‘An ideal place to slow down and relax.’

‘Stylish but informal, fun and relaxing – a grand job overall.’

‘You can hear the sounds of birds all around’ this converted 14th-century farmhouse.

Down an avenue of lime trees stands this characterful hotel, its apricot-washed facade a welcome sight to its legions of loyal fans.

Up the tree- and hedgerow-lined road from the National Arboretum, this Cotswold-stone country hotel stands in gardens and woodland.

In a ‘marvellous Derbyshire Dales setting’, supporters of James Moffett’s rustic, laid-back hotel find much to like: ‘a warm welcome’, ‘decent home-cooked dinners’, ‘quiet, comfortable rooms’.

Countryside chic fills this 17th-century farmhouse on a ridge above vast fields beyond the Cotswold village.

In a village known as the ‘jewel of the Cotswolds’, Andrew and Gaynor Riley’s restaurant-with-rooms occupies Sir Gordon Russell’s former furniture showroom facing the grass-fringed, chestnut-shaded ‘broad way’.

‘A warm welcome and excellent food’ add up to a ‘thoroughly enjoyable’ stay at Nicola and Steve Reynolds’s pub-with rooms, say Guide readers this year.

Behind a facade of half-timbering and honeyed stone, this ‘friendly, professionally run’ hotel by the village green ‘successfully combines an imaginative, glossy-magazine look with olde-worlde Cotswold charm’.

Julia and Nick Davies are bringing a breath of fresh air – and a few ‘tastefully flamboyant touches’ – to their 18th-century dower house high on the east side of the Malvern hills.

Take in ‘superb views’ over the valley from Chris and Zoe Hipwell’s ‘very special’ Georgian town house hotel.

Homely touches and a welcoming spirit create a cheerful atmosphere at Izzy Barnard’s Georgian B&B in Shropshire countryside.

Village gossip, quaffable ciders and country-chic accommodation combine at this popular stone-built restaurant-with-rooms (Calcot Hotels) in a pretty Cotswold village.

Homely accommodation, wholesome food and fresh air by the lungful are on offer at this B&B on the Marriott family’s small arable farm.

Country comfort informs sister-and-brother team Tania and Adrian Slater’s voguishly refurbished 18th-century coaching inn, in a tranquil village 8 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon.

In the Teme valley, an area abundant with hops and mistletoe, this refurbished red-brick Victorian coaching inn has ‘plenty of character’.

In a ‘charming setting’ by the River Wye, this ‘good-value’ restaurant-with-rooms occupies a ‘lovely old building’ a 15-minute walk, over the bridge, from town.

Deep in Shropshire countryside, Tracey Baylis and Alex Read’s B&B, in a quiet hamlet, is ‘a total joy’, say admirers.

‘At the end of a country lane, yet close to the beautiful Georgian town’, ‘charming owners’ Alan and Linda Palmer run their B&B in a Georgian-style former Victorian rectory.

Judy Gardner runs her rural restaurant-with-rooms and cookery school in an ‘attractive conversion’ of farm buildings, in a ‘charming, peaceful' village on the edge of the Cotswolds.

Charles II is said to have slept here, and medieval beams and Georgian panelling attest to a long history, but this former coaching inn couldn’t be more ready for the 21st century.

Rustic chic – and the laid-back atmosphere to match – fills this Georgian town house B&B, across the wide, leafy street from Pittville Park.

‘We had a great time.’ Fifteen minutes’ drive from Cheltenham, this contemporary country house and spa stands in acres of parkland, woods and meadows, a laid-back atmosphere all around.