A dismantled and rebuilt castle forms the main part of the hotel and our room was in the tower, an impressive entrance led to a huge wood paneled suite with a kingsize bed in a curtained recess at one end and a day bed at the other! The bathroom was equally grand as you’d expect with a deep roll top bath and a luxury shower.. The swimming pool with a domed ceiling featured well, as did the many plush sitting rooms and the attached restaurant, where we accidentally ordered and devoured a suckling pig… Could have been worse i suppose.

We both had the house burger – a well cooked, slightly gristly burger in a toasted bun with a side of fries and smokey relish. I wouldn’t have called it gastronomic but it filled a hole and didn’t give me the poops which is always a bonus.

Their ‘espresso’ wasn’t up to much, looked and tasted like the dregs of the filter coffee pot to me. But I was particularly impressed with the facilities here; good quality, clean and new, not at all cringey.

You can find out more about The Old Boathouse, Cotswolds Water Park at www.cotswoldwaterparkhotel.co.uk

Find out more about Signor Valentino at www.signorvalentino.com

Service was slack once they got busy – and included on the bill. On the whole pretty cool but too many ostentatious well-to-do wrinklies for my liking. One of my pet hates in restaurants is having to listen to other peoples conversation (unless entertaining of course) be it their conceited take on ‘intelligent conversation’ or the cutting shrieks of consuming too much wine… Excuse me, would you mind shutting the fuck up – people are trying to eat.

You can find out more about Cafe Shore, Sandbanks at www.cafeshore.co.uk

You can find out more about Mediterraneo at the boat house, Penarth at www.mediterraneointhevillage.co.uk

Great coffee stop and lunch venue with outdoor seating for when the weather is good which overlooks the harbour and sea.

We were both really disappointed – the young member of staff kept forgetting things such as the menu which would have been funny if it hadn’t meant that we had to go and get our own.

The fish was really tasteless and greasy and the chips tasted like mass produced frozen chips – not what you would have expected from a pub with such a reputation.

Having not been impressed by the lunchtime food, the wine i had was lovely – a Chilean merlot which was stunning. I would like to go back and try the evening menu in the hope that it was just an off day but can’t convince my husband to come!

You can find out more about The Harris Arms, Portgate at www.theharrisarms.co.uk

Find out more about The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay at www.watergatebay.co.uk