THE ALFRISTON

In the many years (I know, I don’t look !!!) that I have been reviewing English country hotels I have seen a massive change in them.

Twenty years ago they were little more than upmarket “bed and breakfasts”, but – as exemplified by The Alfriston (in the pretty village near Lewes of the same name) – they are cool and now come with spas, a range and selection at breakfast, including but not exclusively “The Full English”

Some things have not changed.  At The Afriston, namely the welcome of friendly pretty young girls, dressed in blue jeans with mobile phones in their back pockets, serving at the restaurant which provides food well above par. On Friday I  had a thyme and celeriac soup, then a fried bream cassoulet with a glass of Gabi di Gavii, followed by a pud of cheesecake Fruity blackcurrant sorbet with à Muscat de Beaumes: – the bill was under £80.

Having toiled over Xmas, this was my treat and I booked a comfy cosy suite.

I also noted a change of dress amongst the diners. Those over 60 wore a jacket and those under 60 a fleece. There were, thankfully,  nobody on mobile phones, albeit most carried one.  The couple next to me were talking of their impending marriage celebration and – such was the inanity of the man’s conversation – I was tempted to interject ‘Don’t do it …”.

For my second dinner I had a duck confit & orange salad followed by a haunch of deer,  again imaginative and successful cuisine.

My only criticism was the music played.

I’m no fan of the buffet breakfast but was impressed that, at the time of opening, that a wide choice was laid out and labelled.

The waitress served me a cafetière of coffee to accompany my fruit platter with muesli, yoghourt and granola.

Alfriston is a popular Sussex village which still has the traditional pillars of the church – a meeting hall on the green and an inn now taken over by The Star run by Olga Paolozzi. I took Sunday lunch there but it was more stylised than The Alfriston – and more expensive – but the competition is clearly healthy. Sussex villages have a certain cachet but are not dormer commuter places.

My stay at the Alfriston – comprising 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts and accommodation – was under £1,000 and with the additional advantage of avoiding airports as a taxi picked me up and delivered me door to door.