When the weather is good, nothing beats time in the English countryside. Ironic then that the great British Isles, what with its less than ideal meteorological disposition, is also home to some of the most glorious landscapes in the world.

The Lakes District, the Cotswolds, Devon, and in Kent (see accompanying travel feature in this issue), English gardens – both natural and man-designed – have been some of the main reasons why people come to this country. Certainly, to consider these idyllically natural excursions without including Leicestershire would be a travesty to your travel sensibilities.

One of the reasons to come to this “shire” is its easy proximity to London. Less than two hours by car, and the scenery changes from the grey, congestion of the capital, to rolling hills upon hills of unspoiled farmland. Roads wind through terrain untouched for hundreds of years, left for only lovers of nature (or golf) to enjoy.

But if you’re a traveller who enjoys the more natural side of things only if it comes with a luxurious place to stay, then you’ve indeed come to the right place. Tucked away amidst farmland and near the small town of Melton Mowbray (how wonderful those words roll over your tongue), Stapleford Park stands like a jewel waiting to be found.

If you are of the ilk who prefer to keep special places to yourself (we all want to keep the crowds away from our finds, don’t we), then you probably would be inclined to keep mum about Stapleford Park. This 14th century resort cum golf course cum spa is just waiting to be found by peripatetic know-it-alls who bother coming this way to do nothing but eat good food, enjoy spa treatments, and play golf on a course that rivals any inland layout in Britain.

One could go on and on about Stapleford Park’s history. We can dwell on how during the Norman Survey King Williams gave the place to Henry de Ferrers for bravery during the Battle of Hastings. Or we can talk about how the house remained in the family of Agnes Hawberk and Robert Sherrard for 484 years since the early 15th century. And we can definitely discuss the beginnings of Stapleford Park as a grand centre for entertaining when Baron John Gretton began ownership in 1894, hoping to convert it to an abode by which he could court the fashionable hunting circles of his day.

Lord Gretton would be happy to see that today’s Stapleford Park, under the stewardship of its new Asian owners, has become just that – an exemplary place by which to receive and entertain guests, if only to impress with its stupendous display of country chic, and, dare I say, superb Englishness.

As a staying guest, you have a choice of 55 rooms and three suites. Unlike cookie cutter hotels, each room here is individually designed, different, yet entwined through a sense of exclusivity (and yes, Wi-Fi as well). If you like, there are also two multi-bedroomed cottages available that provide more privacy.

Celebrated interior designer Russell Sage was commissioned to provide his unique touch to the property recently. (He designed Kate Middleton’s wedding suite at The Goring Hotel where she spent the night before THE wedding.) The result throughout the property from Sage’s magic is a sense that everything seems to have been here forever, yet appear enhanced by an overwhelming sense of freshness and modernity.

This is most evident in the Saloon (incidentally, where the breakfast buffet spread is so sumptuously conveyed each morning). Heads of hunted animals adorn the tapestried walls reflecting the house’s past link with the defunct sport; rocking horses add a touch of English whim; and each lamp, picture, and knick-knack is so carefully sourced and meticulously presented that the space feels like a set from a Merchant-Ivory movie.

Meals can be grand affairs at Stapleford Park, and the Grinling Gibbons’ Restaurant is proud of its double-A Rosette rating for serving gourmet modern English cuisine. One special place to enjoy a drink and a quick bite is the elegant Library Bar. Books and your favourite libation couldn’t have found a more apt blend in this cosy, romantic alcove.

The perfect foil to the spoiling pampering of Stapleford Park’s interiors is undeniably its Donald Steel-designed championship golf course. Look this up in the annals of the British game and you’ll probably find it under the description “Underrated”. Steel has managed to lay a thoroughly enjoyable, yet challenging course over terrain that is deceptively undulating. The 6,944 yards it plays may not be the kind of gargantuan length we watch the pros play on TV every weekend, but when it comes with fairways that move like a snake in the grass, and bunkering cleverly hidden from view, it can make for a trying time when the winds kick up (as they are likely to do in this part of the country).

If playing Steel’s course feels like walking through a park, then you’re not far from the truth. The course sits comfortably among Stapleford Park’s 500 acres, mostly landscaped by renowned English landscape architect Capability Brown. Though Brown lived and worked in the 18th century, his eye for making landscape appear like it was how nature intended is timeless, and is a perfect backdrop for a course like Steel’s.

Stapleford Park is more than a just golf destination. It’s Grand Hall makes for a wonderful place to tie the nuptial knot, and its comprehensive spa (smartly located in what used to be the stables) offers every manner of treatment you can think of. Furthermore, the fully equipped fitness centre and indoor pool also makes for a stay where you can get fit.

One organisation that has found out about Stapleford Park, alas, is the Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Expectedly, they’ve made it a member, so anyone who enjoys the exquisite intimacy of a small boutique hotel may have had a whiff of the place. It won’t be long before this grand hotel, its golf course, and everything that’s so wonderfully English about the place becomes public knowledge. So go, and go now.