I'm in pursuit of the perfect old-fashioned English family hotel. I've previously recommended The Grand in Eastbourne, with its dedicated check-in for children where they register with a very strange and exotic object (according to my 10-year-old) - a fountain pen (grandeastbourne.co.uk). Recently we sampled Tylney Hall, a sprawling pile in Hampshire, which caters for businessmen during the week and families at weekends (tylneyhall.com).

Surely the secret of a good family hotel, where everyone feels pampered, is to be unfussy and attentive without being obsequious. My daughter's 14-year-old friend Iona called Tylney Hall's service "major sucking up", quickly adding, "Great!" We forget that kids enjoy being spoiled just as much as adults do; they don't always want oven-ready chips on their laps in front of EastEnders, even if they protest they do. For children, too, it's the details that count: Tylney Hall's initials impressed on the coins of butter at breakfast, the fish knifes, the serving of even the smallest item on a huge tray, all enthralled 10-year-old Storme. The hotel is especially good for larger-than-average families, as the suites don't have an occupancy limit; they'll squeeze in as many put-you-up beds as you need.

Easter is the best time of year for indulging in a night or two of old-fashioned Englishness, as most of these establishments organise a traditional Easter Egg Hunt; Tylney Hall's stretches across its vast Gertrude Jekyll gardens. The Grand's is indoors, close to the creche, so you can leave the kids and have your own quiet seasonal celebrations in the bar. Cheers.

PS: Thanks to all of you who continue to write in about two-year-old River being thrown out of the Royal Academy's Aztec exhibition for being rowdy. We'll be launching a kids in museums campaign soon. In the meantime, River must be running his own; now over 90% of you think he should've stayed.

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