THE Pear Tree at Purton has earned its 25th mention in the Good Hotel Guide.

The family run country house hotel first appeared in the independent publication back in 1993 and will be featuring in next year’s edition.

Praised for its attention to detail, imaginative cooking and friendly staff, the hotel’s small vineyard, well-kept gardens and rooms named after local figures all get a mention in the review.

One guest even detailed the lengths staff went to as they worked to recreate a couple’s wedding party for their 50th anniversary.

Anne Young, hotel owner, said: “It’s an honour to be in the Good Hotel Guide for the 25th time. You cannot pay to be in this guide – you have to earn your place in it, so it feels like a true honour to be featured in 2018, which is also the 40th anniversary edition.”

Each year the guide accepts reviews from guests at hotels and also does secret visits where owners have no idea if a guest is from the guide team. This year one of the comments about The Pear Tree was “the epitome of a perfect British family-run country hotel.”

The hotel was originally a vicarage and parts of the building date back to when Henry VI was on the throne. It was first built next to the parish church but in 1912 it was shifted 400 yards brick by brick – possibly because the gravestones had reached the front door.

Anne and husband Francis bought the empty building from the Diocese of Bristol 30 years ago and eventually won planning permission to turn it into a hotel.

As well as human guests The Pear Tree also welcomes their canine companions and was last year voted the guide’s most dog friendly hotel – there are event two specifically pet-friendly rooms with access straight into the gardens.

Dogs also get their own welcome card with details of walks nearby, access in and out and the location of the poo bin.