A grand country house with 'astonishing beautiful' Jacobean and Georgian sides, this 'special place' gazes over an 18th-century landscape, with Ionic temple, obelisk, and a lake spanned by an arch from the old Kew Bridge. Beautifully restored by Historic House Hotels and owned by the National Trust (see Middlethorpe Hall, York, and Bodysgallen Hall & Spa, Llandudno), it is wonderfully presented, with perfectly judged antiques and spectacular original features such as stuccoed ceilings and marble fireplaces, damask wallpapers and opulent furnishings. 'It is run by staff who obviously cherish where they work,' reports a reader, who loved the 'breathtaking' public rooms. The accommodation ranges from classic double rooms with coffee machine and homemade biscuits to 'royal' rooms and suites, some with a four-poster – King Louis XVIII and his court lived here when they were exiled from France (they kept livestock on the roof). There are further rooms and dog-friendly suites in a converted 18th-century riding school. Take time to relax in the spa, a five-minute walk from the main house, with its neo-classical archways around the pool. Dress formally to dine on elaborate dishes such as pan-roasted filled of monkfish or twice-baked cheese soufflé with salt and vinegar walnuts and poached pear.