The Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course

Built as a country home for the Dukes of Roxburghe, the hotel is a solid-looking turreted mansion in acres of parkland. Within are all the trappings of a stately home - high ceilings, open fires and antiques - and there's a genuine country-house atmosphere. Drinks in the library could precede dinner in the claret and green dining room, where formal service is the thing. The kitchen makes the most of Scotland's natural larder, roasting seasonal grouse and serving it with mushroom ravioli and cabbage mixed with bacon. Another possibility might be herb-crusted cod with shrimp risotto perked up by coconut foam, and before that could be West Coast mussels steamed with fennel and ginger, or honey-glazed duck breast with chorizo and loganberry sauce. Fruit is put to good seasonal use in puddings too: perhaps peach parfait with blood orange curd and nectarine sorbet.