Cesar Winners

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We give our Cesar Awards to the twelve best hotels of the year. Named after Cesar Ritz, the most celebrated of hoteliers, these have been called the Oscars of hotel keeping.

Cesar Winners 2023

Cesar Winners

1
Morston Hall

Morston Hall

Holt

Best hotel in East Anglia. Birdwatchers and bon vivants alike beat a path to Tracy and Galton Blackiston’s Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms in a flint farmhouse with Blakeney nature reserve on the doorstep. Even though it has a Michelin star, it is still friendly and relaxed, with a contemporary country house look in the bedrooms. At night, feast on the seven-course tasting menu of locally sourced or home-grown produce, and awake to locally smoked fish or a full English with boudin noir and kidneys.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • value
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • gourmet
  • cooking_school
  • conference_meeting
  • wine
  • disabled
  • golf
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • for_winelovers
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • wildlife_watching
  • great_breakfast
  • parking
  • seaside
  • foodie
2
Eddrachilles Hotel

Eddrachilles Hotel

Scourie

Best hotel in Scotland. A youth hostel in the 1950s, this magical place overlooking Badcall Bay is as far as you can imagine from a world of dormitories with lumpy beds and lumpier porridge. A cream tea is served in the conservatory, there’s a choice of 60 malt whiskies in the lounge bar, and readers report by the dozen that both the nightly-changing menu of food and the porridge are delicious. Bedrooms have had a swish make-over, and some have beautiful loch views.
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • value
  • fishing
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • parking
  • exceptional_value
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • historic
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • romantic
  • wildlife_watching
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • good_value
  • weddings
  • boutique
  • seaside
3
The Falcon

The Falcon

Castle Ashby

Best hotel in the Miclands. There’s a reason they call Lord Northampton the Mystic Marquess. He and his wife Tracy have placed well-being right at the core of their reinvented 16th-century coaching inn on the Castle Ashby estate. Take a yoga class or a gong bath, book a nature trail in the castle grounds and swim in the lake designed by Capability Brown. It’s not posh in the least, with a relaxed air throughout the beautiful interiors, in earthy, mossy tones to reflect the surrounding countryside.
  • bird_watching
  • cycling
  • disabled_facilities
  • dog_friendly
  • electric_charging_point
  • fishing
  • garden
  • historic
  • horse_riding
  • outdoor_dining
  • parking
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • walking
  • weddings
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • wildlife_watching
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • foodie
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • hot_tub_jacuzzi
  • boutique
  • child_friendly
4
The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge

The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge

Ballingarry

Best hotel in Ireland. Warm Irish hospitality and superb food are on offer at this Victorian country mansion, where the restaurant is a destination in its own right. Angel Pirev uses food from the kitchen garden and orchard to help create his well-received menus, served in the deep-blue restaurant with its wedding-cake plaster ceiling. Traditional-style bedrooms have fabrics and wallpaper by Zoffany, Jane Churchill, Cole & Son; everywhere there is carefully chosen artwork and furniture, plus vases brimming with flowers.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • golf
  • walking
  • garden
  • fishing
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • gourmet
  • conference_meeting
  • disabled
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • country_house
  • honeymoon
  • romantic
  • dog_friendly
  • cycling
  • horse_riding
  • parking
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • foodie
5
The Henley

The Henley

Bigbury-on-Sea

Best hotel in the South West. It’s worth booking into this seaside bolt-hole just for the spectacular views over the sands to Burgh Island (rooms come with binoculars). But guests also really appreciate the friendliness of owners Petra Lampe and Martyn Scarterfield, who make everyone feel at home. Take the path down to the beach, sit on the inviting decked terrace, and tuck into Martyn’s nightly-changing evening meals in the garden room, where the seascape provides a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.
  • golf
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • guesthouse
  • wifi
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • fishing
  • parking
  • wildlife_watching
  • foodie
  • great_breakfast
6
The Pig in the Forest

The Pig in the Forest

Brockenhurst

Best hotel in the South of England. A whole litter of pigs has entered the world since Robin Hutson opened the first of a new breed in 2011. While they’re all special, it’s the mother pig in the New Forest that reinvented the English country hotel, with food sourced from within a 25-mile radius and its kitchen garden. The ethos is hip not hooray, with nothing too hammed up about Judy Hutson’s shabby-chic interiors. The only fly in the pigpen is that Pigs aren’t for pups: dogs have to stay at home.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • spa
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • conference_meeting
  • disabled
  • fishing
  • bird_watching
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • romantic
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • wildlife_watching
  • great_breakfast
  • golf
  • parking
  • foodie
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • electric_charging_point
7
Penally Abbey

