There’s a reason that Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is one of the most iconic gastro greats in Oxfordshire. The hotel opened in 1984, and Raymond Blanc’s restaurant quickly gained two Michelin stars — an accolade it has just retained for the 40th year in 2024. An incredible accolade.

If you like farm-to-table, low-food-mile eating, this is the place for you. Belmond Le Manoir’s two-acre kitchen gardens produce 90 types of vegetable and a whopping 70 varieties of herb. Its mushroom garden sprouts roughly 20 edible species, and its orchard brings in apples, pears and quinces.

For wine lovers, the hotel’s cellar is home to around 1,000 different wines from around the world, with around 60% of French provenance. The restaurant is open daily to residents and non-residents for dinner from 6pm, and offers lunch Thurs – Sun. Guests not staying at the hotel can book a table up to three months in advance – thinking ahead is a must! Dress code is smart casual, but you need formal reinforcement for your credit card, because as Le Manoir will attest, the best things in life are definitely not free.

As well as staying and dining at the hotel, you can attend a top-quality cooking school here (Muddy’s tried it and it’s fabulous), and the venue is also available to hire for parties and gorgeous weddings.