:: Panoramic Views

•  LOUNGE WITH LOG FIRE MAKES A FEATURE OF THE FIREPLACE, WHILST THE SETTEES AND CHAIRS SPEAK OF COMFORT •  TYPICAL OF THE BEDROOMS IS THIS GENTLY STYLISH ROOM

The Gower was the first part of Britain to be protected from development by being named as an area of outstanding natural beauty. Blue skies and golden sands frame heather and hills with some of the cleanest atmosphere you can breathe in.

The Fairyhill nestles in a hollow in the hills in the centre of the Gower Peninsula. The hotel has a five star rating from the Welsh Tourist Board, whilst the RAC, using its own standards only awards it two stars, pointing up the sometimes irrational variation in star ratings that exists worldwide. There is no swimming pool, no gym, no business centre (although there is a small meeting room), in fact none of the attributes of normal five star urban hotels. What there is instead is breathtaking beauty of location, super service, (including a cup of tea or coffee brought to you in bed in the morning), and outstanding food and wine.

Arriving guests rarely see the Reception desk, cleverly designed to incorporate all the guides and maps you might need, as a welcoming smile will greet you at the front door and whisk your bags to your room in this absolutely delightful example of the comfortable British country hotel.The welcome was extended with a pot of tea in front of the fire in the lounge as you are encouraged to change to a slower rythmn of life than the city brings.

Bedrooms are comfortable and individually designed. Style ranges from contemporary to more domestic traditional - rollover to see the difference. Most open up to beamed ceilings and all have a rural outlook, in keeping with this beautiful corner of Wales. Lighting is especially skillfully handled to create interest and variety

Outside this is a small Welsh country house, indistinguishable from many others

The owners actually run a wine business, and the wine list here has won many awards, but it is coupled with superb food and exquisite relaxed service. Open log fires burned in lounges and bar during my February visit. The hotel has that antique British style that comes unconsciously from focussing on comfort - a style that the London 'Times' observed recently seems to be loved by everyone except the British who have embraced a form of modernism with its own minimalist bleakness in so many other establishments. Still the hallmark of many of London's great Hotels, it is also generates an enveloping comfortable warmth that many travellers welcome at journeys end.