Penally Abbey

Tenby

Best hotel in Wales. Owner Melanie Boissevain is an interior designer and it shows: together with her family she has created stylish, relaxing rooms in this Strawberry Hill Gothic house on the coast a five-minute drive from Tenby. Antiques rub shoulders with French market finds, blowsy wallpapers and Persian rugs. Enjoy Modern British cuisine in the romantic dining room, with Arcadian-print wallpaper and candlelight, as well as views over the bay to the Gower peninsula through romantic cusped windows.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • parking
  • romantic
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • conference_meeting
  • view
  • seaside
  • historic
  • boutique
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • country_house
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • outdoor_dining
  • weddings
8
Westmorland Hotel

Westmorland Hotel

Penrith

Best hotel in the North of England. Talk about reinventing the motorway service station. Formerly Tebay Services Hotel, this Lake District hotel on the M6 was created by the resourceful Dunning family after the M6 carved up their hill farm. It offers quiet rooms with fell views, tasty Cumbrian food, excellent value for money and what readers describe as a feeling of ‘peace and well-being’. Its delicious but unfussy food features fresh farm produce; there is also a farm shop on site. It’s a world away from the usual motorway chain hotels.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • value
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • exceptional_value
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • conference_meeting
  • view
  • disabled
  • good_value
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • babyfriendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • great_breakfast
  • parking
9
No.15 by GuestHouse

No.15 by GuestHouse

Bath

Best City Hotel. Named after the three brothers Guest who own it, this boutique property occupies a trio of Grade I listed town houses in a Georgian terrace. Rooms are all different, with touches of whimsy that might include a coffee maker in a doll’s house or exotic bird wallpaper inspired by the pergola in Henrietta Park opposite. All have a record turntable, a Dyson hairdryer and access to the complimentary pantry. Return from exploring and wallow in a circular copper bath for two in the basement spa.
  • child_friendly
  • garden
  • spa
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • parking
  • conference_meeting
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • romantic
  • boutique
  • babyfriendly
10
The Double Red Duke

The Double Red Duke

Bampton

Best pub with rooms. As pubs with rooms become more and more stylish, the Duke stands head and shoulders above the crowd. Georgie and Sam Pearman’s 17th-century Cotswold stone inn comes with a country-chic air in its carefully designed rooms, with luxurious fabrics, hand-blocked wallpaper, wooden furniture and perhaps a red bathtub in a red and white tiled nook. For something a bit different from your average pub grub, they grill meat and fish over charcoal, cherry and apple wood.
  • foodie
  • child_friendly
  • great_breakfast
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • dog_friendly
  • pub_with_rooms
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • good_value
  • outdoor_dining
  • for_winelovers
  • walking
  • cycling
  • garden
11
Cambridge House

Cambridge House

Reeth

Best B&B. A warm welcome with cake isn’t the only thing guests get at Sheila and Robert Mitchell’s B&B. Rooms have sweeping views over Swaledale, exposed-stone walls, bathrobes and Noble Isle toiletries. Sheila and Robert can advise on the local area, including the best walks and good places for dinner. Particular praise is heaped on the breakfasts, with an extensive choice that includes pancakes, smoked haddock, local eggs, croissants from the village bakery and Sheila’s award-winning marmalade.
  • cycling
  • dog_friendly
  • garden
  • good_value
  • parking
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • walking
  • wifi
  • adultsonly
  • bird_watching
  • country_house
  • fishing
  • guest_house
  • wildlife_watching
  • horse_riding
  • great_breakfast
  • foodie
12
Forest Side

Forest Side

Grasmere

Best Country Hotel. Michelin-starred cuisine, elegant bedrooms and red squirrels in the garden are the successful recipe for this 20-room hotel. Chef Paul Leonard sources 90 per cent of produce from a ten-mile radius of Forest Side, much from the vast kitchen garden, to create his inventive dishes. Light and airy bedrooms come with Zoffany fabrics, Herdwick wool carpets, beds by local company Harrison Spinks, and Bramley toiletries. The icing on the cake? There are walks from the door.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • parking
  • romantic
  • gourmet
  • country_house
  • wine
  • disabled
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • weddings
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • for_winelovers
  • wildlife_watching
  • great_breakfast
  • bird_watching
  • foodie
  • honeymoon
  • veganfriendly

