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.

'Unparalleled views over the Severn Valley' can be seen from this hotel, in extensive grounds high above the Malvern Hills.

Although the Cave-Browne-Cave family has sold its big, white hotel above Cardigan Bay, which it has operated since the days of silent film, new owners BLS UK Hotels Ltd are expected to keep things very much as they always have been, maintaining the existing management.

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.

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.

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.

There's certainly nothing monastic about this much-loved 'olde-world hotel with charm in abundance', in a 'wonderful building with a cleverly added glass dining room' looking out over gardens bordered by the River Frome.

This Tudor Gothic-style Elizabethan mansion, extended over centuries, overlooks parkland with a rare 17th-century parterre, walled rose garden, cascade, lily pond and follies.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Just over a mile from York, this imposing William and Mary country house in 20 acres of beautiful gardens and parkland offers 'first-class food and service'.

Whale watching, spectacular sunsets and starry, starry nights are among the wonders at this Victorian former hunting lodge on a wooded estate lapped by Loch Gairloch.

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

A brook runs by the terrace of this smartly refurbished gastropub with rooms, where you can eat locally sourced, imaginative dishes in the restaurant or alfresco, or simply enjoy a pint with the locals.

Amelia Nicholson and Marcus Seaman have revived the fortunes of this friendly village local gastropub, with its beautiful garden, characterful bedrooms and exceptional food.

'People come here for the food, and for good reason,' says a Guide insider of this buzzy pub with rooms, which is 'very much ye olde village inn, with rustic furniture and roaring fires under the beams'.

Family run, dog-friendly and beloved of readers, the Reynolds's small country-house hotel is praised for its comfort, service and ambitious cooking.

Glamorous ocean vistas draw the eye beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of this hotel, on a headland above St Ouen's Bay, beside Le Moye Golf Club. Designed to recall 1930s marine architecture, it has a pool in landscaped grounds and an ambience of holiday fun and leisure, with gourmet picnics on offer for a day's surfing or wildlife spotting.

Renowned for its beautiful gardens, this Georgian merchant's manor house is set in 30 acres of Norfolk parkland. The country theme is continued throughout – garden herbs are used in the restaurant and the spa, bedrooms are named after plants, and cabins with freestanding tubs on the terrace overlook the orchard.

The last word in Cotswold chic, this boutique hotel offers contemporary-cool bedrooms beside twin venture The Crown at Ampney Brook, a 16th-century pub where fantastic food is served from an open kitchen in the inn proper and in dining 'hives' beside the eponymous brook.

'Visiting Cavens is like stepping back in time to a traditional country-house hotel,' writes a reader of Angus Fordyce's Georgian mansion, set in open countryside close to the dunes and salt marshes of the Solway coast.

This is a proper village inn with locals enjoying pints in the bar, scrubbed tables, robust food and comfortable, homely bedrooms.

Above Windermere, this Edwardian country house lies in gardens that melt into the glorious landscape. The hotel is part of the Storrs Collection (see Storrs Hall).

The long drive is worth it to this edge-of-the-world location, where a Georgian manse, with pretty, traditional rooms and superb food, overlooks a long sandy beach.

You could not wish for a more glorious location than you find at Lorraine Hinkins and Alex Yorke's 18th-century farmhouse B&B, with views to Cader Idris and Tal-y-llyn lake.