Its excellent location adds to the appeal of the recently revamped and extended Oxfordshire hotel and pub, The Lambert Arms at Aston Rowant, near Watlington.

The fact that the bar is cosy and welcoming, the staff are lovely, and the restaurant serves delicious, interesting food, all adds up to a destination ‘worth a bit of a drive’, as I like to put it! And it is so easy to get to — you may be in the far reaches of Oxfordshire, on the Buckinghamshire borders at the foot of the Chilterns Hills, but to get there it’s just a 15-minute run down the M40 from Oxford. Come off at junction six, turn left and you have arrived!

There’s been a huge investment in The Lambert Arms in recent times with the updating of the existing rooms in the original coaching inn, and the addition of many more — in fact, the hotel now boasts 44 rooms.

With its pleasant location in the Oxfordshire countryside, but within minutes of the M40, it is going down well with everyone from business travellers to locals, and conference trade is going a bomb. And it is a great place to treat yourself to an overnight stay at the weekend. In fact, there is not much that isn’t provided at the The Lambert Arms. It even has a beauty salon offering pampering treatments. I managed to fit in a blissful Ella Bache ‘repairing and redefining’ Eternity facial when we stayed.

Dinner was delicious — a great example of British food cooked and served well.

The main restaurant has, I thought, a rather genteel air about it. What I really liked was the profusion of candles — some of them absolutely huge — that gave the restaurant a restful glow.

The menu has been overseen by Michelin-starred executive chef Rob Clayton and created by the kitchen team under the direction of head chef Adam Boutwell.

You cannot miss the emphasis on British food here and every effort is made, we were told, to include fresh and seasonal locally-sourced produce.

After nibbling on some of the gorgeous home-made breads served with dips including olive oil and tapenade, my husband started his meal in fine style with a trio of perfectly cooked scallops, while I had the terrine of chicken. He followed this with beer-battered fish and chips — a sizeable chunk of moist pollack in crispy batter accompanied by excellent hand-cut chips. I chose the Gressingham duck breast. It was crispy but still pink and juicy and prettily presented with fondant potato, carrot and parsnip puree, and a red wine jus.

Shared dishes are always fun, so we opted for the selection of desserts, which featured five small-but-perfect puds including a tangy rhubarb bavarois with green apple sorbet, sticky toffee pudding and a divine dark chocolate and pistachio tart. Yummy.

We stayed the night in one of The Lambert Arms’ new and very comfy bedrooms in the just-opened accommodation wing and had a huge corner room with a fab bathroom featuring an elegant corner bath and a luxurious walk-in shower, complete with twinkling lights nestling among the tiles.

The Lambert Arms is definitely a new kid on the block that has made a fine debut.

The Lambert Arms, London Road, Aston Rowant, OX49 5SB, tel 01844 351496