Cesar Winners 2022

Cesar Winners

1
Special offer
Askham Hall

Askham Hall - Spring Three Night Special Offer

Penrith

It’s relaxed rather than grand at Charles Lowther’s comfortably cluttered ancestral pile, with its classic English country garden, a 17th-century pele tower, family heirlooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant. Dogs and children are welcome.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • value
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • outdoor_pool
  • historic
  • view
  • disabled
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • disabled_facilities
  • gourmet
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • fishing
  • for_winelovers
  • horse_riding
  • foodie
  • electric_charging_point
  • country_house
  • cycling
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • hot_tub_jacuzzi
  • babyfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • great_breakfast
  • parking
2
Special offer
Helen Browning’s Royal Oak

Helen Browning’s Royal Oak - Up to 25% Discount Special Offer

Swindon

There’s character aplenty at this pub on an organic farm, with bedrooms named after different fields, a communal area called The Wallow with table football, and everything from milk to meat supplied from the surrounding fields.
  • babyfriendly
  • child_friendly
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • dog_friendly
  • ecofriendly
  • garden
  • good_value
  • pub_with_rooms
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • walking
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • wifi
  • electric_charging_point
  • bird_watching
  • cycling
  • parking
  • wildlife_watching
  • outdoor_dining
3
Porth Tocyn Hotel

Porth Tocyn Hotel

Abersoch

It’s the relaxed atmosphere together with everything from a games room and outdoor pool to cots and baby- listening devices that make this hotel a firm family favourite. There is no charge for children sharing their parents' room either.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • tennis
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • outdoor_pool
  • view
  • babyfriendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • country_house
  • outdoor_dining
  • good_value
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • veganfriendly
  • electric_charging_point
  • parking
4
The Bell at Skenfrith

The Bell at Skenfrith

Skenfrith

A firm favourite with readers, The Bell faced a challenging time when the River Monnow flooded and flowed through its ground floor. Now the dog-friendly pub is better than ever, with a fresh look, great food and riverside walks.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • fishing
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • parking
  • romantic
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • wine
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • boutique
  • bird_watching
  • babyfriendly
  • cycling
  • golf
  • horse_riding
  • outdoor_dining
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • wildlife_watching
  • veganfriendly
  • electric_charging_point
  • for_winelovers
  • foodie
  • pub_with_rooms
5
Plantation House

Plantation House

Plymouth

Chef/patron Richard Hendey cooks as much as possible on the premises at his small hotel, from bread to ruffles. Readers rave over his nightly-changing menus, which feature local Devonshire produce and fresh food from the kitchen garden.
  • garden
  • value
  • wifi
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • walking
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • golf
  • great_breakfast
  • wildlife_watching
  • horse_riding
  • fishing
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • parking
  • cycling
  • country_house
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • bird_watching
  • boutique
  • outdoor_dining
  • foodie
  • child_friendly
  • dog_friendly
6
Hillside

Hillside

Ventnor

There’s plenty of Scandi chic at Gert Bach’s thatched cottage with its stripped-back pale interiors highlighted by colourful abstract art canvases and Solent views. The terraced gardens supply the kitchen, which produces simple but superb dishes.
  • walking
  • garden
  • wifi
  • parking
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • seaside
  • golf
  • tennis
  • wildlife_watching
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • boutique
  • bird_watching
  • country_house
  • cycling
  • ecofriendly
  • foodie
  • for_winelovers
  • great_breakfast
  • romantic
  • electric_charging_point
7
Newbegin House

Newbegin House

Beverley

Guests receive a warm welcome plus a garden tour at Walter and Nuala Sweeney’s refined Georgian town house. Bedrooms are supplied with sherry, fresh milk and flowers, there’s a superb choice at breakfast, and everything is great value.
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • garden
  • good_value
  • wifi
  • parking
  • child_friendly
  • great_breakfast
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • cycling
  • electric_charging_point
  • historic
  • veganfriendly
  • walking
  • wildlife_watching
  • babyfriendly
8
Locanda on the Weir

Locanda on the Weir

Porlock Weir

Italian foodie flair meets West Country charm at this uber-stylish restaurant with rooms on Exmoor’s coast, where chef Pio Catemario di Quadri cooks up a storm while Cindy Siu creates eclectic, appealing interiors worthy of the food.
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • walking
  • garden
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • seaside
  • boutique
  • parking
  • foodie
  • great_breakfast
  • surfing
  • romantic
  • weddings
  • adultsonly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • vegetarian_friendly
10
Rayanne House

