Whatley Manor is a converted 17th century manor set in acres of beautiful grounds. There's a real feeling of understated elegance here, helped by the fact that the staff are so professional and welcoming. In fact, I think you can tell a lot about a place by how happy the staff seem and without exception everyone we talked to at Whatley Manor loved to chat about their work, whether it be the history of the building or the dishes on the menu. (And who can blame them? More of which in a moment...) From the wait staff - and indeed the chef himself - at the restaurants, to front of house, we were made to feel welcome at every point during our stay. A particular shout-out is due to Michele Mella, the charming general manager, who drove us in his own car to our friend's wedding, 25 minutes drive away, when the local taxi firm cancelled on us at the last minute. Not only that, but they refused to charge us for it. Now that's service. Rooms are spacious, comfortable and quiet, with none of the creakiness around the edges you can sometimes get from older hotels. The spa is gorgeous and the gardens even more so. They're lovely wander around, including a butterfly garden and some thoughtfully hidden away little reading nooks, complete with lanterns for you to light once the sun goes down. We ate at The Dining Room on one night and the more casual Grey's on the other. Both are excellent but The Dining Room is truly superb, more than deserving of its Michelin star. Allow three hours or more for the full experience but I promise it will fly by. Anything I'd like to see done differently? No... although we did have a very interesting conversation with Michele about his idea of turning part of the dining area into a wine bar serving little tapas style nibbles. That would be a great addition, a space with a more intimate vibe than the spacious (and, it must be said, very comfortable) lounge bar. I have no idea if it'll happen, but I guess we'll just have to keep coming back to check whether it does. And that's definitely no hardship at all.