The Good Family Hotel Guide: Stapleford Park, Leicestershire

Mood

Mood

A lordly country pile in 500 acres of Leicestershire parkland, which welcomes families. Informal atmosphere, no dress code.

Accommodation

More than 50 designer bedrooms, each one themed and many of them sponsored. For example, the IBM room is replete with computers; the MGM has a cinema curtain and director's chair. Most rooms, however, are in styles more typical of a country-house hotel, with four-poster beds.

Refuelling

The dining-room has a gourmet menu that includes an "adult nursery dish" such as fish and chips or shepherd's pie, just in case the likes of guinea fowl with truffle oil polenta fail to turn you on. Children's high teas from 5.50pm to 6.30pm.

Beach

Brick paths twist through the resort, down to a long beach.

Activities

How long have you got? Archery, croquet, falconry, fly-fishing, riding, hot-air ballooning, clay pigeon shooting, off-road 4x4 driving, golf, mountain biking, spa and beauty centre, indoor swimming-pool and gym, tennis (outdoor).

Fellow guests

Moneyed, youngish set who revel in the laid-back atmosphere; plenty of families, quite a lot of Americans.

Sample prices

Rooms from £165 for two, B&B. "manor rooms", large enough for a cot and an additional bed, cost £200 per night. If you need two additional beds, go for a "state room", £250. Prices exclude VAT.

Address

Stapleford Park, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE14 2Ef (01572 787522, fax: 01572 787 651, e-mail: reservations@ stapleford.co.uk