Review of Hotel du Vin Henley, by The TI Review Team

Hotel du Vin have a knack for choosing interesting buildings, and their latest offering is no different. A higgledy piggledy hideaway off Henley's high street, the stained-glass front door to this former brewery is the first indication that what lies beyond is anything but ordinary. A huge wooden front desk, purple velvet sofas, perspex lamps, columned Starck-style lighting give a traditional shell a modern-minded interior. Add to that an international staff – Spanish, French, Russian, Greek, South African – and the home counties has never felt so cosmopolitan.

The bedrooms at Hotel du Vin Henley enjoy the trademark beige matted floors, white-washed walls with black trimmings; the designers always have an eye and feel for interesting textures, as demonstrated by the two brown suede-effect chaise longues forming a cosy corner to sit back and enjoy the huge flat-screen TV. Up in the split-level mezzaninene floor, twin tubs in an open bathroom promise the congregation of the neighbouring church an unexpected show at bathtime.

With communal areas so enticing, riverside walks fall by the wayside, and we whiled away our afternoon in the lounge, on slouchy brown leather sofas, where the bottle-lined window sill let but a romantic seep of light into the dark and cosy corners where other couples compare newspaper articles and ladies who lunch catch up on gossip, and well-heeled grandparents coo over their grandkids.

As for the restaurant, it's rare for such a modest-sized menu to have your brow so furrowed, and choosing between crab beignets or foie gras and duck roulade is impossible. Then for the next course it's a toss ubetweenen herb-slashed sea bass, and poached truffled poussin. Best of all, this is a world, where the French sommeliers are on your side. Choose a cheap Chilean and they're likely to support your decision enthusiastically, talking you through which vino suits your course, sans arrogance or pomp. The restaurant follows the tried and tested H du V recipe: faux Gaugain, Modigliani, banquettes, simulated tobacco-stained walls (ironic for a non fumeur resto), hops draped around the windows.

So the race is on to enjoy the youngest hotel in Hotel du Vin group. And like a good Beaujolais Nouveaux, it's chic, affordable, and has a positive finish.