It’s all about attention to detail at this ravishing, deeply luxurious New Forest lair. Oak doors are thick, paint finishes fresh and soft floor lights switch on as you walk into the bathroom from your quietly opulent bedroom. Stylised sitting rooms melt one into another, pale lemon into sage green, each with an open fire. In the sybaritic Herb House Spa, you can do yoga on the rooftop herb garden, get a Sarah Chapman facial, take in forest views from the massive sauna and eat inspired raw food in the Raw & Cured café. Lime Wood is also home to Hartnett Holder & Co, the brilliant restaurant partnership between Angela Hartnett, and the hotel’s own chef, Luke Holder. Italian-influenced forest dishes and sharing plates are served in gorgeous, warmly coloured, laid-back surroundings. The glamour is there, but the stiffness of formal dining has been swept away. It’s how we want to live today, and Lime Wood perfectly captures the mood. And as for the hotel’s Lake Cabin? It just has to be one of the most romantic hideaways in the country, nestled away on the far side of the lake.
Doubles from £405
+44 (0)2380 287177; limewoodhotel.co.uk
