Standing right on the quay overlooking estuary and salt marshes, in a coastal village of flint cottages, gift shops and galleries, Emma Stannard’s hotel is ideal for outdoorsy family holidays.

In the heart of Constable country, Wendy and Jim Sarton’s ancient manor house is a hotspot for painting courses.

‘An amazingly gorgeous hotel,’ writes a reader this year, of Tracy and Galton Blackiston’s restaurant-with-rooms, ‘ideally located’ for a seal trip to Blakeney Point.

Les and Vanessa Scott’s playful, Palladian-style house is all comfort and bonhomie.

‘Aldeburgh is such a delightful place, made perfect by having the Wentworth.’ Praise from a trusted reader for Michael Pritt’s Victorian hotel across the road from the shingle beach.

‘Well liked by traditionalists and locals,’ Emma and Hugh Asher’s creeper-smothered hotel was buzzing on a Saturday night when Guide readers arrived.

‘In a peaceful village near Lavenham’, this 15th-century former coaching inn is ‘full of character warm, casual, intimate, relaxed’.

‘There have been changes since last year at this restaurant-with-rooms in a small coastal town dominated by its 12th-century castle and famous for its oysters.

‘One of my favourite hotels,’ writes a trusted reader, who spent four nights at the Nye family’s inn with views across salt marshes to the sea. ‘Good location, nice room, excellent food.’

‘A delight not only for art lovers but for all who visit,’ say Guide inspectors this year of Ivor Braka’s unique pub-with-rooms that upgrades to a full entry.

On a quiet residential street a stroll from the sea in a Victorian resort town, Jeanne Whittome’s boutique B&B impressed readers with its ‘bold, contemporary style’.

With the Norfolk countryside stretching away on all sides, Tim and Janie Elwes’s ivy-covered Georgian inn enjoys ‘a beautifully rural setting’.

With views across gently undulating Hertfordshire countryside, this sprawling old building, with its outlying stables and barns, dates back to the 15th century.

Near the RSPB Titchwell Marsh nature reserve, this dog- and family-friendly hotel is sandwiched between fields and ochre-hued marshland, leading down to the North Sea.

A bit of country cool has turned a neglected Victorian pub into a ‘terrific’ inn that retains its village local cachet.

Overlooking verdant Parker’s Piece, this large, family-owned hotel is a short stroll to colleges, shops and cafes.

‘Unpretentious and friendly’, the creeper-covered red-brick building has been a good base for outdoorsy sorts since the Tudors’ reign.

‘So cosy and welcoming’, a swish hotel (TA Hotel Collection, see also The Crown, Woodbridge, Shortlist) formed from three timber-framed 15th-century buildings in a medieval village.

Constable country reaches to the the doorstep of this affable, historic restaurant-with-rooms in a coastal village known for its swans.

In a ‘quaint village’ just off the Great North Road, Anne and Richard Furbank’s 19th-century coaching inn is done up with a dash of good-humour.

A ‘comfortable, welcoming’ spot in a market town close to the Suffolk coast, this popular 16th-century coaching inn now offers ‘cool’, modern interiors alongside traditional hospitality.

Paths through open countryside lead to the shady horse chestnut tree that guards this pretty, thatch-roofed country inn.

Visitors answering the call of the wild birds at the RSPB nature reserve at Minsmere convene with locals at this 12th-century coaching inn, much-liked for its dog-friendly atmosphere.