The Peacock at Rowsley

Peak District, United Kingdom [view map]

Style: Chic manor house
Setting: Deep-in-Derbyshire riverside

There are visual flashes around the Peacock hotel in Derbyshire that seem to indicate, as you arrive, that time has stood still in the village.

Need to know

Rooms: 16 rooms, including six superior doubles and two special rooms.
Rates: £145–£210, including buffet breakfast. A minimum two-night stay is required at weekends.
Check-out: 11am, but if the hotel is quiet they can be flexible (subject to availability). Earliest check-in, 2pm.
Facilities: DVD/CD library, free WiFi, massage by arrangement, access to a nearby gym and golf club, fly-fishing. In rooms, flatscreen TV, DVD/CD player, open fireplace, Aveda toiletries. Four rooms have a minibar.
Children: Discouraged; under-10s are not welcome at weekends, and an unfenced river means the garden is not child-friendly. On weekdays, cots (£5) and extra beds (£25) can be provided, and chef will oblige with small portions or dishes ‘with chips’.
Hotel closed: Only the restaurant is open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Also: Dogs are welcome, for a fee of £10 per dog per night. Smoking is only permitted in the bar. A taxi to/from Chesterfield station is around £20.

In the know

Our favourite rooms: Room 1 and Room 7 are both cosy and overlook the garden; Rooms 12 and 15 are the quietest, at the back of the hotel, and have kingsize beds. Room 5 is the most romantic, with a wooden four-poster, but Room 3 has a beautiful antique bed that was originally from Belvoir Castle. Room 6 is a big, light double with a super-kingsize bed.
Packing tips: Wellies, bait and fishing net. Boxset of Pride and Prejudice – this is where the cast stayed during filming.
Also: Guests receive discounted entry to nearby stately homes Chatsworth House (10 per cent off) and Haddon Hall (50 per cent off).

Food & drink

Hotel restaurant: In the Wye Room, chef Dan Smith turns locally sourced ingredients into fine-dining feasts with an adventurous Mediterranean undercurrent; pigeon with spinach, puy lentils and a Madeira jus, for example. There’s a simpler bill of fare in the bar.
Dress code: Comfortable country living.
Top table: In the bar, go for the nook on the right-hand side as you enter.
Last orders: Lunch, noon–2pm; dinner, 7pm–9pm (8.30pm on Sundays).
Room service: The bar menu is available during kitchen hours, but sandwiches can be rustled up in the afternoon.
Hotel bar: The invitingly olde-worlde bar has bare stone walls, a huge hearth and a weighty, copper-topped counter. You can also order from the restaurant menu here. Staff will keep the beer, wine, cocktails or champagne flowing as long as guests stay up.

Smith card offer A designer leather ‘Do Not Disturb’ door fob by Bill Amberg

If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).

Not a member? Join now

Smith concierge

If you’d prefer to talk to someone, or you’re having trouble booking online, ring our travel team on 0845 034 0700 (+44 20 8987 4312 from outside the UK). We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.