The yellow submarine in the grounds and a hedge sculpture of a giraffe set the scene at this playful, quirky hotel, in a traditional honey-stone building that is both family and dog friendly.

Family run, dog friendly and welcoming, this village pub at the foot of Howgill fells, between Lakes and Dales, is widely praised for its comfortable, individually styled bedrooms, pub classics and more creative dishes.

Quirkiness abounds at this contemporary hotel in a remodelled Victorian mansion, decorated with witty eclecticism, featuring modish, well-equipped bedrooms and an all-day menu of modern British dishes served in the restaurant or on the terrace amid dining pavilions and fire pits.

The latest member of Ian and Christa Taylor’s Kaleidoscope group, this hotel occupies two fine Georgian townhouses on a handsome and historic boulevard. The traditional interiors, with antique and hand-crafted wallpapers, are infused with some of the group's signature playfulness and vibrancy.

There is a buzzy ambience to this refurbished, child friendly, dog friendly 17th-century village pub, named after local tumuli, with restaurant, smart bedrooms and alfresco dining.

Under the big skies of Caithness, wrapped in woodland and a curve of the River Forss, this Georgian mansion offers the grandeur of Scottish country-house living but with modern-day warmth and comforts.

Whether you turn up with muddy boots or in your Sunday best, with wet dogs or children, you will be greeted with a warm welcome at this jolly country inn between Windermere and Beatrix Potter's Hill Top home.

A grand country house with both Jacobean and Georgain sides, Hartwell gazes over an 18th-century landscape, with Ionic temple, obelisk, and a lake spanned by an arch from the old Kew Bridge.

A former 17th-century inn, which is part of the Duke of Devonshire's 30,000-acre estate at Bolton Abbey, is today an impressive country-house hotel, with fine dining and a spa.

Where the road ends and the Irish Sea begins, this former Victorian hunting lodge with a private cove is secluded, unapologetically traditional and rich in comforts and good food.

Spectacular views over Esthwaite Water, walks from the door and easy connections by ferry to explore the Lakes makes this 'a recharging of the batteries kind of place', reports a trusted reader. Other readers add that the friendly service and excellent food helps to make it 'one of the very best hotels'.

With its romantic bedrooms and views across the Menai Strait, the former country residence of the Armstrong-Jones family is 'steeped in history, love and charming details – a unique property'.

A 17th-century country house on the edge of Brechfa Forest receives high praise for the warmth of the welcome, its ambience and top-notch, locally sourced food.

On show through walls of windows, the sea is a huge presence at this family-run hotel on the cliffs above a surfers' beach, which offers craft sessions as well as a spa and kids club.

Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.

In a characterful village between Sandwich and Canterbury, Marc Bridgen's gastropub with individually styled bedrooms is committed to local sourcing, with interesting seasonal menus and regular celebratory themed evenings and events.

If the Borrowers opened a hotel, it would probably be something like Nick and Charlotte Dent's Georgian farmhouse, filled with upcycled objets trouvés.

The epitome of country-house luxury with gourmet dining, Tim and Stefa Hart's hotel stands on a peninsula, overlooking beautiful gardens and the shining expanse of Rutland Water.

Inventive cooking of beautifully presented dishes impress at this gastropub overlooking the Evenlode valley, with four rooms that are smart but not ostentatiously 'designer'.

An ideal base for walking and wildlife enthusiasts, this 18th-century inn with excellent pub food stands beside a Saxon church in a stunning village in Teesdale.

A walker's paradise on the Welsh border, the Hunter family's very dog-friendly hotel, in a Georgian former rectory with a 'beautiful garden and views', is much beloved by readers.