Brooklands Hotel

This hotel is very much about the future of Brooklands whilst acknowledging its historic past. It's a thrillingly modern hotel on a grand scale overlooking the race track - the first purpose-built circuit in the world, opening back in 1907. You get a great view of the track from the trendy bar, where you can sip on a cocktail such as a real dry martini, before heading into the 1907 Restaurant with its cool colour tones of charcoal and aubergine and darkwood surfaces giving a moody club-like vibe to the space. There's a modern brasserie feel to the food, with the grill offering up Casterbridge steaks from the West Country, and modish starters such as pressed ham hock, golden raisins, English mustard and sauce gribiche. Among main courses, butter-roasted monkfish comes with butternut squash purée, glazed lamb's sweetbreads and fennel 'textures', and, to finish, there might be banana tarte Tatin with fudge ice cream and banana crisps.