Two typical English country house hotels at the very top of their game can lead to two superb, yet quite different, experiences, as LUX discovers

LUCKNAM PARK

The arrival
To arrive at Lucknam Park is to enter into a dream of a 19th-century English romantic novel. We arrived just before dusk on a breezy evening when dark clouds were shooting across the remaining patches of blue sky. As we pulled up the drive, the setting sun turned the parkland on either side of the mile-long avenue of trees a golden green. The drive is so long you can?t even see the hotel, your final destination. After parkland and woodland, a big paddock appeared on the right, horses strolling around on the damp green turf. Finally the hotel appeared in view, looking as welcoming as it would have to arrivals in a carriage a century or more ago. Living quarters and view
A very generous suite, comprised of two spacious rooms (extremely large by the standards of English country house hotels; it would satisfy even those used to American hotel dimensions). Both living room and bedroom looked out to parkland stretching to a short horizon: a hilltop, it turned out. No cars or buildings in sight. The bathroom was, thank goodness, of the new generation of UK country house bathrooms, with a full, separate shower, extensive marble and proper lighting, and enough room for pre-dinner pampering.

Cuisine
Lucknam Park has a Michelin star and a celebrated wine list. Bare table, staccato-menu dining has not in...