Renowned for its herb garden, with some 400 varieties, 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 spa, bedrooms are named after plants, and cabins with freestanding tubs on the terrace overlook the orchard.

There's a huge sense of fun at this stylish hotel, whose logo is Vanity Fair's caricature of the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Oscar Wilde's Nemesis. Laurence and Helen Beere's hotel, a quirky combination of four townhouses has pugilism-themed jokes throughout; the decor is knockout too.

Single, double, family room, boutique chic, contemporary simplicity or a wizard-themed basement 'chamber' accessed by a hidden door in a bookcase – take your pick at this smart but quirky hotel spread across imposing, stucco-fronted 19th-century town houses, where breakfast is served in the Pimlico Pantry, and they do a magical afternoon tea (but no fairy cakes!)

Cranes, container ships, Holland-bound ferries … The views from this quayside Victorian hotel, with its striking iron-lace balcony overlooking the Stour and Orwell estuaries, are ocean-going, stirring, never dull.

All the bases are covered for a fun, relaxing family escape at this Jacobean manor house, which has a crèche, cinema, spa, pools, comfortable country house-style bedrooms, and formal and informal dining.