Hartley Wintney, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Set on a 400-acre estate, this converted 18th-century manor house is nowadays a 45-room hotel and promotes its commitment to sustainability, complete with its own biodynamic farm. Skye Gyngell (of London’s Spring) oversees the dining room, which receives a very mixed rep in our annual diners’ poll. Many are wowed or find the cuisine “tasty but playing it a bit safe”, while others settle for “OK, but thought it would be better”, and nobody says it’s terrible. Views diverge on the interior, too – “soulless” to some but an “exceptional” highlight to others.