Here are the Good Hotel Guide’s Editor's Choice selections for best B&Bs.
2023 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Plas Tan-Yr-Allt - Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer
Porthmadog
You can lie in an antique four-poster in the William Madocks room at this singular B&B with views over the Glaslyn estuary to the Rhinog mountains, and listen to steam trains puffing along the sea wall.
From £60 per night
Shallowdale House
Ampleforth
Guests are made to feel like old friends at this wisteria-clad, light-filled 1960s house with its peerless views over gardens to the Howardian hills.
Britannia House
Lymington
Uber-friendly host Tobias Feilke welcomes guests to his idiosyncratic B&B in a yachting town and ancient seaport on the edge of the New Forest.
Broom House at Egton Bridge
Egton Bridge
When you sit in the garden of this farmhouse B&B, with views of fields and moors, it feels very rural yet Egton Bridge is only a ten-minute walk away.
Chapel House
Penzance
There is a friendly, open-house ambience at Susan Stuart’s beautiful B&B with views over the harbour and Mount’s Bay: drop into the kitchen at any time for coffee, cake and a chat.
Rayanne House
HOLYWOOD
There is great zest for life at Conor and Bernie McClelland’s B&B – a Victorian merchant’s house above Belfast lough – from the exuberant decor to Titanic dinners and gargantuan breakfasts.
The Beaumont
Hexham
The warm, buzzy open-plan bar and restaurant of this attractive town house hotel overlooking the park is one of Hexham’s social hot spots.
Austwick Hall
Austwick
Austwick Hall has closed down. With its grandly furnished rooms, extravagant decorative style and sweeping Italianate garden, this Yorkshire Dales country house B&B has the flavour of a stately home.
The Coach House
Brecon
Kayt and Hugh Cooper’s top-notch B&B combines hotel-quality accommodation with the warmth and intimacy of an owner-run guest house.
Trewornan Manor
Wadebridge
A ‘delightful B&B up a curving drive, through verdant grounds’, Paul and Lesley Stapleton’s ‘lovely old stone manor house’ wins rapturous praise from readers.
2022 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Underleigh House
Hope
Vivienne Taylor’s Derbyshire longhouse offers a restful stay with its large, pretty bedrooms, peaceful garden and views across the Peak District’s Hope valley. Breakfasts get a big thumbs up, with home-made bread and a full grill.
Ael y Bryn
Crymych
Readers report that this much-loved B&B is ‘first class in every respect’, with spacious rooms, glorious views to the Preseli hills and superb attention to detail. Breakfasts and dinners are equally good, and you can take your own wine.
Dorset House
Lyme Regis
Lyn and Jason Martin describe their eco- friendly B&B as ‘breakfast with rooms’ and take great care with the daily-changing menu of local, organic produce. Add boutique-style bedrooms and a willingness to go out of their way to help guests.
No. 33
Hunstanton
Jeanne Whittome’s smart B&B ticks all the boxes for a special stay. Breakfasts and picnic hampers come from sister venture the Thornham Deli, rooms are beautifully decorated, and there is even a concierge service to book bikes or boats.
Lindeth Fell
Bowness-on-Windermere
Far from your average B&B, the Kennedy family’s luxury guesthouse offers picnics, cream teas and cold plates as well as an outstanding breakfast. The seven-acre gardens and some of the elegant rooms overlook Windermere.
23 Mayfield
Edinburgh
Guests are entrusted with their own key during their stay at Ross and Kathleen Birnie’s Victorian house with antique furniture and period features. Bedrooms might have a four-poster or half-tester and breakfast is a slap-up spread.
The Old Rectory
Hastings
It’s seriously stylish in Lionel Copley’s Georgian rectory B&B, with wood floors and hand-painted wallpapers. As well as a treatment room and honesty bar, there’s a weekend supper club. Breakfast features house-smoked kippers and bacon.
From £90 per night
Trewornan Manor
Wadebridge
In gardens and pastureland near the Camel estuary, Paul and Lesley Stapleton’s Grade II listed manor house B&B wins high praise from readers for its smart bedrooms, complimentary cream tea, superb breakfasts and relaxed air.
2021 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Old Whyly
East Hoathly
Handily situated for Glyndebourne, Sarah Burgoyne’s Georgian farmhouse is homely and comforting, with a lovingly tended garden ablaze with seasonal blooms. There is also an outdoor pool. She’s a trained cook, so breakfasts are tip-top.
Number Thirty Eight Clifton
Bristol
A great deal of care has gone into making this B&B look so stylish, from the unusual vintage furniture, contemporary art and Zoffany wallpapers to the special features in the rooms, such as four-posters and copper baths.
Chapel House
Penzance
This Georgian house with crisp white interiors overlooks the harbour. Bedrooms with just a dash of colour – cerulean, sunburnt orange – all have sea views. They serve a fine breakfast and you can join a communal dinner at weekends.
Daisybank Cottage
New Forest
Ciaran and Cheryl Maher will welcome you like old friends to this Arts and Crafts house in the New Forest, whose pretty, immaculate rooms have espresso machines and chocolates. There is home- made granola and American pancakes for breakfast.
The Old Manor House
Shipston-on-Stour
This lovely 16th-century house overlooking the Stour seems too good to be true. It has antique-filled interiors, comfy, oak-beamed bedrooms, a drawing room with an open fire and, outside, a tennis court and the option to fish in the river.
