Lympstone Manor

Lympstone Manor began as a farmhouse called Courtlands and took its present shape under the Baring banking family, who extended it from the 1760s and laid out the veranda, the walled garden and the Lady's Walk. Michael Caines bought the house in 2015 and opened it as a hotel in April 2017, after 21 years at Gidleigh Park. It now holds a Michelin star and five AA Rosettes, belongs to Relais & Châteaux, and has a vineyard planted on the parkland running down to the estuary shore.

The fine dining happens across three rooms in the manor house. Berryhead, the largest, has a crystal chandelier, a mirrored wall and a bay window over the garden, and seats 46 at six round tables. Mamhead is the smaller private room, for up to 18. Down by the heated outdoor pool, the Pool House Restaurant and Bar is a timber-framed pavilion with a central fire pit and glass walls that look over the vines. For a party it seats 40 or takes 70 standing, and the room's own sound system or a live band are both on offer.

Taken whole, from 3pm on arrival to 11am on departure, a party has all 21 bedrooms and suites, six shepherd huts, the three dining rooms, the bar, lounge, terrace, pool and gardens to itself. For a larger dinner and dance, a marquee on the lawn beside the house takes up to 300 guests, and a marquee is only offered on exclusive use.