The Hand and Spear Hotel

Old Heath Rd, Weybridge

Built in 1830 as a summer house for the Baron of Ockham, this quirky gastro pub with rooms is a whimsical building with a tower and an inordinate number of chimneys. A few steps from Weybridge Station, it’s an intimate sanctuary in which to woo your Valentine.

A £1.2million refurbishment last autumn has left it feeling like the home of an eccentric Victorian gentleman. The bedrooms are papered in botanical prints, decorated with framed butterflies and boast decanters of port.

Start with a glass of fizz in the heated garden before retiring to the dining room, which is moodily lit with chandeliers and plenty of flickering candles.

The menu offers traditional pub favourites elevated by the close attention paid to quality British ingredients. Fries are coated with Montgomery cheddar, steaks of tender Surrey beef are beautifully rare and the excellent sharing board includes Cornish coppa.

On Saturdays, live music will keep you dancing until midnight but the draw of the statement copper bath in the tower room may prove too great to resist. IL. Doubles from £109. 01932 828 063.