The inspector visits an “absolutely stunning” Sussex hotel with exceptional gardens and a Michelin-starred restaurant serving 18-course meals

A lot is happening here. There is the 650-acre Leonardslee Woodland Gardens, with eight lakes in a sheltered valley with banks of rare rhododendrons and camellias.

Then there is one of the largest open-air sculpture parks in Europe (with an exhibition – The Walk Of Life – with around 100 works by the South African artist Anton Smit); a garden centre; “miniature village”; Vineyard and Wine Tasting Centre; Gift shop and coffee shop.

But perhaps the biggest draw – for die-hard credit-card-in-hand foodies happy to spend three hours around a dinner table – is the Michelin-starred Interlude restaurant, which offers an 18-course menu for £120 per person. Person.

The main house, built in 1852, has ten bedrooms, each furnished in the style of a well-known interior brand.

Ours features GP & J. Baker (holder of a Royal Warrant) which means beautiful wallpaper, curtains and upholstered headboards – traditionally British.

According to the inspector, one of the hotel’s biggest attractions is the Michelin-starred Interlude restaurant (above).

“Absolutely beautiful,” says my weekend friend, who doesn’t like praise.

It’s called the Sir Edmund Loder Room, named after the man who began developing the gardens in 1889 and introduced all kinds of rare wildlife, including wallabies, bush turkeys, emus and prairie dogs.

After his death in 1920, his grandson sold most of it and it fell into disrepair until it was bought by Zimbabwean-born entrepreneur Penny Streeter, determined to create something extraordinary. She definitely did.

There are ten bedrooms, each furnished in the style of a well-known interior brand. The Magnolia Suite is upstairs

Instead of breakfast, a huge basket “full of goodies” is placed in front of guests’ rooms in the morning

There are eight lakes spread across the 240-acre Leonardslee Woodland Gardens

We skip the 18 course feast and go to the Crabtree Pub for steak and chips.

What we didn’t quite expect was that there was no sit-down breakfast in the morning. Instead, a giant basket of goodies will be placed in front of your room.

This is a huge project that is still in its infancy. It doesn’t come cheap, but wandering the Grade I gardens at dusk is a delight – and Mrs Streeter should take a bow.