Rayanne House

HOLYWOOD

On certain nights, chef/patron Conor McClelland replicates the entire nine-course meal served on the Titanic the night she sank. Lavish rooms include the golf-themed Rory McIlroy bedroom, and a breakfast of titanic proportions is served.
  • child_friendly
  • golf
  • garden
  • disabled_facilities
  • guesthouse
  • wifi
  • parking
  • disabled
  • gourmet
  • seaside
  • great_breakfast
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • weddings
  • babyfriendly
  • foodie
  • boutique
  • dog_friendly
  • fishing
  • historic
  • horse_riding
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • walking
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wildlife_watching

Cesar Winners 2021

Cesar Winners

1
Special offer
La Sablonnerie

La Sablonnerie - Suite Upgrade Special Offer

Little Sark

Reached by horse-drawn carriage over a scenic isthmus, Elizabeth Perrée’s 400-year-old farmhouse on car-free Sark is as charming as its owner. There are cliffs and coves to explore before returning to tuck into local lobster and scallops.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • exceptional_value
  • honeymoon
  • seaside
  • bird_watching
  • fishing
  • cycling
  • romantic
  • wildlife_watching
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • outdoor_dining
  • foodie
  • mooring_available
  • dog_friendly
2
Special offer
The Scarlet

The Scarlet - 'Two Night Spend Time Together' Special Offer

Mawgan Porth

Readers’ complimentary reports on this adults-only hotel flood our inbox. The seaside setting, spa and smiling service, alongside an effective environmental policy, win repeated praise. Over the past year we haven’t had a single negative comment.
  • weddings
  • walking
  • value
  • spa
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • indoor_pool
  • outdoor_pool
  • view
  • disabled
  • hot_tub_jacuzzi
  • ecofriendly
  • parking
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • electric_charging_point
  • adultsonly
  • foodie
  • garden
  • outdoor_dining
  • surfing
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • boutique
  • honeymoon
3
Lewtrenchard Manor

Lewtrenchard Manor

Okehampton

With stucco ceilings, antique-filled rooms and ornate fireplaces, the Murray family’s manor house is clearly made to be shared with someone special. After dinner à deux in the wood-panelled dining room, you can retire to a sleigh bed or four-poster.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • gourmet
  • honeymoon
  • country_house
  • historic
  • conference_meeting
  • disabled
  • golf
  • for_winelovers
  • fishing
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • wildlife_watching
  • bird_watching
  • great_breakfast
  • horse_riding
  • foodie
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • veganfriendly
4
The Peat Inn

The Peat Inn

Cupar

Our inspectors were bowled over by the food created by Michelin-starred chef/patron Geoffrey Smeddle in his old coaching inn with modern interior. Dishes might include pastrami of sea trout, loin of deer.
  • golf
  • garden
  • value
  • wifi
  • gourmet
  • wine
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • for_winelovers
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • foodie
  • great_breakfast
  • disabled_facilities
  • electric_charging_point
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • child_friendly
6
Baraset Barn

Baraset Barn

Stratford-upon-Avon

Fantastic food, amazing value and a side serving of culture in nearby Stratford-upon-Avon are the hallmarks of this restaurant-with-rooms. The barn is as atmospheric as they come, with a flagstone floor and an impossibly high vaulted ceiling.
  • child_friendly
  • cycling
  • boutique
  • foodie
  • great_breakfast
  • good_value
  • electric_charging_point
  • outdoor_dining
  • parking
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wifi
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • disabled_facilities
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • pub_with_rooms
  • veganfriendly
  • historic
7
The Grasmere Hotel

The Grasmere Hotel

Grasmere

Walks from the doorstep, views of Helm Crag, and fires to gather round for pre-dinner drinks make the Winsland family’s Victorian country house hotel a clear winner. As is the food, with imaginative menus, homemade bread, and kippers for breakfast.
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • wifi
  • parking
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • country_house
  • great_breakfast
  • boutique
  • foodie
8
Roundwood House

Roundwood House

Mountrath

There’s a library in the double-height stables and a delicious dinner is served with a serenade from chef Paddy Flynn, who runs this 18th-century country house with his wife, Hannah. The Georgian interiors have a relaxed, homely atmosphere.
  • child_friendly
  • golf
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • fishing
  • guesthouse
  • wifi
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • country_house
  • view
  • bird_watching
  • babyfriendly
  • parking
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • foodie
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • cycling
  • historic
  • horse_riding
9
The Angel Inn

