‘There is much to like and laugh about’ at this utterly transformed Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, in a ‘glorious setting’ in the Otter valley.

‘A charming place in a charming situation’, Fiona and Paul Robinson’s ‘stylish, informal’ New England-inspired hotel soaks in the spread of Gerrans Bay.

‘The setting, ambience and gardens are possibly the most attractive of any hotel we’ve stayed in, anywhere,’ writes a Guide reader this year of the Turner family’s country hotel, in a 16th-century priory on the River Frome.

‘A place to dress up, to dream, to luxuriate’, this ‘one-of-a-kind hotel’ on a tidal island charms Guide readers with its ‘magical setting’ off the south Devon coast.

‘Comfort and homeliness’ draw guests to this 17th-century mellow-stone house in a tranquil, ‘totally unspoilt’ village in the valley of the River Nadder.

There’s no escaping the sweep of the sea at this ‘really super hotel’ above Falmouth Bay: a wraparound deck catches the sun; French doors in the restaurant open on to terraces; nearly all the bedrooms look across the water towards St Anthony’s lighthouse.

Literary pilgrims follow narrow single-track lanes to this Victorian rectory in a ‘magical setting’ in the Valency valley, where Thomas Hardy met and courted his first wife, Emma Gifford.

Olga Polizzi’s countryside retreat, at its origin a Regency fishing lodge created for the Duchess of Bedford, is today an ‘unpretentious, wholly enjoyable’ hotel ‘decorated with charm and taste’.

Clean, contemporary design, eco credentials and ‘wonderful views’ attract guests to this voguish, adults-only hotel overlooking ‘a classic Cornish bay’.

Let the sound of seagulls and views of sand and surf introduce the day: most of the ‘clean, fresh, contemporary’ bedrooms in this ‘marvellously situated’ quayside hotel have views over the estuary.

‘All rather fun’, Fran and Pieter Hamman’s 19th-century manor house on the edge of Dartmoor national park teems with curiosities and vintage pieces.

At the end of a long driveway, this ‘magnificent, lovingly restored’ castellated mansion is now a grand country B&B surrounded by extensive grounds on the banks of the River Tamar.

In an ancient harbour town watched over by a 150-year-old lighthouse, Jason Robinson’s chic B&B is steps away from the coastal spot that inspired Coleridge.

In a medieval village in Lorna Doone country, this ‘well-managed’ 15th-century coach inn overlooking National Trust parkland is owned by Anne and Nigel Way.

With a champagne- and cake-filled pantry to plunder, plus boozy hot chocolate before bed, this glamorous operation turns traditional notions of a B&B on their head.

Picture postcard it may be, but there is nothing twee about this 15th-century farmhouse, ‘beautifully restored, and with lots of character’, on a National Trust estate.

Wake to birdsong at this mellow stone building in secluded gardens – Bertie and Bryony Hancock’s sophisticated B&B is surrounded by the National Trust’s Buckland Abbey estate, and the 700 acres of grounds that come with it.

Coastal colours and a breezy style fill this chic Edwardian house above the sandy beach at Carbis Bay.

On the Salcombe estuary, this Victorian hotel makes the most of the panoramic vista across the water, with wide terraces, huge windows and binoculars in the bedrooms to take in the views.

Angela and Olivier Noverraz’s ‘beautifully appointed’ 1850s mid-terrace house is a B&B with pizzazz.

Janie and Mike Cooksley have brought a riotous combination of colour and eye-catching features to the Cornish countryside.

Five minutes’ walk from the town square, Brad and Gill Walker have refurbished this Victorian town house, creating a clutch of well-appointed bedrooms within.