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Rating: Four stars

Both of us are in a bad mood. Hungry, too. It's a Friday evening and the satnav woman has guided us to the long-stay car park at Stansted Airport when we should be on the other side of the M11 in the village of Stansted Mountfitchet.

Spirits sink further on ringing Linden House and a Polish member of staff picks up. She won't know how to guide us home. Last orders will have been and gone.

On the contrary. She's a revelation. Turn round, second roundabout, third exit. First rate.

'And don't worry, we serve food until 10.30pm,' she adds.

Warm heart: The Inspector arrived at the hotel feeling cranky, but was impressed by the buzzy atmosphere

Word must have spread about the imminent arrival of Mr and Mrs Cranky.

A male member of staff is primed to help us with our bags and explains that we have to park across the road in a pay and display bay. It's annoying there is no free parking but we're here.

Then he whisks us up to Room 4, passing a fridge on the landing with lots of help-yourself water in it. The room's a little too fussy, cluttered even. But the bathroom is huge, with a stand-alone roll-top tub under a window with plantation shutters.

Everything is spotlessly clean and we're facing the back rather than the busy road at the front of the gabled, half-timbered building.

Linden House opened two years ago. The owners had no experience of the hospitality business but they've poured a massive amount of energy (and money) into turning what used to be an antiques emporium into a buzzy bar/restaurant with nine rooms.

My new friend (the Polish woman) has two glasses of wine on the table pretty much as soon as we sit down. She's cheerful, purposeful, brilliantly efficient.

I feel bad to have ever doubted her. We order the chateaubriand to share and should have kept it simple with two  steaks.

By the time the meat arrives, sliced, it's lost too much heat and we're not overly impressed with its bland presentation. The Bearnaise sauce tastes of nothing much at all.

But we like the buzz. The table next door is discussing the Oscar Pistorius trial. They've decided he will do five years but 'if he were black it would be life'.

After a delicious breakfast, we notice  three little boys setting up a cupcake stand in the hall in aid of the local Down's syndrome charity. They're not quite ready for business but we ask to buy a couple of their cakes and the look on their faces is as bright as the  morning sunshine.

Linden House has heart. It's much more than an airport hotel and deserves to fly.