The Angel Inn

Skipton

Local ales are served as well as Michelin-starred food at this Dales pub with beams and luxury rooms. Chef/patron Michael Wignall uses local food but global inspiration to create such dishes as Yorkshire duck with soy, black bean and miso.
From £70 per night
  • weddings
  • disabled
  • child_friendly
  • wifi
  • disabled_facilities
  • dog_friendly
  • walking
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • gourmet
  • foodie
  • for_winelovers
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • great_breakfast
  • historic
  • honeymoon
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • parking
  • veganfriendly

Cesar Winners 2020

Cesar Winners

1
Special offer
The Old Coastguard

The Old Coastguard - Winter Escape Special Offer

Penzance

Readers feel thoroughly spoilt at the Inkin brothers’ informal dining pub in a pretty fishing village. Most bedrooms have a sea view. In sunny weather, you can eat local seafood on the terrace in the palm-filled garden. Simple things done with style.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • parking
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • romantic
  • babyfriendly
  • boutique
  • foodie
  • great_breakfast
  • outdoor_dining
  • veganfriendly
  • pub_with_rooms
2
Special offer
The Angel Hotel

The Angel Hotel - 'Sunday Showstopper' Special Offer

Abergavenny

William Griffiths’s Georgian former coaching inn is the very model of a town hotel; family run, with friendly staff, a relaxed locals bar, eclectic menus, modern artworks. Afternoon tea is a particular treat, with cakes from the hotel’s own bakery.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • wifi
  • parking
  • conference_meeting
  • disabled
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • foodie
  • electric_charging_point
  • outdoor_dining
  • walking
  • babyfriendly
3
Special offer
Southernhay House

Southernhay House - Complimentary Cocktail Special Offer

Exeter

Silk, Spice… the bedrooms at Deborah Clark and Tony Orchard’s boutique hotel recall the original owner. A Georgian Orientalist and diplomat, he’d have enjoyed drinks on the pretty veranda, dinner alfresco, a free- standing bath in a glamorous bedroom.
  • weddings
  • wifi
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • veganfriendly
  • boutique
  • romantic
  • garden
  • historic
  • outdoor_dining
  • great_breakfast
  • adultsonly
6
Underleigh House

Underleigh House

Hope

Perfect hosts Vivienne and Philip Taylor set high standards at their Peak District longhouse home. Three of four well- equipped guest bedrooms are suites. A log burner warms the cosy lounge. Breakfast brings an array of fresh and very local produce.
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • bandb
  • wifi
  • exceptional_value
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • ecofriendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • great_breakfast
  • electric_charging_point
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • veganfriendly
  • cycling
  • dog_friendly
  • parking
7
Old Downton Lodge

Old Downton Lodge

Ludlow

Deep in the countryside, Willem and Pippa Vlok have created superb accommodation in historic farm buildings around parterre gardens. From dinner in a room resembling a medieval great hall, to a perfect breakfast, everything delighted our inspectors.
  • weddings
  • walking
  • garden
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • gourmet
  • activities
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • parking
  • electric_charging_point
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • for_winelovers
  • bird_watching
  • boutique
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • cycling
  • historic
  • outdoor_dining
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • foodie
  • dog_friendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • adultsonly
8
Foresters Hall

Foresters Hall

Cowes

Just minutes from the yacht-filled Solent lies Luke Staples and Lewis Green’s chic, immaculately run boutique hotel, with top-notch, locally sourced food, a pretty garden for alfresco dining, hands-on owners and thoroughly charming young staff.
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • outdoor_dining
  • outdoor_pool
  • wifi
  • boutique
  • seaside
  • cycling
  • dog_friendly
  • great_breakfast
  • child_friendly
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • garden
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • walking
  • weddings
  • babyfriendly
  • gourmet
9
Read’s

Read’s

Faversham

Our inspectors loved everything at David and Rona Pitchford’s Georgian manor house, but it’s Mr Pitchford’s cooking that really sets it apart. A typical dish: roast Kentish lamb, smoked potato puree, haggis and lovage tart, roasted onion, lamb sauce.
  • weddings
  • garden
  • wifi
  • gourmet
  • conference_meeting
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • for_winelovers
  • parking
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • outdoor_dining
  • child_friendly
  • foodie
10
The Pipe and Glass Inn

The Pipe and Glass Inn

South Dalton

With a cosy, beamed bar and Michelin-starred cooking in the child-friendly, veggie-friendly restaurant, James and Kate Mackenzie’s former coaching inn is a winner. Smart bedrooms have a terrific bathroom, and everything in the garden is edible.
  • child_friendly
  • garden
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • gourmet
  • pub_with_rooms
  • babyfriendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • for_winelovers
  • veganfriendly
  • walking
  • outdoor_dining
  • electric_charging_point
  • bird_watching
  • foodie
  • wildlife_watching
  • boutique
  • great_breakfast
  • parking
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • rooms_with_a_view

