Maison Talbooth Hotel

Gun Hill, Dedham Colchester, Essex

Around the pretty village of Dedham, just outside Colchester, the Milsom family have been steadily building a clutch of luxury hotels and top-notch restaurants over the past 60 years. Their first enterprise, Le Talbooth, is a 15th-century tearoom-turned-award-winning-restaurant on the banks of the river Stour, and is as charming as ever. Head chef Zack Deakins, who arrived in January, gives traditional dishes a contemporary twist – Dedham vale beef carpaccio, Colchester crab ravioli and spicy lentils and John Dory with a star anis bouillabaise. Should you dine here, you’ll want to sleep it off – at Maison Talbooth which, just a short stroll up the road, has 12 comfortable and stylish suites. There’s a pool, spa and tennis courts, and an afternoon tea people travel far and wide for. If you’re an art buff, the former homes and studios of John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Alfred Munning are all nearby and worth a visit. Best of all? Maison Talbooth is only an hour from London. KM. Doubles from £205.