7 LYMPSTONE MANOR DEVON
WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL? This panna-cotta-coloured Grade II-listed Georgian manor house is the dream of Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines. He found it rundown and unloved at the mouth of Devon’s River Exe and cut not a single corner when transforming it into the ultimate modern countryhouse hotel. It’s all plush velvet loveseats and chandeliers, with champagne served in Riedel flutes either at the brass horseshoe bar or on the vast lavenderlined lawns. No
shabby chic here. If you have someone or something worth celebrating, come here and book in for Caines’ signature tasting menu with matching wines paired by his sommelier. And if you don’t, all the more reason to come anyway.
WHO GOES? Discerning foodies who want to be cooked for by the man himself. Unlike in practically every other celebrity chef’s kitchen, starstruck diners can see Caines behind huge glass doors, pouring magical combinations of ginger and lemongrass over Brixham crab raviolo, and dotting local Darts Farm beef fillet with tiny pools of celeriac purée and horseradish-andshallot confit. As we pulled up the elegant drive, a helicopter landed to deliver its
well-heeled lunch party. This place is special.
IT WOULD BE A CRIME NOT TO…
Borrow binoculars and one of Lympstone’s leather-saddled Pashley bikes and whizz off to explore the villages along the estuary. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot otters, ospreys and dark-bellied Brent geese before heading back to soak in the tub on your terrace and enjoy your fire pit with some tea and homemade biscuits – the best you’ve ever tasted.