A leading Midland hotel's refurbishment has been money well spent, reports Adrian Caffery.

With kisses goodbye and a ‘‘be good for nanny and grandad’’ we set off for first night away from our two-year-old daughter.

Anticipating a little parental anxiety, we’d booked a hotel not a million miles away from our Droitwich Spa home. In fact, it was only ten miles away.

Yet the peaceful Brockencote Hall, which lies in 70 acres of parkland with a fishing lake and a charming half-timbered dovecote dating from 1600s, seemed a world away.

The Victorian mansion is down a leafy lane off the Bromsgrove to Kidderminster road and is a five-minute walk from the attractive village of Chaddesley Corbett.

In the 1940s, following a major fire, Brockencote was remodelled as a French-style chateau by the well-travelled Butler family (of the Mitchell and Butler brewery).

Its potential as hotel and restaurant was seen by Joseph and Alison Petitjean, who first viewed the property just two days after their wedding in France in 1985.

They invested heavily in Brockencote, adding a conservatory and a new building to match the original, and traded successfully for 25 years.

But by 2011 the hotel had become dated and the Petitjeans realised that it required a major overhaul to remain attractive to its well-heeled clientele.

They put Brockencote on the market and it was snapped up by Sir Peter Rigby’s expanding group of luxury hotels, the Eden Collection.

A multi-million pound facelift, completed in the summer, has breathed new life into the buildings, combining the traditional with the contemporary.

But Brockencote’s Victorian elegance remains clearly recognisable, especially in the entrance hall and in the library, where we enjoyed a splendid cream tea.

The cash splash was most noticeable in our bedroom, number four.

Our super comfy bed was 6ft wide and high enough for Ronnie Corbett to require a step-ladder, should the diminutive comedian ever be lucky enough to stay.

You’d expect such a large bed to make the room look smaller. Not this one. This was one of Brockencote’s feature suites.

It was also large enough to accommodate an abundance of quality, handmade furniture as well as an oversized marble fireplace.

In contrast to the timeless charm of the bedroom, the bathroom was ultra-modern, apart from the large picture of a pair of cherubs who thoughtfully diverted their gaze as I used the walk-in shower.

The suite was packed with welcome little touches – shoe horn, clothes brush, bottle opener, wine glasses, cafetiere, fresh fruit, homemade biscuits, enough tea and coffee to last a week, and a fridge stocked with fresh milk and four bottles of Wenlock still and sparkling spring water,

But for all this, my favourite thing about room number four was the unimpeded view from the four tall windows – all the way to the Malvern Hills.

Below our windows was the restaurant terrace (complete with water feature) and beyond the haha was a round field the size of a cricket pitch with one lonely, mature tree in the ‘outfield’ giving it the look of Kent’s Canterbury ground of times past.

Under the Petitjeans, Brockencote had built up a solid reputation for fine dining with two AA rosettes. But the hotel is now aiming for the very highest culinary accolades.

After the takeover, Simon Haigh, executive chef at Mallory Court in Leamington, which has been awarded a Michelin star 12 years running, was brought in by Sir Peter to oversee a review.

Adam Brown was then appointed head chef, switching from The Arden Hotel in Stratford, another hotel in the Eden Collection.

He trained under Gordon Ramsay and David Everitt-Matthias at Cheltenham’s two Michelin star Le Champignon Sauvage, and uses only the freshest ingredients in creating his unique and interesting menu

Our dining experience was one to remember, not least because of the staff who were all exceptionally welcoming and helpful.