Bedford Lodge Hotel, Newmarket, Suffolk

Just outside Newmarket's immediate centre, next door to two different racing stables, including Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin stables, the hotel is at the epicentre of the town's racing industry. It's also very handy for the sights of Newmarket itself, most notably the town centre's unmissable National Heritage Centre for Horseracing in Palace House. The hotel is situated on the north side of the town, just a short walk from the famous Gallops where you can watch the horses training every morning from dawn onwards.

By car: Bedford Lodge is 1 hour 40 mins from London, around 2 hours from Birmingham and 30 mins from Cambridge. There is free private parking at the hotel.

By train: London Kings Cross to Newmarket (via Cambridge) takes 1 hour 30 mins. The station is a 20-minute walk or 5-minute taxi from the hotel. Book trains to Newmarket.

The hotel's style is that of a provincial hotel that has expanded over the years but done so with a certain amount of thoughtfulness and style, with the result that the contrast between the original Georgian building and later 1960s extensions isn't as jarring as it could be.

It's a large, full-service hotel that hosts weddings and functions and the service is impeccable throughout; it also has an excellent range of leisure facilities, including a 15-metre indoor pool, sauna and jacuzzi, fitness studio and gym, plus a spa with a lovely and light hydrotherapy pool.

• Bar
• Restaurant
• Gardens
• Swimming pool
• Gym
• Spa
• Treatment rooms
• Hydrotherapy pool
• Rooftop hot tub
• Free parking
• Free Wi-Fi

Many of the rooms are in the back of the hotel's modern extension, and as a result they're all pretty similar - good sizes, with king-size beds - plus recently refurbished bathrooms. Superior rooms have a separate bath and shower, Bluetooth speakers and super-king-size beds.

Room types: King Bed, Executive Run of the House, Superior King, Superior Twin Room, Mews Twin Room, Suites

Key amenities: ensuite bathrooms with Molton Brown products, tea and coffee-making facilities, TV, safe, hairdryer, bathrobes, free Wi-Fi

There's a cosy traditional bar that's open all day until late, next door to a small but perfectly formed, more contemporary restaurant (Squires), whose shortish à la carte menu aims higher than you might expect. It's not cheap but the cooking and presentation are of high quality, and they also offer an excellent value fixed-price menu.

Squires Restaurant: local produce, European-inspired fine dining, steaks, burgers. Open daily. Mains start from £12.50.

Roxana Bar: bar snacks, drinks and Afternoon Tea. Open daily.