Summer Lodge

Arriving at Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Restaurant and Spa feels like stepping into a Thomas Hardy novel. That might be because the author is in its bones: An architect by profession, Hardy helped his friend, the 6th Earl of Ilchester, draw up the plans for the addition to the 18th century dower house. You won’t want to miss traditional afternoon tea, served daily in the glass-walled conservatory or drawing room and accompanied by homemade scones, strawberry jam and Dorset clotted cream. For an even more quintessential English experience, don a pair of Wellies and go for a romp through the adjacent 600-acre deer park (or if you’re artistically inclined, the lodge will set you up with painting supplies to capture the beauty of the idyllic landscape).