BridgeHouse Beaminster hotel

"Beaminster is an attractive stone village inland from Lyme Regis that has managed to move very little with the times. The failure of the expanding railway network to link with Beaminster saved this small town from much nineteenth-century development. Bridge House on Prout Hill is typical of the town, a low 700-year-old dwelling that was built for a medieval priest. It retains its mullioned windows, beams and inglenook fireplaces."

"Worship at the altar of modern hotel luxury at the 700-year-old Bridgehouse, once the lodging house for a dozen priests from the area. Set in chocolate-box pretty Dorset countryside, the hotel’s individually decorated rooms are quirky and comfortable in equal measure (the old romantic in me loves the four poster beds particularly) with wifi, plasma screen TVs and Frette linen bringing them right up to date. The thick stone walls and stone mullioned windows will keep out the winter chill nicely as you mull over what to eat in the Georgian panelled dining room. Dorset’s rich farming heritage and wonderful local produce have obviously inspired the hotel to launch its Love Dorset offer – pay £260 a night (you’ll need to book two nights minimum) and you’ll be welcomed with champagne and homemade chocolate truffles, a superior double or four poster bedroom, a candle-lit four-course dinner, a breakfast of warm croissants and pain au chocolat plus tea and coffee in bed or a full English. Lovely Molten Brown smellies are also thrown in."