Hotel du Vin Winchester

From the stuffed moose's head nosing over the sitting room's roaring fire to the stylish leather stools lined up awaiting your custom at the uber-cool Champagne bar, Hotel du Vin Winchester (the first in the chain) oozes European charm. With only 24 bedrooms, there's an intimate feel to this HdV, housed in a handsome Georgian building dating back to 1715 and with many of its period details still intact. Sunday brunch in Bistro du Vin, decked out in classic Parisian restaurant-style, is a lovely, social affair with a sumptuous French market table of seafood and crustacea for your delectation and classic roasts. All the rooms exhibit that great taste that the chain showcases in all its properties but the Garden rooms are something special, situated within the garden walls with a private patio. Don't forget to spend some time in the pretty walled garden itself – a calm oasis just a short walk from the bustling cathedral city.