The Cookie Jar
 – Alnwick, Northumberland

Where better to come for a total retreat than a former convent? This delightful hotel, brainchild of seasoned hotelier Robert Cook’s wife, Debbie, was for 120 years the Convent of Mercy and the inviting new look created by Dynargh Design includes features from its religious past. The Cookie Jar hotel is all about style with comfort, from the snug sitting room with its Penguin classics to a host of little luxuries that furnish the 11 bedrooms and suites: oversized fluffy towels, fine English linen, Hypnos beds, drench showers and home-made cookies in the cookie jar, of course. Rooms are either deemed Cosy or Luxury, while suites are Mother Superiors and the super-suite, the Mother of all Superiors, is in the former chapel, with its original circular stained glass window and vaulted ceiling. The Bailiffgate Bistro is open for lunch and afternoon tea, as well as dinner on Friday and Saturday – the south-facing terrace is perfect for summer sundowners and al-fresco suppers. If you’re here to shoot, there are gun cabinets and dog kennels. Nothing has been forgotten.

Doubles from £175

+44 (0)1665 510465; cookiejaralnwick.com