Cesar Winners 2019

Cesar Winners

1
Special offer
The Nare

The Nare - 'Four Day Easter Break' Special Offer

Veryan-in-Roseland

With its spa, its pools, balconies and sub-tropical gardens overlooking sandy Carne Beach, Toby Ashworth’s hotel is the perfect mix of family-friendliness and luxury. Top marks for Cornish cream teas, local seafood, a talented new chef, smiling staff and traditional values.
  • gym
  • child_friendly
  • garden
  • value
  • spa
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • tennis
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • indoor_pool
  • outdoor_pool
  • cooking_school
  • view
  • disabled
  • dog_friendly
  • hot_tub_jacuzzi
  • parking
  • outdoor_dining
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • babyfriendly
  • country_house
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • walking
  • electric_charging_point
  • great_breakfast
  • vegetarian_friendly
2
Special offer
Tudor Farmhouse

Tudor Farmhouse - Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer

Clearwell

Hari and Colin Fell have created luxurious contemporary accommodation within historic, rustic farm buildings. Eggs from the ducks and hens in the paddock, vegetables from the kitchen garden, wild garlic foraged from the Forest of Dean supply chef Rob Cox’s 20-mile menus.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • parking
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • golf
  • fishing
  • hot_tub_jacuzzi
  • boutique
  • babyfriendly
  • cycling
  • wildlife_watching
  • foodie
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • great_breakfast
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
3
Special offer
Knockendarroch Hotel

Knockendarroch Hotel - Book 2 nights and get a 3rd half price Special Offer

Pitlochry

Struan and Louise Lothian spare no effort to please guests at their friendly hotel. Fires burn in comfy lounges. There’s a cabinet of whiskies; rooms with balcony, with books, a four-poster, binoculars, loch views; a daily-changing menu of superb cooking.
  • golf
  • walking
  • garden
  • wifi
  • parking
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • romantic
  • cycling
  • electric_charging_point
  • veganfriendly
  • dog_friendly
  • boutique
4
Gregans Castle Hotel

Gregans Castle Hotel

Ballyvaughan

A generosity of spirit infuses Simon Haden and Frederieke McMurray’s Georgian country house, with magical views across the Burren to Galway Bay. Elegant interiors are filled with antiques, modern art, fresh garden flowers. The cooking is unpretentious but imaginative.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • golf
  • walking
  • garden
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • country_house
  • conference_meeting
  • disabled
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • wildlife_watching
  • parking
  • electric_charging_point
  • foodie
  • seaside
  • dog_friendly
  • babyfriendly
5
Kinloch Lodge

Kinloch Lodge

Sleat

There are glorious loch views from bedrooms filled with antiques, at Lord and Lady Macdonald’s former hunting lodge on Skye. Ancestral portraits abound. A ghillie organises fishing and stalking, while chef Marcello Tully cooks delicious fare. Speed, bonny boat!
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • honeymoon
  • fishing
  • garden
  • wifi
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • seaside
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • disabled_facilities
  • child_friendly
  • with_cooking_school
  • wildlife_watching
  • romantic
  • great_breakfast
  • walking
  • foodie
  • parking
  • country_house
7
Pentonbridge Inn

Pentonbridge Inn

Penton

An exciting gourmet destination within sight of the Scottish border. Each smart bedroom is named after an infamous clan of Border Reivers – a daring departure.
  • wifi
  • dog_friendly
  • child_friendly
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • foodie
  • electric_charging_point
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • pub_with_rooms
  • walking
  • babyfriendly
  • for_winelovers
  • gourmet
  • parking
8
The Star Inn at Harome

The Star Inn at Harome

Helmsley

This chocolate-box-pretty-thatched village inn is infused with wit – the bar filled with odds and ends; a billiard table at the foot of a bed – but chef/patron Andrew Pern’s Michelin-starred cooking is seriously good. One room has both spa bath and piano.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • wifi
  • gourmet
  • conference_meeting
  • pub_with_rooms
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • dog_friendly
  • foodie
  • for_winelovers
  • great_breakfast
  • historic
  • outdoor_dining
  • veganfriendly
  • babyfriendly
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • rooms_with_a_view

