9 best hotels in the Peak District

Located next to Chatsworth House, one of the most visited sites in the Peak District, the village of Baslow could make a claim to be the epicentre of the Peak District, the village also home to not one but two of the park’s most renowned luxury country house hotels: The Cavendish and Fischer’s Baslow Hall. Fischer’s has a secluded hillside setting on the edge of the village, the Grade II-listed manor house, built in 1907, now an 11 bedroomed hotel with towering trees and neat gardens adorned with metal art sculptures (foxgloves, birds…), giant urns and a pond all within the peaceful grounds.

You can feel the history, with corridors of dark wood panelling, and framed fish illustrations and faded old portraits on the walls. Bedrooms in the main house are individually decorated, mostly calming, conservative and classic, others a little bolder with colour. Vernon has the best views out over the gardens.

But there are surprisingly modern elements here, too, such as the Garden Rooms: spacious, high-ceilinged, with floral wallpaper and matching curtains in arrestingly vivid purple, green and red. The ‘statement’ wallpaper in the main house’s toilets – a scene that looked to me like something from India’s Mughal empire, but in eye-popping colour – was also unexpected. Normality is restored, though, in the tasteful main restaurant, with white linens, gentle piano music and immaculate, formal-but-friendly service. Fine dining is at the heart of Fischer’s, a known destination for foodies, with a 3- and 6-course tasting menu of light, refined dishes, such as a creamy goat’s cheese panna cotta with beetroot, or Cornish gurnard with langoustine bisque and lobster ravioli, much of the menu making use of ingredients from the garden outside and the Fischer family’s nearby farm.

Address: Calver Road, Baslow, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1RR