Not cooking for yourself is always a luxury, however often it occurs. No chopping or peeling, no shopping list, no threat of burn or ruin, and no washing-up. Bliss. Then there’s not cooking for yourself because you’re being fed by one of the UK’s best culinary talents. Perhaps the ultimate luxury. Especially when you get to stay over and don’t have to drive home afterwards, the breakfast buffet and in-room fridge selection all reminders that you don’t have to lift a culinary finger.

For foodie getaways in 2017, Lympstone Manor is right up there. Only opened in spring this year, it’s already been awarded a Michelin star and is the brainchild of Michael Caines MBE: revered chef, holder of two Michelin stars for 18 years, and local lad – hailing directly from the area around Lympstone Manor in east Devon. Just a 10-minute drive from Exeter airport and overlooking the Exe estuary, in Lympstone Caines has tastefully renovated a Grade II-listed Georgian manor house into what can only be described as a Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons for the modern era.

Crunch crunch crunch. No, not the food: the driveway as you approach, a crisp sound that’s as comforting as a crackling log fire at this time of year. Cars are tucked away in a car park out of sight of the house itself so you get the full splendour of the property and its lands as you approach. At the front, bikes line up ready for you to ride; at the back 28 acres of countryside stretches out.

Inside, the decor is heavily influenced by that countryside. The birds of the estuary have been used as a central motif, imprinted on the walls downstairs and used as the names for all 21 bedrooms. We are in Tern, a grand estuary suite in the extension. These rooms all have their own private gardens, with a chunky wooden gate so that you almost feel like you’ve rented a sea villa for the evening. Each has seating, fire pit and voluminous outdoor marble soak tub: impractical in British weather, especially with neighbours either side, but who cares. I, for one, am not going to complain about any additional baths on offer. The room itself has a dinky lounge at the front (with a gin tray, people), bedroom in the middle and a glorious open bathroom at the back complete with another giant bath. Gold this time. Which one to fill up first? A tough decision while reaching for that gin…

Treat yourself to a gastronomic pre-Christmas feast