The Black Lion, Long Melford, Suffolk

It would be hard to come up with a better location for a country inn: Long Melford is one of Suffolk's best-looking and most interesting villages, and the Black Lion occupies possibly its most picturesque location, right on the village green and virtually next door to the village's imposing medieval church. There's lots to see nearby, with the National Trust's Melford Hall right across the road and the family-friendly Kentwell Hall just around the corner.

By car: Ipswich, Colchester, Cambridge and Chelmsford are all around an hour away, Bury St Edmunds is 30 mins away. London is 2 hours 15 mins' drive and Birmingham is around 2 hours 30 mins. The hotel offers limited free parking.

By train: London Liverpool Street to Sudbury train station (via Marks Tey) takes around 1 hour 20 mins. The station is a 10-minute taxi ride from the hotel. Book trains to Sudbury.

It's a pub-cum-coaching inn that has been revived as a gastropub with rooms and has a contemporary yet timeless feel that makes it hard not to feel at home the moment you arrive. There is a comfy lounge with squashy sofas, wooden floors throughout and mismatched furniture that's blended to look as if it's been here for years.

The service in the Black Lion is relaxed but attentive - just how you want it on a weekend break. You're left alone to enjoy yourself but if you need advice on where to go, places to eat or the best walks with your dog, the staff are right on the money.

• Restaurant
• Pub
• Terrace
• Beer garden
• Afternoon tea
• Pet-friendly
• Family rooms
• Bridal suite

Most of the rooms overlook the village green. The largest rooms have king-size beds, and en-suite bathrooms (all except one with baths), and the family room has an additional bunk-bedded room.

Room types: Snug, Luxury, Grand Luxury Suite, Family Suite

Key amenities: ensuite with Bramley bath and body products, TV, tea and coffee facilities, free Wi-Fi

There's a pubby bar and a slightly more formal dining room next door, and you can eat the same menu in either. The food is deliberately British and local, with the emphasis on East Anglian produce that you will find at most of the properties in the studiously parochial Chestnut Inns group.

The Black Lion: seasonal ingredients, regional produce, refined European-inspired dishes. Open Weds-Sun for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mains from £15, two-course set lunch £16.