The Chequers

This long-established Marlow pub, bang in the heart of town and just footsteps from the river, has been a popular place for a pint and a bite for a while. But it has recently opened some upstairs accommodation, which has quickly made it perhaps the best and most reasonably priced place to stay in town, with a set of contemporary and rather stylish rooms that are a perfect complement to the pub downstairs – a modern pub with a long bar and buzzy atmosphere. It offers local Brakspear and other real ales on draft, along with a very reasonably priced menu of good quality British dishes and pub grub classics including burgers, fish and chips, decent salads, and a great selection of steaks from their 'Butcher's Block': British, American and Argentine beef, all priced by weight so you can have as much or as little as you like. You can eat either in the front bar or the slightly posher dining room out the back – plus there's the adjoining Churchill Tap, which is more of a traditional pub, dimly lit and cosy in winter, and serving a huge list of craft ales from all over the world.

All the rooms are spacious and creatively furnished with quirky retro furniture and bespoke headboards backing onto bright feature walls, and all except one boast comfy king-size beds. They all have spacious, newly refurbished bathrooms, with high-pressure rain showers and Temple Spa toiletries (one also has a free-standing slipper bath); they also have Freeview TVs  and good wifi, tea-making facilities, complimentary bottles of water, Nespresso coffee machines and homemade biscuits. Marlow itself is easy to reach by car or by train and boasts a lovely location by the Thames, a lively centre with lots of indy shops, riverside rambles and some great walking country in the nearby Chilterns to really blow the cobwebs away. All things considered, it's an excellent choice for a weekend away.