The Horn of Plenty

Almost bang on the Devon-Cornwall border, high above the Tamar Valley, the Horn of Plenty looks like the house of your richest friend – and if you don’t have a pal like that, then you still get to stay in this rather splendid country manor house, enjoying its impeccable service and attention to detail (though you will have to pay!), and what’s more you can bring your faithful friend too.

Built in 1866, it was the former crib of a local mine-owner, later converted into a restaurant in the 1960s, when its then owner became the first British woman to be awarded a Michelin star. It’s now been a hotel for thirty years, and the individually designed guest rooms have more than kept pace with the times – they are spacious and well-equipped, with high-quality beds, sleek bathrooms with all the luxuries you would expect, and sweeping views (most of the rooms have balconies) – indeed the hotel was the Good Hotel Guide’s editor’s choice for UK ‘Rooms with a View’ recently and was one of The Times Top 40 places to stay in Britain last year. The rooms vary in size but all offer a Freeview TVs, coffee- and tea-making facilities, bottled water, fresh milk and a mini bar, luxury bathrobes, hair dryer, TV and wifi. The six rooms in the main house retain their high ceilings, large windows and original fireplaces; the ten rooms in the coach house conversions are pretty stunning spaces with a contemporary country feel.

All of the coach house rooms are dog-friendly, with a maximum of two dogs per room, and your dog is welcome in the library but not in the restaurant or drawing room. They offer a Bob & Lush doggie dinner the first night, and a bowl. There are also five acres of grounds for walkies, as well as loads of walks into the countryside beyond, either in the valley below or further afield to Dartmoor. There’s an outside hosepipe back at the hotel for muddy paws (and towels are available on request),

Other facilities include on-site spa treatments and massages in association with a local Tavistock gym and treatment centre, afternoon teas in the drawing room, the library or on the patio and lovely outdoor weddings in the gardens if the weather is kind (they also do more intimate, indoors affairs). The food too is bang up-to-date and is the other star attraction at the Horn of Plenty. Expect admirably executed and perfectly formed lunch and dinner menus that are full of delicious, original choices, from local wood pigeon and wild rabbit to Brixham mackerel and Dartmoor lamb – and at decent prices too for country-house living – the five-course tasting menu gets you the chef’s best seasonal effort, rounded off with tasty Devonshire cheeses.