Cesar Winners 2018

Cesar Winners

1
Special offer
Hambleton Hall

Hambleton Hall - Winter & Spring Escape Special Offer

Oakham

‘Fay ce que voudras’ reads a motto on the porch of Tim and Stefa Hart’s Victorian picturesque country house, an invitation to do as you please, and this year, as ever, readers have been pleased by their stay here.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • fishing
  • dog_friendly
  • wifi
  • tennis
  • country_house
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • outdoor_pool
  • conference_meeting
  • view
  • activities
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • gourmet
  • walking
  • romantic
  • golf
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • wildlife_watching
  • honeymoon
  • electric_charging_point
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • cycling
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • for_winelovers
  • parking
2
Special offer
Soar Mill Cove Hotel

Soar Mill Cove Hotel - Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer

Salcombe

A single-storey hotel enfolded in a gorse-clad valley, a stroll through National Trust land to the eponymous cove, has been in the Makepeace family for three generations.
  • gym
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • golf
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • spa
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • tennis
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • indoor_pool
  • view
  • disabled
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • babyfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • parking
  • outdoor_dining
  • bird_watching
  • electric_charging_point
  • surfing
3
Special offer
The Red Lion Freehouse

The Red Lion Freehouse - Complimentary Glass of Bubbly Special Offer

East Chisenbury

A ‘laid-back, fire-in-the hearth, village pub atmosphere’ prevails at this thatched gastropub with riverside guesthouse on the edge of Salisbury Plain.
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • pub_with_rooms
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • conference_meeting
  • view
  • disabled
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • child_friendly
  • outdoor_dining
  • bird_watching
  • wildlife_watching
  • parking
  • foodie
  • fishing
  • great_breakfast
6
The Mash Inn

The Mash Inn

Radnage

Nick Mash wants guests to step back in time and reconnect with nature at his restaurant-with-rooms on a leafy back road in a scattered Chilterns village.
  • walking
  • garden
  • wifi
  • adultsonly
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • foodie
  • outdoor_dining
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • bird_watching
  • for_winelovers
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • electric_charging_point
  • parking
8
Forest Side

Forest Side

Grasmere

‘This hotel ranks amongst the very best that we have stayed in,’ says a reader about this Victorian Gothic mansion with its cool, relaxed style, vast kitchen garden and inspired culinary creations.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • parking
  • romantic
  • gourmet
  • country_house
  • wine
  • disabled
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • weddings
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • for_winelovers
  • wildlife_watching
  • great_breakfast
  • bird_watching
  • foodie
  • honeymoon
  • veganfriendly

2017 Cesar Winners

Cesar Winners

1
Special offer
Battlesteads

Battlesteads - Two and Three Night Taster Menu Special Offers

Hexham

A ‘really good experience’, Dee and Richard Slade’s ‘well-run’ hotel, restaurant and village pub stand out for their ‘laudable’ approach to sustainable tourism.
  • bird_watching
  • child_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • dog_friendly
  • electric_charging_point
  • garden
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • walking
  • weddings
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • wifi
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • ecofriendly
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • parking
2
The Blakeney Hotel

The Blakeney Hotel

Holt

‘A wonderful reminder of the delight a well-run, imaginative hotel can offer,’ reads one of many good reports of this family-friendly hotel with shimmering vistas over estuary and salt marsh.
  • gym
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • fishing
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • parking
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • indoor_pool
  • conference_meeting
  • disabled
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • wildlife_watching
  • cycling
  • golf
  • babyfriendly
  • hot_tub_jacuzzi
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • electric_charging_point
3
Hell Bay Hotel

Hell Bay Hotel

Bryher

Sitting above a secluded cove on Bryher’s rugged west-facing coast, with 'nothing in between to Canada', this pretty blue-and-white weatherboarded farmhouse-turned-hotel is a '10/10 experience’, say smitten guests.
  • gym
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • spa
  • wifi
  • tennis
  • seaside
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • outdoor_pool
  • view
  • disabled
  • dog_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • foodie
  • boutique
  • bird_watching
  • outdoor_dining
  • wildlife_watching
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • babyfriendly
  • hot_tub_jacuzzi
  • disabled_facilities
4
Gravetye Manor

Gravetye Manor

East Grinstead

Deep in the Sussex countryside, a romantic Elizabethan manor house, built by an ironmaster for his bride, stands amid 1,000 acres of historically important gardens, pleasure grounds and woodland.
  • weddings
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • fishing
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • honeymoon
  • country_house
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • historic
  • conference_meeting
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • gourmet
  • for_winelovers
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • electric_charging_point
  • bird_watching
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • veganfriendly
6
The Cross at Kingussie

