Good Hotel Guide

All hotels demand upkeep, though it is rare for owners to have to replace a fan wheel or fit new sails. But, then, there is nothing ordinary about Julian and Carolyn Goldee’s B&B.

‘After a journey along the bumpy road, we were welcomed at the door by Lisa and Clinton, who took our cases up the rather steep stairs to a lovely room.’

Otters frolic on the banks as guests frolic in an outdoor hot tub at this old mill by a stream. A white-painted clapboard and brick structure, its chimney cutting ‘a striking silhouette’, it is run as a hotel by chef/patron Lee Bye.

Historic grounds tumble away from this ‘magnificent, lovingly restored’ castellated mansion on the banks for the Tamar river. The 17th-century family seat of the Corytons, Pentillie Castle has re-opened as a wedding and private hire venue for families or small groups.

On the edge of the village, with the Peak District on the doorstep, this Jacobean-style Edwardian manor house stands in a beautifully tended garden with sculpted box and yews, potager and arboretum.

A change of both name and feel for Bingham Riverhouse this year, its ‘more traditional, opulent style’ replaced by ‘something more informal and friendly’, say our inspectors.

Double-moated 13th-century Hever Castle, the childhood home of ill-fated Anne Boleyn, is now home to a sumptuous B&B.

A faintly bohemian B&B on the Roseland peninsula throws riotous colour and eye-catching features together in joyful combinations.