Llansantffraed Court Hotel - Abergavenny

Built on the site of a twelfth-century residence, this four-square Georgian house has been doing its duty as a country house hotel since the 1920s. It sits luxuriously amid 19 acres of private parkland deep in the Brecon Beacons, complete with an ornamental lake and a fountain.

Candlelight flickers in the comfortably appointed, classical dining room at night making it a discreetly romantic setting for modern cooking based around Welsh produce. Partridge from Llanarth Estate is roasted and served with thyme jus and a other game finds its way into a consommé laced with sweet sherry; rack of Monmouth lamb could appear with char-grilled Mediterranean vegetables and tapenade. While Swansea sea bass comes with peas and broad beans 'a la française'. Bread-and-butter pudding is a typical dessert.