Beaverbrook Surrey

If you’re out to establish the quintessential British country-house hotel, you could do a lot worse for raw material than the 400-acre Surrey estate of the 20th-century newspaper baron and wartime minister Lord Beaverbrook. The house itself is a unique one, a Victorian-era Neoclassical mansion, and in its present incarnation, with interiors by Soho House designer Susie Atkinson, it’s nothing short of spectacular — a modern take on the classic country house, with a personality and a point of view unlike any other.

The balance with any country-house hotel is to project gravitas without heaviness, and to be warm and welcoming without overdoing the irreverence. An impressive smattering of modern art is balanced against an impressive collection of antique objects and furnishings from all over the world; and the house’s 18 rooms feel up-to-date without losing touch with their history.

Despite its small size, this is a first-rate luxury hotel, evident not just in the lavish in-room comforts but in the facilities as well, which range from a spa, indoor pool, and tennis courts to a private cinema, an inventively programmed kids’ club, and various outdoor challenges from the Bear Grylls Survival Academy. Two restaurants, one Japanese and one Mediterranean, see to guests’ gustatory needs, and there’s a deli, a pizzeria, and a pair of cocktail bars for good measure.