Character and comfort define the best of B&Bs, and these wonderful guest houses always give a sense of being welcomed with open arms, quite literally in some cases. From converted cider presses to bedrooms adorned with Georgian antiques, expect high standards, and occasionally a quirky window and sloping floor board or two – it’s all part of the charm. Here are the Good Hotel Guide’s Editor’s Choice selections for best B&Bs.
2019 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
The Quay House
Clifden
‘It is impossible not to like Julia and Paddy Foyle,’ the ‘delightful hosts’ of this ‘sybaritic’ harbourside B&B on the fringes of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Craigatin House and Courtyard
Pitlochry
Built in the early 1800s, this handsome B&B, a former surgeon’s house, stands at the gateway to the Highlands.
St Cuthbert’s House
Seahouses
Regular Guide readers laud Jeff and Jill Sutheran’s B&B, forged from a ‘delightfully converted’ Presbyterian church, as ‘a perfect base for exploring this beautiful part of the north-east’.
Brooks Guesthouse
Bristol
Owners Carla and Andrew Brooks have made a foray into the country (see entry, Ross-on-Wye), but everything ticks over nicely back at their ‘impressive’ city B&B.
The Hack & Spade
Whashton
‘Informal and friendly’, Jane Ratcliffe’s ‘utterly peaceful’ B&B stands on a hillside overlooking rolling Yorkshire countryside.
The Old Rectory
Hastings
On the edge of the Old Town, designer Lionel Copley has created a beautiful B&B in this Grade II listed Georgian-cum-Victorian rectory.
From £90 per night
Chapel House
Penzance
‘I have travelled widely but never stayed in a place where I truly felt I was with a close friend.’ Owner Susan Stuart ‘has created a real treat’, says a Guide regular after this year’s visit to the ‘beautifully restored listed house’.
Coes Faen
Barmouth
‘The name means “leg of stone”,’ a Guide inspector tells us – a reference to the rocks on and over which this ‘fabulous, ultra-modern’ B&B is built.
The Roseleigh
Buxton
Gazing across the lake in Buxton’s ‘elegant, well-wooded main park’, the Victorian B&B’s ‘fine premises’ earned a return visit and more praise from trusted Guide correspondents.
38 St Giles
Norwich
In a ‘lovely old building’ a stroll from marketplace, cathedral and castle, this upmarket B&B is run with commitment and enthusiasm by father and daughter Dennis and Holly Bacon.
2018 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Jeake’s House - Midweek Winter Breaks
Rye
‘It’s a lovely place to stay, with great character and charm.’ Readers visiting Jenny Hadfield’s 17th-century B&B ‘as a little treat’ to celebrate an occasion in 2018 ‘were made to feel special and right at home’.
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Glynarthen
Surrounded by rolling countryside, yet just a hill away from the sea, this ‘first-rate’ former Victorian farm B&B ‘is a very special place set in beautiful grounds’.
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Wells
‘Five stars’, ‘Highly recommended’, ‘Faultless.’ ‘Frances, Tim and their lovely staff treat guests as if they are treasured members of the family.’ This year’s Guide received plentiful accolades for Tim and Frances Meeres Young’s B&B in an 18th-century coach house.
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Newbiggin-on-lune
Drawn by the possibilities for walking, climbing and cycling, ‘enthusiastic, hard-working’ Amanda Walker and Peter Jaques invite visitors to share in Dales living at their lovingly restored Victorian house.
The Dower House
Muir of Ord
‘What a gem!’ Robyn and Mena Aitchison, the ‘charming’ owners, run this ‘extremely pleasant small B&B’ with ‘wonderful hospitality.’
Y Goeden Eirin
Dolydd
Expect a thoroughly ‘warm’ ‘croeso’ at Eluned Rowlands’s B&B on the edge of Snowdonia. Welsh is the lingua franca of this converted cowshed, which is imbued with local culture and heritage.
Austwick Hall
Austwick
Guests step straight into a ‘grand entrance hall’ at this B&B in a village in the Yorkshire Dales national park.
Sea Mist House
Clifden
A knock at the cherry-red door to this ‘characterful’ B&B is answered by ‘warm, inherently hospitable’ Sheila Griffin.
Duke House
Cambridge
Once the student digs of the Duke of Gloucester, Duke House is now a family-run boutique B&B in a ‘perfect’ situation ‘in Cambridge’s parking restricted area and walking distance for the whole city including a superb pub’.
Newbegin House
Beverley
‘Perfect hosts’ Nuala and Walter Sweeney clearly enjoy welcoming guests to their ‘beautiful Georgian house’ in a market town dominated by its sublime Gothic minster.
2017 Editor's Choice B&Bs
Editor’s Choice B&Bs
Jeake’s House - Midweek Winter Breaks
Rye
‘It’s a lovely place to stay, with great character and charm.’ Readers visiting Jenny Hadfield’s 17th-century B&B ‘as a little treat’ to celebrate an occasion in 2018 ‘were made to feel special and right at home’.
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Fishguard
The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path runs through the valley below the rear garden terrace of Helen and Chris Sheldon’s Georgian town house in this market town between the Preseli hills and the cliffs of Strumble Head.
The Quay House
Clifden
‘It is impossible not to like Julia and Paddy Foyle,’ the ‘delightful hosts’ of this ‘sybaritic’ harbourside B&B on the fringes of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Blackmore Farm
Cannington
Breakfast is served at a carved oak refectory table by the Great Hall’s massive log fire at Ann and Ian Dyer’s B&B in a manor house with private chapel.
Apsley House
Bath
Rumoured to have been built for his mistress by the Duke of Wellington, although less imposing than its Hyde Park Corner namesake (aka No. 1, London), this is a fine Georgian house, run as a B&B by Nicholas and Claire Potts.
Swan House
Hastings
Tucked away in an Old Town cul-de-sac, a short stroll from the seafront, this early Tudor black-and-white house is run as a welcoming B&B.
Old Whyly
East Hoathly
‘As wonderful as ever,’ writes a regular visitor to Sarah Burgoyne’s ‘charmingly run’ Grade II listed, red brick Georgian manor house adjoining a private estate, close to Lewes.
Dalshian House
Pitlochry
Martin and Heather Walls’s white-painted Georgian guest house feels ‘blissfully remote’ – robins and red squirrels in the ‘peaceful’ surrounding woodland are your only neighbours – but it is within easy distance of bustling Pitlochry.
2 Blackburne Terrace
Liverpool
‘Everything perfect. A real find in this wonderful city.’ Our readers are impressed with this chic B&B, in the Georgian quarter, between the two cathedrals.
Timberstone
Clee Stanton
‘Timberstone remains a great favourite,’ writes a Guide regular this year after staying at Tracey Baylis and Alex Read’s B&B in the undulating landscape immortalized by AE Housman.