Mr & Mrs Smith

The Beckford Arms

Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Forget happy hour, it’s happy days at The Beckford Arms, with open fires, local ales, cosy sofas galore, sociable Sunday film nights and gastropubby restaurant. There are just eight rooms, kitted out with solid, traditional materials such as stone, wood and sisal. Hand-picked wild flowers and woven wool blankets add splashes of colour. A fire tore through the building in 2010, forcing the hotel to shut down. Proving its indomitable spirit, it’s back now, and better than ever.

Need to know

• Rooms Eight rooms.
• Rates Double rooms from $123.78 (£79), excluding tax at 20 per cent.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency (£79) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates usually include breakfast.
• Facilities Gardens, private dining room, petanque piste, library including DVDs, and free WiFi. In rooms: flatscreen TV, DVD/CD player, iPod dock and the hotel’s home-made Bramley toiletries.
• Check-out 11am. Check-in from 3pm (flexible, depending on availability).
• Children Little Smiths are more than welcome, with cots provided free for babies, extra beds for £25 a night, and babysitting with a local nanny available (book two days in advance). The restaurant has a menu tailored to tots. More...
• Also If you want your dog to join you, book Room 6.

Food and drink at The Beckford Arms

• Hotel restaurant

  Pravin Nayar has returned to the Beckford with a menu of old favourites. Making headlines in its homemade fare is the local produce, pork pies and zingy piccalilli, the house burger, Brixham fish 'n' chips, and suckling pig on the open fire. Fans of all-day brunching can pounce on eggs Benedict, waffles and Bloody Marys, and those feeling like a family-style Sunday roast can order a chicken to carve at the table.

• Dress code Blend in with the locals by sporting shooting-chic: tweed, wools and russet hues, accessorised with Hunter wellies.
• Top table Choose according to your mood; tables in the pub make for a sociable and relaxed setting, the sitting room is the place for a DVD-dinner, and the conservatory is bright and airy, with its pale wood panelling, gilt-framed mirrors and garden views.
• Last orders Breakfast is served in the conservatory from 8am to 10am (though late-risers can request a brunch-type timing), lunch is 12–3pm, and dinner is dished up between 6pm and 9pm.
• Room service No room service, but you can plunder in-room nibbles such as pork pies and crisps from the bar.
• Hotel bar

  Loyal locals head here for the ales and bitters, the cosy country pub atmosphere and the relaxed setting – wooden beams, parquet flooring and roaring fire. There is a large oval table by the bay window, perfect for a group of friends, and every Sunday, the bar hosts a cinema night (check the blackboard by the fire to see what’s showing). Look out for the collection of antique silver teapots.

The Beckford Arms Fonthill Gifford, Tisbury, Tisbury, wiltshire SP3 6PX