

"At last, an English country house hotel for people who loathe both traditional English country house hotels with their whispery dining rooms, dusty chintz, equestrian prints and phlegmatic plumbing, and also the new breed of hip faux rustic boltholes where the bell-hop might confide that it was Kate Moss herself who was responsible for the cigarette burn in the night table by your bed and fire doors thump all night long. Here instead, compliments of Olga Polizzi, sister of Sir Rocco Forte and one of the world’s most brilliant hoteliers, and her daughter Alex, who runs the place, is a story-book country house hotel—friendly, discreetly stylish, comfortable, quiet, surrounded by lovely gardens and possessing a superb setting just on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon and overlooking the Tamar River, which divides Cornwall and Devon. This 16 room hotel was created from the 1812 shooting and fishing lodge of Georgina, Duchess of Bedford, and the Regency spirit of the place has been handsomely brought across by Polizzi with framed etchings, China Trade wallpaper, bamboo bit and pieces, lots of books—this is a superb destination for anyone who loves to read—and superbly comfortable beds. This place is heaven for couples where one is sporting and the other isn’t, since riding is possible, along with hiking, and there’s famously good salmon and sea-trout fishing at an adjacent club, all of which means it’s easy to leave the sedentary in peace. Chef Shay Cooper does a clever update of the sort of dishes you kind hope to find in this setting, mostly good simple old-fashioned English food like roasts and wonderful fresh salmon, and breakfast are memorably delicious. The only things, in fact, that are reminiscent of traditional English country houses are in fact quite welcome, the honor bar in the library, the full cream tea served, and the thwack of someone playing croquet on a lawn somewhere."