Hambleton Hall is one of the places in England where I most like to stay. I am glad to say that I have been doing so, on and off, since soon after Tim and Stefa Hart turned it into a hotel in 1979. It has all my favourite ingredients: great comfort; fine service (which is part of the comfort); a wonderful view of Rutland Water; exceptional food.

It starts with the welcome. By some mysterious means a smiling receptionist always seems to manage to come out to greet you just as you drive up to the front door. A friendly porter unpacks the car, offers to park it and, before you know it, you are comfortably ensconced in your elegant room. You admire the wonderful view across the park to the huge man made lake which is Rutland Water (for you have asked to be that side of the house), and you are offered tea or something stronger, according to the time of day.

If you can tear yourself away from your room, probably decorated either by Nina Campbell or Stefa Hart herself, there is more comfort downstairs. This is a Victorian, gabled house, large but not huge. There are now 15 bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms of course. The drawing room has plenty of sofas and arm chairs and a fine fire-place where a log fire will be blazing when it is cool. There is a beautiful display of flowers in the middle of the room and the French windows open on to the terrace, with a rose garden beyond. Then the park and then the lake. If you venture into the garden you will find well kept herbaceous borders, an attractive swimming pool and, nearer the kitchen, an extensive herb garden. The terrace, incidentally, is a lovely place to sit in the summer, to enjoy breakfast or lunch or a drink before or after meals.

Returning to the house, you pass through the comfortably furnished hall, again with a good log fire, into the bar, with its dark red lacquer walls, another good fire-place, with sofas on either side, and sporting scenes on the walls. We are in the heart of the fox-hunting "Shires", some two hours north of London and, indeed, Hambleton Hall was built as a hunting box in 1881 by a Walter Marshall, who was remembered for the excellence of his table and cellar and the convivial company he kept. The tradition, happily, continues.

Having enjoyed the bar and taken time to look at the menu - and it absolutely deserves time spent on it - we can go to the dining room, full of 17th century portraits. Hambleton Hall has had a Michelin star for some time and Aaron Patterson, the current young chef, having worked at Mosimann's, La Tante Claire and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons (a pretty good apprenticeship!) now shows off his remarkable talents in charge of a brigade of eleven chefs.

And so to table: the fresh crab with galette potatoes and a Waldorf salad makes an excellent light first course. It should also have its portrait painted, showing a brilliant pagoda of layers of crab, with a surrounding latticed pattern of potatoes and nuts - a work of art. Or there might be a lasagne of monkfish and mussels with saffron and gewurtztraminer sauce; or ballotine of duck with a sauternes jelly; or a light nage of shell-fish flavoured with lemon grass, soya and coriander.

For a main course the fillet of Angus beef with caramelised shallots and a red wine sauce is outstandingly tender and full of flavour. Or there could be Bresse pigeon cooked en cocotte with a ravioli of mushrooms; or loin of hare wrapped in puff pastry with a port sauce; or a whole Scottish lobster with young vegetables from the garden, and tortellinis; or pigs trotters filled with sweetbreads and morel mushrooms; or braised tronçon of turbot with pasta, baby leeks and a chive flavoured sauce. All the dishes are beautifully prepared and presented and show great imagination and expertise. Dining here is a real treat.

The desserts are also a feast for the eye as well as the body, with cascades of spun sugar, where appropriate, or attractive patterns on the sauces. The prune and armagnac soufflé with its own ice is unusual and delicious, as is a tarte tatin of pear with caramel ice-cream and sauce anglaise. A chocolate marquise with a bitter orange sauce is as rich as it should be and even reveals a sense of humour in the kitchen, with a space age fantasy in chocolate.

All the above dishes come from the à la carte menu but some also appear on the table d'hôum;te menu which provides three courses and coffee with petits fours for 35.00. Another way to enjoy Aaron Patterson's splendid cooking is to try the "Lunch for Less" - a more modest but still delicious lunch-time menu where any two courses cost 14.50 and a third course 5.00.

As one would expect in a place so dedicated to fine food, there is an extensive and interesting wine list. It is well divided into "Wines of the moment - 30 wines drinking well"; "Hambleton Hall star wines"; "A few very expensive wines drinking well" and other headings. There are wines from about 15.50 up to several hundred pounds a bottle, with plenty of half bottles.

There are many interesting places to visit near Hambleton Hall, including Oakham Castle; Burghley House, a great Elisabethan palace and home to one of the most important Three Day International Horse Trials; the attractive town of Stamford, with its antique shopes and where Middlemarch was filmed and Peterborough, with its fine cathedral. Hambleton is also a very convenient stop-over on a journey north. You can leave London at 5.00 pm and be having a delicious dinner in one of the most comfortable hotels in England by 8 pm. You might even decide to cancel the rest of your journey north and linger a little longer!

Hambleton Hall, Hambleton, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8TH
Tel 01572 756991 Fax 01572 724721
Double/twin rooms start at 115.00 Weekend breaks available. You can book in at Hambleton Hall on-line:Johansen

Pelham Tours, Old Way House, Beaulieu, Hampshire. Tel: 01590 612264; Fax: 01590 612747; Email: peltours@interalpha.co.uk