Rafters at Riverside House Hotel

A Peak District former shooting lodge ‘in a pretty walled garden’ on the Derbyshire Wye, this hotel has been completely refurbished by new owners, restaurateurs Alistair Myers and Tom Lawson. Our inspector’s ‘very appealing’ main-house bedroom, Kingfisher, had a draped king-size four-poster, wicker chairs in a bay window overlooking the river, ‘a glitzy ottoman matched to cushions’, an espresso machine, fresh milk in a flask, Yorkshire artisan chocolates. One niggle: the shower over a roll-top bath was half-hearted. Among eight Garden Wing rooms, three are dog friendly and open on to a private patio with direct garden access. After drinks with ‘quality nibbles’, dinner, from a ‘short but tempting’ menu brought ‘excellent canapés, superb Orkney scallops, madras purée, yuzu and coconut, ‘chicken with exquisite morels, leeks and chicken-fat mash’. Cooking was ‘highly skilled’, the staff throughout ‘warm and helpful’. At breakfast there were ‘delicious yoghurt pots with a strawberry and rhubarb compôte’, a full English and full veggie, fresh croissants and freshly squeezed orange juice. ‘The setting is lovely. We really enjoyed our stay.’