The Cross at Kingussie

Kingussie

Take afternoon tea on the terrace at this former Victorian tweed mill and you hear nothing but birdsong and the plash of the Gynack Burn that once powered the looms.
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • wifi
  • gourmet
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • parking
  • great_breakfast
  • fishing
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • horse_riding
  • cycling
  • foodie
  • outdoor_dining
  • for_winelovers
  • veganfriendly
  • golf
  • child_friendly
7
Ael y Bryn

Ael y Bryn

Crymych

‘Creative and immaculate’ gardens surround this luxury, adults-only B&B in tranquil countryside outside the village of ‘Egg-lis-oo-roo’, with views to the Preseli hills and Carningli mountain.
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • bandb
  • guesthouse
  • wifi
  • exceptional_value
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • good_value
  • cycling
  • adultsonly
  • parking
  • wildlife_watching
  • great_breakfast
  • vegetarian_friendly
8
Brocco on the Park

Brocco on the Park

Sheffield

Behind the solid exterior of an Edwardian park-side villa lies a Scandi-chic boutique hotel and popular drop-in restaurant.
  • child_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • parking
  • exceptional_value
  • boutique
  • disabled
  • babyfriendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • outdoor_dining
  • great_breakfast
  • foodie
  • restaurant_with_rooms
  • walking
  • weddings
9
The Royal Oak

The Royal Oak

Salisbury

This 'welcoming hideaway inn' lies off the beaten track in a pretty village amid the Vale of Wardour.
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • exceptional_value
  • pub_with_rooms
  • disabled
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • good_value
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • outdoor_dining
  • cycling

Hotels chosen in 2016

Cesar Winners

1
Hazel Bank

Hazel Bank

Keswick

For many guests, Hazel Bank is the epitome of a small country house hotel with the bonus of a picturesque valley setting, captivating fell views and walks from the doorstep.
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • wifi
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • view
  • adultsonly
  • country_house
  • great_breakfast
  • foodie
  • wildlife_watching
  • cycling
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • parking
2
Augill Castle

Augill Castle

Kirkby Stephen

With its towers and battlements this Victorian-folly castle, in 15 acres of grounds, looks imposing yet is ‘a wonderful place to relax, kick back and take it easy’.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • value
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • tennis
  • view
  • disabled
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wildlife_watching
  • romantic
  • dog_friendly
  • great_breakfast
  • country_house
  • cycling
  • electric_charging_point
  • historic
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • babyfriendly
  • parking
3
Hotel Endsleigh

Hotel Endsleigh

Tavistock

‘An enchanting destination’ is how readers describe Olga Polizzi’s Regency hunting lodge, which stands by the River Tamar in an Elysian landscape designed by Humphry Repton.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • bird_watching
  • garden
  • fishing
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • honeymoon
  • country_house
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • historic
  • conference_meeting
  • view
  • disabled
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • parking
  • wildlife_watching
  • babyfriendly
  • boutique
  • foodie
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • great_breakfast
  • electric_charging_point
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
4
The Coach House at Middleton Lodge

The Coach House at Middleton Lodge

Richmond

The good life just gets better at this tranquil retreat in 200 acres of Georgian parkland, with rooms in the Coach House and beautifully styled hideaways.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • honeymoon
  • country_house
  • conference_meeting
  • activities
  • disabled
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • bird_watching
  • foodie
  • great_breakfast
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • electric_charging_point
  • outdoor_dining
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • spa
  • veganfriendly
5
The Lord Crewe Arms

The Lord Crewe Arms

Blanchland

'A truly peaceful place to stay, potter about and walk in unspoilt countryside', this hotel in a 'spectacular building' is in a conservation village surrounded by grass moors.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • dog_friendly
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • romantic
  • historic
  • pub_with_rooms
  • disabled
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • outdoor_dining
  • bird_watching
  • cycling
  • foodie
  • outdoor_pursuits_hunting
  • vegetarian_friendly
  • parking
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • electric_charging_point
6
Grove of Narberth

Grove of Narberth

Narberth

Turn off a country lane down a tree-lined drive and your tensions will slip away when you glimpse this white stucco building with its pleasing Georgian symmetry.
  • weddings
  • child_friendly
  • walking
  • garden
  • disabled_facilities
  • wifi
  • parking
  • disabled
  • babyfriendly
  • dog_friendly
  • rooms_with_a_view
  • wheelchair_accessible
  • conferencemeeting_friendly
  • bird_watching
  • wildlife_watching
  • romantic
  • boutique
  • country_house
  • electric_charging_point
  • foodie
  • historic
  • honeymoon
  • outdoor_dining
  • veganfriendly
  • vegetarian_friendly
Last updated: April 01, 2023