Here are the Good Hotel Guide’s Editor's Choice selections for best B&Bs.
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.
The Dulaig
Grantown-on-Spey
On the edge of the Cairngorms, this Edwardian house was designed by the chap behind London’s Waldorf Hotel; inside, a sense of timeless comfort prevails in its Arts and Crafts furniture, home-baked treats, and superb breakfasts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Millgate House
Richmond
Lovers of fine Georgian interiors, antiques and the chime of many clocks will adore this Regency house with an award- winning garden, which is run by two passionate collectors. Some of the elegant bedrooms have views of the garden and river.
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.
2020 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
The Old Rectory
Pwllheli
The welcome from Lindsay Ashcroft, and husband Gary’s breakfasts win praise for this B&B in a Georgian rectory surrounded by mature grounds on the Llyn peninsula. Book a session with a visiting artist and paint your own souvenir.
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.
94DR
Edinburgh
A very special place, avers a fellow Guide hotelier, of Paul Lightfoot and John MacEwan’s Victorian town house near Holyrood Park. Special and beautiful, with period features, personable hosts, super bathrooms and a spectacular breakfast.
Sea Mist House
Clifden
Hens cluck away in the flower-filled garden of Sheila Griffin’s Georgian house B&B. There are wood-burning stoves, artworks everywhere, new-laid eggs at breakfast, of course, with soda bread, pancakes, honey from happy bees.
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.
Swan House
Hastings
Brendan McDonagh is a legendarily kind and friendly host at this Tudor house tucked away behind the High Street. A log fire burns in the beamed sitting room. Bedrooms are simple but beautiful. A great breakfast is cooked to order.
Timberstone
Clee Stanton
Tracey Baylis and Alex Read are the warmest of hosts at this conversion of two old cottages. Modern-rustic bedrooms have countryside views. One has an in-room bath and balcony. Supper is convivial, breakfast a feast.
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
The Quay House
Clifden
Warm and genuine hosts encourage a relaxed and happy ethos at this former harbourmaster’s house filled with antiques and curios. In the morning there is breakfast cake, freshly squeezed orange juice, perfect poached eggs.
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.
The Hack & Spade
Richmond
So close to Scotch Corner, yet so peaceful, this former Georgian ale-house-cum Victorian pub is now a fine B&B, rustic without, chic within. Bathrooms have a rainfall shower, aromatherapy toiletries. High praise for the full Yorkshire breakfast.
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
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.
Coes Faen
Barmouth
A literally ground-breaking B&B (the entrance hall incorporates a rock outcrop, with water trickling into a pool) has been fashioned from a Victorian lodge. Each bedroom has a unique spa feature. Tuscan- style dinner is served four nights a week.
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.
38 St Giles
Norwich
A stroll from castle and cathedral, this lovely house, built in 1700, is run as a very special B&B. From tea and cake on arrival to beautifully appointed rooms and excellent breakfast, every aspect pleases.
St Cuthbert’s House
Seahouses
A former Presbyterian church dedicated to the patron saint of northern England is today an award-winning B&B and music venue. Rooms have an espresso machine, posh toiletries. Breakfast includes kippers from the famous local smokehouse.
2018 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Stoberry House - Four Nights for the Price of Three Special Offer
Wells
‘Superbly positioned, with stunning views to the cathedral and the Somerset country beyond, Glastonbury Tor in the distance.
Jeake’s House
Rye
Creeper-clad and atmospheric, Jenny Hadfield’s B&B stands on the steep, cobbled main street of this medieval hilltop town.
Penbontbren
Llandysul
Richard Morgan-Price and Huw Thomas are personable hosts at their dog-friendly B&B with a difference, in gardens and grounds with views to the Preseli hills.
Y Goeden Eirin
Caernarfon
Sandwiched between Snowdonia and the Menai estuary, this B&B in a converted granite cowshed celebrates both its Welsh heritage and its eco credentials.
Sea Mist House
Clifden
Just off the scenic Connemara Loop, this B&B has been in the same family for three generations, giving it a rich, lived-in patina and making guests feel it is ‘like staying with friends’.
Duke House
Cambridge
In a quiet neighbourhood of Victorian terraced houses on the edge of Christ’s Pieces, this boutique B&B is well placed for those wishing to see the city.
Newbegin House
Beverley
In a ‘wonderful’ walled garden, yet just minutes from the centre of Beverley, this classic Georgian town house is brimful of family treasures accumulated by owners Walter and Nuala Sweeney, who ‘treat their guests as friends’.
Austwick Hall
Austwick
From the grand entrance hall with its flamboyant staircase to the antique-furnished bedrooms and Italianate garden, this country house B&B adds an exotic touch to a Yorkshire Dales village.
The Dower House
Muir of Ord
A former dowager's residence owned by the Mackenzies of Highfield, this enchanting stone cottage orné is run as a ‘gem’ of a B&B by ‘lovely people’ Robyn and Mena Aitchison.
Brownber Hall
Kirkby Stephen
With its quirky hipster vibe, thoughtful touches and soul-stirring views of the Howgills, this Victorian country house has charmed many readers.
2017 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Jeake’s House
Rye
Creeper-clad and atmospheric, Jenny Hadfield’s B&B stands on the steep, cobbled main street of this medieval hilltop town.
The Quay House
Clifden
There’s personality aplenty at this family-run B&B ‘stuffed with antiques and curios’ in a former Georgian harbourmaster’s house and three of its neighbours, overlooking Owenglin estuary.
Blackmore Farm
Cannington
Gazing upon the Quantock hills, Ann and Ian Dyer’s 15th-century, red sandstone manor house B&B on the family farm is redolent of history.
The Manor Town House
Fishguard
Above the harbour in a seaside town with spectacular views over Cardigan Bay to the Preseli hills, this Georgian town house B&B is all that the smart street front promises – and more.
Old Whyly
East Hoathly
‘The house is beautiful, the garden is glorious,’ writes a reader this year, after a return visit to Sarah Burgoyne’s Georgian farmhouse, so handy for Glyndebourne.
2 Blackburne Terrace
Liverpool
In the cultural district, this boutique B&B between the city’s two cathedrals is ideally located for the Liverpool Philharmonic and Everyman and Unity theatres.
Dalshian House
Pitlochry
Martin and Heather Walls’s ‘blissfully remote’, good-value B&B is in a white-painted Georgian house, in gardens and woodland on the outskirts of town.
Apsley House
Bath
Said to have been built by the Duke of Wellington for one of his mistresses, this late Georgian house-turned-B&B has elegant proportions, a grand piano, and the city of Bath at its feet.
Swan House
Hastings
Brendan McDonagh is ‘the most welcoming of hosts’ at this half-timbered Tudor B&B on a quiet cul-de-sac in the trendy Old Town.
Timberstone
Clee Stanton
Five miles from the foodie town of Ludlow, two 300-year-old cottages have been brought together as a B&B known for producing its own delicious meals.
