Travel test

WHAT: The four-star Maids Head Hotel in Norwich, Norfolk. Rooms start from £85 a night with wi-fi, parking and breakfast included.

Due to virus restrictions, it can currently only accept bookings from essential workers/permitted travellers. maidsheadhotel.co.uk WHERE: Set in the heart of Norwich by the 11th century cathedral where the streets are cobbled and steeped in history. It’s said to be the oldest hotel in the UK, dating back more than 800 years.

EXPERIENCE: Norwich is a writer’s town where budding novelists flock to the prestigious creative writing course at the University of East Anglia. The Maids Head Hotel has been a regular stomping ground for literary heavyweights over the years and it’s featured in novels including LP Hartley’s The Go-between and Tombland by CJ Samson.

I stayed in one of its feature rooms, The Shardlake, named after Tombland’s 16th century lawyer turned detective.

Walking into the building feels like stepping back in time and dining in the AA two star Wine Press Restaurant, you will be sitting in the courtyard of a

15th century inn where

Henry VIII’S first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was once entertained.

The food is exquisite with head chef ‘Magic’ Marcin Pomierny, who was a 2020 National Chef Of The Year finalist, putting together a menu fit for a queen filled with treats such as pork belly, lobster tail and pomme puree.

The hotel is currently planning exciting experiences for guests in 2021 including afternoon tea in the showroom and boat trips down the River Wensum.

Staff were helpful and all rooms were Covid protected, sealed and sprayed with a one-way system in place in the hotel.

Efficient and enchanting, it’s no wonder the hotel won Best Independent Hotel in the Norfolk and Suffolk Tourism Awards 2019. QUIBBLES: Make sure you book well in advance as the hotel is very popular.

VERDICT: A beautiful, fascinating place to stay. 9/10