Another village, another country house hotel? Wrong. The Olde Bell near Henley is a quirky place that adds a new dimension to the quintessential English coaching inn and provides a charming location to dust down those wellies and breathe in the country air.

You won’t find chintz and patterned carpets here - it is now a chic bolt-hole, which makes for a great little weekend retreat, only an hour’s drive from London. Situated in Hurley, a picture-perfect Berkshire village, there’s one single twisting lane and perfectly groomed English cottages on all sides. Parts of the building date to 1135 – we loved all the nooks, crannies and crooked floors.

The inn has been transformed by Elle style-maverick Ilse Crawford, whose philosophy lies in food and environment being essential and inseparable companions. We agree – that’s what Stylebible is all about. The inn’s common spaces really are the heartbeat of the place. The restaurant with its open fire, exposed wooden beams and contemporary English furnishings takes pride of place. The menu changes daily and uses locally sourced food cooked simply – on our visit, we were lucky enough to sample the rare roast venison with duck fat potato cake and braised red cabbage, along with apple crumble and custard – heavy but oh so satisfying on a rainy English day when only comfort food will do. Followed by afternoon tea of home baked biscuits and cakes, we felt compelled to use the tennis courts to try and burn off a few calories and make the most of the beautiful location.

Checking in to our room upstairs in one of the inn’s many outbuildings, we were pleasantly surprised with the light and spacious room, so different to the low ceilings and coziness of the main building. The pale wattle-and-daubed walls and uneven floorboards instantly made us feel at home (isn’t that what all hotel rooms should do?) with luxuriously simple creature comforts and understated attention to detail - quality king size bed, pure cotton sheets and Jakob’s wool blankets slewn over the rocking chair. With a flat-screen TV unobtrusively hung on the wall, a Roberts DAB radio and wi-fi throughout, the boy couldn’t complain. And with a clawfoot roll top bath located under the window in the bedroom just calling me to relax in, neither could I. The separate bathroom with double size rain-head shower and gorgeous Aesop toiletries (high quality plant-based ingredients) was the icing on the cake.

An eventful night lay ahead with an almighty rainstorm culminating in the hotel being struck by lightning and the electricity going down (!). Don’t let this ward you off – a freak encounter that only served to show the staff in their glory – as fantastic and efficient – it certainly did not dampen our weekend in the slightest.

The next day, we sat in the beautiful meadow garden and watched the chefs hard at work on the open BBQ serving hog roasts, summer salads and chilled ales. The perfect English country summer weekend.