Three Horseshoes Country Inn & Spa, Leek, Peak District

The Three Horseshoes sits by the roadside on the A53, which runs from the market town of Leek (a couple of miles south) to the spa town of Buxton (a 15-minute drive north). The area's star attraction, visible from the hotel, is The Roaches, a series of jagged millstone grit outcrops, loved by rock climbers and walkers. Tittesworth Reservoir, just over a mile from the hotel, is a birder's paradise. It also has lakeside trails and a big playground for children.

By car: The Three Horseshoes is 1 hour 15 mins from Sheffield, 1 hour 20 mins from Manchester and 3 hours 45 mins from London. There is free parking on-site.

By train: London Euston to Stoke-on-Trent takes 1 hour 30 mins. The hotel is a 35-minute taxi ride from the station. Book trains to Stoke-on-Trent.

The Three Horseshoes began life as an early-19th-century pub and the original building is still there, with its traditional beams-and-brasses bar rooms. Over the years, though, they've extended back to add new bedrooms and facilities, and interiors in this wing have a more contemporary edge, with flagged floors, leather banquettes and big metal lamps in the restaurant.

Service is down to earth and friendly but efficient at the same time. The spa is the undoubted star on the facilities front but reception can also supply details of a few local walks and drives, and if you're staying in, you could entertain yourself with traditional bar skittles and darts in the pub.

• Bar
• Restaurant
• Garden
• Terrace
• Spa
• Treatments
• Free parking
• Free Wi-Fi

Rooms range from traditional doubles over the pub (which can be noisy if there's an event in the function room below) to swisher Garden Rooms, with their own garden and al fresco cedar hot tub. In between are classic and superior rooms, all simply but smartly furnished, with teeny-tiny Gilchrist & Soames toiletries in the bathrooms.

Room types: Pub, Classic, Superior, Garden

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with shower, TV, tea and coffee facilities, free Wi-Fi

There's a huge dining area and whether you eat in the pub or in the more contemporary restaurant, you get to choose from the same menu, offering a mix of trad pub grub and fancier, more modern dishes - asparagus with slow-cooked egg and seaweed crumb or cured salmon with pickled vegetables and miso soup.

The Country Inn: 2 AA Rosettes, Staffordshire produce, seasonal dishes, pub classics, sandwiches, grilled steaks, roasts. Open every day for lunch and dinner. Afternoon tea Friday & Saturday, 3-5pm. Mains from £12.90.