‘The little things really matter’ at this ‘friendly' hotel, in a row of cottages opposite the thatched church in a village of honey-stone houses.

The day is one long round of pleasure at this ‘luxurious but unstuffy’ Edwardian country house beneath the South Downs, where classic lawn sports and garden games make jolly the ‘gorgeous, well-maintained’ grounds.

The first in the parcel of Pigs, sunning itself in the New Forest, this ‘relaxed, gorgeously rustic’ hotel remains a favourite of Guide readers.

‘Our stay was close to perfect. It was like spending a weekend at a country house where the hostess has impeccable taste and is a first-rate cook. All this at an outstandingly reasonable price, in an interesting and accessible corner of Kent.’

A survivor from a more elegant age, this family-friendly Victorian hotel grandly stands on the seafront.

‘Sumptuous’ inside and out, Ruth and Samantha Trinder’s refined hotel on the River Thames is in a ‘tranquil spot’ that belies its easy connection to the scramble and dash of London.

Think of anything you might want from a luxury hotel – ‘friendly, professional staff’, ‘well-appointed bedrooms’, ‘delightful’ public spaces, a ‘memorable’ breakfast with peerless granola.

‘However you look at it, it’s truly a delight.’

‘Welcoming, generous, on top of its game – it’s altogether delightful.’ From the hand-woven rugs designed by a local artisan to the home-baked bread and home-cured bacon at breakfast, much is super-local (and just plain super) at this ‘stylishly quirky’, ‘beautifully refurbished’ B&B on the edge of the Old Town, say trusted Guide readers in 2016.

In ‘well-maintained ornamental gardens’, this ‘handsome hotel’ occupies an ‘extensively enlarged’ old farmhouse on the outskirts of a ‘delightful’ medieval village.

‘We wanted old-world charm with modern facilities, and we got it – down to the cosy bar and the slightly sloping wooden floors.’

In this Cotswold town on the River Windrush, duck under the wisteria-draped arch of this well-updated hotel and enter a building rife with history.

Originally built to house the architects and craftsmen working on nearby Waddesdon Manor, this half-timbered, ornately patterned Grade II listed building is today a ‘comfortable’ hotel run by the Rothschild family for the National Trust.

‘Attentive service’ and ‘delicious pub grub’ attract locals and visitors to Daniel and Hannah Hall’s ‘lovely’ 16th-century country inn, across the road from the village church.

Connoisseurs and amateurs of every vintage find modern accommodation in Christine and Colin Munday’s impressively reconstructed traditional Sussex barn, part of a complex including a restaurant and a wine shop.

Where an 18th-century pub once stood, this privately owned, rebuilt-from-the-ground-up roadside hotel today has understated rooms, a traditionally styled bar, and an ‘excellent restaurant’ headed by award-winning chef Michael Chapman.

A stone footbridge leads across a rushing stream to the Wild family’s traditional hotel, its front garden, in warm weather, dotted with tables for afternoon tea in the sunshine.

Between artsy Chichester and the sandy beaches of West Wittering, Lloyd van Rooyen and Gavin Wilson’s hotel ‘exceeds expectations’.

An open fire in the entrance hall sets the tone at Jeremy Mogford’s clubby, upmarket hotel, a much-extended 17th-century building where visitors give in to the charms of bookish Oxford.

The lawn stretches down to Beaulieu river from this 18th-century shipbuilder's house. It's a fine place, today, to watch the boats on the water, as those once-upon-a-time shipwrights did.

In a ‘prime High Street spot’, this ‘thoroughly enjoyable’ hotel has ‘the perfect mix of historic charm and up-to-date style and decor’.

Admire ‘marvellous sea views’ from Nick Conington’s ‘stylishly refurbished’ Victorian hotel on the seafront in one of Kent’s original resort towns.

From this hillside position above the town, take in the ‘glorious vista’ that stretches over the oyster beds and out to sea, with the Isle of Sheppey beyond.

Whether for a fly-by visit or an extended stay, this 'atmospheric’ Elizabethan timber-framed manor house (Alexander Hotels) is liked for its ‘friendly staff’ and ‘well-presented meals’.