Summer Lodge

Clad in a slate roof and cream-colored stucco, the sprawling Summer Lodge Country House Hotel & Spa is surrounded by carefully landscaped lawns and gardens. Just past the front courtyard and its collection of perfectly clipped topiaries is the entrance to the reception area. Guests will find antique wooden reception desks set before framed vintage maps in a cozy room. Hallways and staircases feature elegant moldings and gilt-framed oils of sporting scenes. The windowed drawing room, whose walls are painted an azure blue, features oil paintings, upholstered pieces, and fine wood furnishings. The restaurant, brightened by cream-colored walls and lively red floral fabric, serves award-winning cuisine, while the Whisky Lounge is an intimate wood-paneled den with a fireplace and books. Couples on romantic getaways, friends seeking pampering spa treatments and afternoon teas, families gathering for weddings and reunions, and business travelers convening for a conference can be found soaking in an atmosphere of elegant country life.

Summer Lodge is located in Evershot, a small, charming village west of Dorset, in a landscape once roamed by the Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy. This is garden and country-house touring territory, and one of the prettiest, the Elizabethan mansion Montacute House, is 23 minutes away by car. Forde Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery, is a 33-minute drive. Other nearby destinations include Sherborne, an adorable riverside market town, and Lyme Regis, a coastal town in West Dorset noted for its landmarks and fossils, which are about 25 and 45 minutes away, respectively. Guests can reach the hotel by train or plane; the nearest train stop is Yeovil Station, a 13-minute drive away, which gives access to London in about two-and-a-half to three hours. Bournemouth Airport is an hour and ten-minute drive. 

Like a fine private home, the 20 guest rooms at Summer Lodge are individually decorated with premier British wallpapers and fabrics. The Principal Deluxe Room is done up in varying shades of cream, from the striped fabric in the cornet canopy to the cream hue of the marble bathroom. The Master Bedroom has a sitting area arranged near a fireplace as well as floral wallpaper and accent lighting for a rosy glow. One bathroom has a sink and deep soaking tub in porcelain; a second includes a glass-door shower. Some of the rooms, like the powder blue and pale pink floral bedroom, are more feminine in style. There is one room with a faceted, mirrored headboard and vivid patterned fabrics that may be too florid for some tastes. Thoughtful, luxurious touches include Belgian linens warmed by hot water bottles, fresh fruit, homemade shortbread, and REN toiletries in the bathrooms. Rooms come equipped with plush robes, flat-screen TVs, DVD players, tea- and coffee-making facilities, safes, irons and ironing boards, hairdryers, magnifying mirrors, and free high-speed Wi-Fi (though some guests complain of a spotty signal). All rooms have views of the hotel's verdant grounds. Travelers seeking more privacy, or those who want to live in the pages of a Beatrix Potter book, might want to indulge in the Ivy Cottage, which has a private garden with a hot tub.

Thoughtful, homey touches abound at the Summer Lodge. There is an air-conditioned fitness center overlooking a lovely pool and whirlpool housed in a vintage glass conservatory, plus there's also a sauna. The spa offers an extensive menu of treatments, from massages and facials to salon-style services like manicures and make-up application. Staff gardeners maintain a four-season tapestry of flowers, topiaries, raised bed vegetable gardens, and fresh flowers in vases around the hotel. Guests can borrow Wellingtons and ponchos to tromp around the countryside or take tea by the fire.

Dining options include the hotel's fine-dining restaurant, which serves traditional English fare with a modern flair and an emphasis on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. An extensive wine list accompanies meals, but some guests complain that it is quite pricey. Traditional afternoon tea service is popular with guests and visitors, and can be enjoyed outdoors on the terrace or in one of the hotel's many elegant rooms, like the Drawing Room or the Whisky Lounge, which offers an impressive choice of fine whiskies in a cozy, fireplace-warmed setting. For something more casual, guests can dine at the hotel's sister property, the Acorn Inn, which is just down the road.

The property is a popular wedding venue, as well as hosting other events. Families are well catered for, with kids' menus, board games, Wii and PlayStation systems, kids' DVDs, and children's croquet, among other amenities. Pets are not only welcome (with an extra charge), they receive goody bags, and owners receive maps with suggestions for walks.