Fowey Hall

The building that inspired Toad Hall in "The Wind in the Willows" turns out to be a family-friendly manor-house hotel on the southern Cornish coast, which feels like an upgrade all round. The Victorian bones are kept largely intact, with a spa and proper rooms rather than any attempt at reinvention. Kids are entertained and supervised, which gives the whole place a relaxed quality that most country-house hotels strain for and never quite achieve.