Surveyed
Piers Baker has run this coaching inn on Dedham's High Street as an independent business since 2003, working with head chef Jack Levine on a monthly-changing menu inspired by Italy alongside a full restaurant service. Seven en-suite bedrooms sit above the bar and dining rooms, each individually decorated, with a mix of six doubles and one twin. The building keeps its coaching-inn character, with uneven floors, an elm bar and a beamed dining room that includes an oak-panelled snug. A terrace and garden with a boules pitch back onto the churchyard of St Mary's, a five-minute walk from the River Stour. Dogs are welcome in three of the seven rooms, and two fold-out beds are available for children.