Coworth Park, Dorchester Collection

"The Dorchester Collection’s first countryside hotel sits on 240 acres of polo fields and wooded parkland at the edge of Windsor Great Park, a mere 20 minutes from Heathrow and close to Windsor Castle and Ascot race course. The building, dating to 1776 and once belonging to Galen Weston, the chairman of Selfridges, consists of 30 rooms in the Mansion House and 40 in former stables and cottages. It’s five-star refinery but with a refreshing modern edge. Guests are completely cosseted by the highly individual, high-spirited staff. Room furnishings in the main house are classical, with four-poster beds, but are updated with light, subtle fabrics and have hypnotic views of woods and parterres. Rustically furnished suites—situated in a small cluster of cottages, a stable, and an 18th-century dower house—are all suitable for families due to their generous size. At the casual, stone-floor restaurant The Barn, expect delicious renderings of wholesome English country fare, while the swank formal dining room presents delectable small plates, ingenious foams, and a crack sommelier. Befitting the setting, there’s on-site riding, tennis, golf, and a wonderful spa with its own restaurant, but nothing tops the opportunity to indulge in that most cherished of rural English pastimes: long country walks."