Beaverbrook Hotel

Leatherhead, Surrey

Grand country mansions are as common in Surrey as cucumber sandwiches are at afternoon tea. But glorious buttermilk-coloured country pads that acted as a command centre for Winston Churchill during the Second World War are, indeed, a rare gem. Owned by the late media mogul Lord Beaverbrook, high-profile guests to have prowled its 140ha grounds includes Elizabeth Taylor, the Kennedys and Rudyard Kipling – all of whom have one of 18 rooms in the main house named after them. Naturally, the residence pays tribute to its storied past, but with interiors by Nicola Harding (of gourmet bolthole The Rose fame), it is also bang on trend. Add to that a Japanese dining room serving arguably the best black cod in the UK, sizzling hunks of Wagyu beef, and super-fresh sashimi, and you’ve got a modern country pile worth making the journey for. There’s only one way to end such an epic feast: nightcaps in the decadent Parrot Bar, accompanied by twinkling jazz from the gramophone. Flapper dress, optional.

Doubles from £293.