Lythe Hill Hotel

Lythe Hill sits on Petworth Road, a little way out from the centre of Haslemere, on 22 acres of its own countryside. It is a country house hotel in the fullest sense, not a town hotel with a garden, but a group of buildings spanning Tudor, Georgian and Victorian work, set in grounds you have to walk to appreciate. The setting does much of the work here. If you want somewhere you can drive to, park, and then not get back in the car, this is that sort of place.

The £££ price band puts it above a pub with rooms and below the very top tier of country house hotels. Read it as a proper occasion rather than a casual one: you are paying for the grounds, the buildings and the service that comes with a hotel of this size, as well as the food. The kitchen is described as British and French, which in a house of this kind usually means a fine dining register rather than a bistro one, but menus at hotels change with the seasons and the kitchen, so check the current offering before you commit, particularly if you are travelling from outside the area.

It is listed as being at its best for country house luxury and romance, and that is an honest read. This suits an anniversary, a significant birthday, or a weekend where the point is to stop moving for two days. A long Sunday lunch followed by a walk in the grounds is the obvious use. It would also carry a small wedding or a family gathering, given the scale of the site. For a quick weeknight dinner it is probably more hotel than you need, unless you happen to live nearby.

Things worth knowing before booking: the buildings are historic and of different periods, so rooms are unlikely to be uniform, if you have particular requirements on stairs, access or room size, ask when you book rather than on arrival. The location is out of town, so factor in transport if you are planning to drink. And as with any hotel dining room, it is worth confirming whether the restaurant is open to non-residents on the day you want.

Haslemere is a well-heeled south-west Surrey town close to the county edge, with wooded country on most sides of it. Lythe Hill is the grand option in that landscape, the place people book when the occasion needs to feel like more than dinner.