The Oaksmere Hotel, Eye, Suffolk

Bang on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk, The Oaksmere offers a peaceful and secluded country escape. A five-minute drive from Diss station, it's just an hour and a half from London by car or train, and not really close to anywhere much - which is a major part of its appeal. You're very close to the pocket-sized town of Eye, with its pretty centre, ruined castle and medieval parish church.

By car: The hotel is 2 hours 30 mins from London, 1 hour 15 mins from Cambridge and 45 mins from Norwich. There is free parking on-site.

By train: London Liverpool Street to Diss station takes around 1 hour 30 mins. The station is a 10-minute taxi ride from the hotel. Book trains to Diss.

Despite being situated in a rambling old Victorian rectory, The Oaksmere's aim is to keep things simple, a boutique country house hotel that has focused on providing a pleasant environment, with an excellent contemporary restaurant that has changed quite a bit over the years and a comfy, flagstoned bar that, er, hasn't!

Standards of service are mostly high, but it's not big on facilities of the pampering kind. Instead, it has a beamed and flagstoned bar that doubles as the village pub with a menu of bar snacks, a cooler but less characterful cocktail bar and a slick and very comfortable restaurant.

• Restaurant
• Bar
• Terrace
• Garden
• Dog-friendly
• Family room
• Free parking
• Free Wi-Fi

The hotel has just fourteen rooms - ten doubles and four suites split between across the Victorian rectory, the beamed Tudor wing and the converted coachhouse overlooking the kitchen garden. All rooms come with Hypnos beds and Sky TV; bathrooms are contemporary and well-equipped with rainfall showers and whirlpool baths in most rooms.

Room types: Deluxe King, Executive King, Junior Suite, Master Suite

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with Elemis toiletries, Nespresso coffee machine, local teas, bluetooth audio system, Sky TV

Situated in a modern extension, the restaurant is deliberately slick and modern but is also cleverly integrated into the country house environment, with bare bricks and an open kitchen. The menu is very local and quite meaty, with beef from the next-door farm, pork from nearby Blythburgh, and local game, some of it cooked on their wood-fired "Bertha' oven.

The Oaksmere: Mediterranean inspired dishes, grilled meat and fish, seafood, British tapas, pub classics, Afternoon Tea. Food served daily from 12pm. Mains from £13.