2 Blackburne Terrace
Liverpool
A discerning eye characterises Sarah and Glenn Whitter’s Georgian town house, with its carefully curated collection of furniture, books and paintings. Sleep in richly coloured rooms; at breakfast the table is laid with silver and crystal.
The Coach House
Brecon
Kayt and Hugh Cooper usher you in to their 19th-century former coaching inn with tea and bara brith. Spacious rooms are soothing, in shades of sage green and cream. Walkers will appreciate the big breakfasts and option of a packed lunch.
Low Mill Guest House
Bainbridge
The past comes alive at this converted 18th-century watermill in Wensleydale hill country: the old waterwheel is a highlight of the rustic, playful interior,
with its stone walls and jazzy fabrics. In the morning, wake up to home-baked bread.
2020 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Shallowdale House
Ampleforth
There are dreamy views to the Howardian hills from Anton van der Horst and Phillip Gill’s 1960s house in leafy, hillside gardens. From fresh-baked scones to freshly squeezed orange juice at breakfast, everything is just about perfect.
The Old Rectory
Boscastle
There are romantic associations with Thomas Hardy at the Searles’ Victorian rectory B&B. The bed might be an antique carved one. Breakfast brings eggs from the hens, home-grown tomatoes, honey from the bees that pollinate the fruit trees in lovingly tended gardens.
Old Whyly
East Hoathly
Dinner under a vine-covered pergola with fellow guests on a summer’s night epitomises a stay at Sarah Burgoyne’s Georgian manor house in glorious gardens. Her spaniel, Puzzle, is a chatty host. Eggs are from the hens, honey from hives in the orchard.
Number Thirty Eight Clifton
Bristol
Hit the heights at Adam Dorrien-Smith’s Georgian merchant’s house overlooking Clifton Down. Stylish, uncluttered interiors, stunning views, swish bathrooms, lovely service, cream teas and a top-notch breakfast more than repay the uphill climb.
The Old Manor House
Shipston-on-Stour
You can ask for a picnic then fish in the River Stour, which borders the landscaped gardens of the Puseys’ 16th-century manor house filled with antiques and curios. A full English breakfast of local produce sets you up for the day.
2019 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Brooks Guesthouse
Bristol
Guests sleep in a smart, conventional bedroom or an aluminium retro caravan on the Astroturf roof at this former office block turned friendly, unfussy city base. Breakfast brings bacon butties, smoked salmon bagels, eggs Benedict. Local restaurants abound.
Chapel House
Penzance
A Georgian house, once an admiral’s home, is run with care and pride as a B&B. Rooms are highly individual – one bathroom has a retractable glass roof. From tea and cake on arrival to Sunday brunch’s kedgeree, everything is tiptop.
The Roseleigh
Buxton
Choose a bay-windowed front room at this handsomely furnished Victorian guest house, and enjoy views over the lake of the Pavilion Gardens, designed by Joseph (Crystal Palace) Paxton. A comfortable, traditional, stylish and professional operation.
Craigatin House and Courtyard
Pitlochry
A Victorian former doctor’s house has been made over as a splendid B&B by its hospitable, hands-on owners. Rooms have contemporary styling. Breakfast brings fruits from the garden (berry compote, apple pancakes), omelette Arnold Bennett.
The Old Rectory
Hastings
Designer chic and witty caprice abound at this former rectory with beautiful lounges and lovely walled garden. Rooms are supplied with home-baked biscuits, own-label toiletries. At breakfast there are smoothies, home-cured kippers, bread fresh from the oven.
From £90 per night
2018 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Jeake’s House
Rye
Swathed with creepers and bedecked with flowers, this wildly atmospheric B&B stands on a cobbled street in a medieval citadel with views over Romney Marsh.
Penbontbren
Llandysul
Luxury and privacy are guaranteed at this unusual farmhouse B&B set in gardens, 10 minutes from South West Wales beaches and with views to the Preseli hills.
Y Goeden Eirin
Caernarfon
Eluned Rowlands welcomes guests to her B&B on the edge of Snowdonia with tea, Welsh cakes and warmth.
Duke House
Cambridge
Tucked away in the city centre, within minutes of its historic colleges, this boutique B&B bolt-hole has a modern elegance in keeping with the house’s Victorian age, plus a pretty courtyard.
Newbegin House
Beverley
It is a rare treat to stay in a fine Georgian town house that is still very much a family home, with personal photographs and heirlooms complementing the handsome original features.
Austwick Hall
Austwick
Austwick Hall has closed down. With its grandly furnished rooms, extravagant decorative style and sweeping Italianate garden, this Yorkshire Dales country house B&B has the flavour of a stately home.
2017 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
The Manor Town House - 'Fizz and Free Lunches' Special Offer
Fishguard
Behind Helen and Chris Sheldon’s pastel blue-painted B&B is a secluded garden terrace with ‘spectacular’ views over Lower Town harbour and across Cardigan Bay.
Jeake’s House
Rye
Swathed with creepers and bedecked with flowers, this wildly atmospheric B&B stands on a cobbled street in a medieval citadel with views over Romney Marsh.
Old Whyly
East Hoathly
‘A curling gravel drive lined with mature trees and wild flowers’ leads to this ‘exceptionally beautiful Georgian manor house’ B&B.
Blackmore Farm
Cannington
In springtime, wisteria cascades around the door of this 15th-century red sandstone manor house B&B on the Dyer family’s dairy farm.
2 Blackburne Terrace
Liverpool
Everything is on song at this boutique B&B on a cobbled drive behind a row of lime trees, in the city’s Georgian quarter, minutes from the Royal Philharmonic.
