French Horn Hotel (Reading, United Kingdom)

A riverside inn has stood on this incomparable site for 150 years, alongside the bustling bridges of Sonning. Today, The French Horn still overlooks a picturesque curve of the River Thames, shaded by weeping willows, graced by swans and moorhens. Softly floodlit at night, the gardens of The French Horn provide the most romantic of riverside settings for summer dining, and the prettiest of views on a chill winters night. While The French Horn has charming bedrooms, including newly converted riverside cottages, it is most famous as a -Restaurant with Rooms- , with one of the finest wine cellars to be found in England, and a glassed-in kitchen where the brigade can be seen working on The French Horn's fine cuisine. A particular speciality of the house is the spit-roasted local duck, which turns in front of open fire in the bar. A pretty private dining room adjoins the main restaurant, which in turn opens onto the sweeping lawns down to the river - a magnificent setting for an intimate dinner, or a perfect Sunday lunch. Situated just a stones throw from Henley-on-Thames, The French Horn is also ideally located for racing at Ascot, Sandown, Windsor and Newbury. Walking and golfing opportunities abound nearby.