The Huntsman of Brockenhurst, New Forest

Situated on the main road between Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst, this is a good location for exploring the New Forest. The train station at Brockenhurst is a few minutes' walk away, while Lyndhurst is under ten minutes by car. The village of Brockenhurst is often described as one of the nicest places to live in the UK. The luxurious SenSpa at Careys Manor is just a few minutes away, as is "Brock beach", an idyllic riverside beach by the Balmer Lawn Hotel.

By car: The hotel is 2 hours from London and Bristol, 2 hours 40 mins from Birmingham and 50 mins from Portsmouth. There is free private parking on-site.

By train: London Waterloo to Brockenhurst takes 1 hour 30 mins. The station is a 5-minute walk from the hotel. Book trains to Brockenhurst.

The design of the public areas is fun and contemporary with a reclaimed parquet floor, turquoise velvet upholstered banquettes, copper piping and cage lampshades. Wood panelling or colourful tiling liven up the walls while succulents in bell jars line the windowsills. The crowd is a mix of locals and tourists having a good time.

Expect warm and cheery service even at the busiest times. Facilities are limited as you would expect from a pub with rooms, so no room service or laundry. However, they do have an ancient skittle alley that you can hire for the evening and a lovely garden to enjoy in the sunny weather.

• Restaurant
• Bar
• Heated terrace
• Garden
• Skittle alley
• Family rooms
• Free parking
• Free Wi-Fi

The rooms are of a high design standard, with dark painted walls, metro-tiled bathrooms and bare tungsten bulb lamps. Other luxuries include pod coffee machines, Teapigs tea, White Company toiletries, robes, rainfall showers and bottled water. Rooms in the converted stable block open out to a small courtyard garden.

Room types: Deluxe Double, Superior Double, King, Family Room, Superior Family Room, Suite

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with walk-in shower, TV, tea and coffee-making facilities, free Wi-Fi

Pizzas straight from the wood-fired pizza oven, tasty steaks from the charcoal oven and pub classics such as burgers and fish and chips are interspersed with more daring dishes such as confit duck leg served with chorizo and bean cassoulet or sea bream with a brown crab risotto and seaweed tartare butter.

The Huntsman: pub classics, sharing platters, wood-fired pizzas, charcoal-grilled steaks, Sunday roasts. Open daily 12-8.30pm. Mains from £11.50.