. . Here is our Editor's Choice for the best country house hotels.
2022 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Hambleton Hall
Oakham
The sumptuous bedrooms here have fabulous views of Rutland Water and are filled with luxury fabrics, plump cushions and sofas – all kept to perfection by tip-top housekeeping. The restaurant has the UK’s longest-held single Michelin star.
Pen-y-Dyffryn
Oswestry
Set among flower-filled gardens in a secluded, green valley, this old rectory is a highly pleasing prospect. There’s tea and cake on arrival, individually styled
bedrooms, ‘superb food’ in the restaurant, and smoked haddock at breakfast.
Summer Lodge
Evershot
This sprawling dower house – enlarged with the help of local architect Thomas Hardy in 1893 – has traditional bedrooms in florals and stripes, and grand public rooms heaving with antiques.
From £60 per night
Langar Hall
Langar
At the end of a long avenue of lime trees, this golden-hued Georgian house offers ‘quietly eccentric’ rooms decorated in pretty prints and filled with antiques, paintings and books. Couples can book a chalet by the croquet lawn.
Tudor Farmhouse
Clearwell
This beautifully converted stone farmhouse in the Forest of Dean has sleek, contemporary rooms with just a touch of rusticity in the beams and exposed stone walls. Book a foraging or wildlife safari, returning to buttered crumpets for tea.
Hotel Endsleigh
Tavistock
The Grade I listed parkland, with its dells, follies and grottoes, was designed by Humphry Repton, and would be a draw on its own, but Olga Polizzi has completed the pastoral idyll with her exquisite interiors in this cottage orné.
The Grasmere Hotel
Grasmere
The Winsland family run this handsome Victorian house in a riverside setting with unfailing dedication. Guests love the views of Helm Crag, the well-appointed bedrooms, the lounges to relax in, and
excellent Cumbrian breakfasts.
Kinloch House
Blairgowrie
An imposing Victorian mansion in large grounds, Kinloch has an oak-panelled hall, library and portrait gallery, but it also manages to be a snug, homely sort of place, with roaring fires and plush bedrooms with views of Marlee Loch.
The Millstream
Chichester
In a pretty harbourside village, these former 17th-century workers’ cottages are set in gardens with a stream running through. Bedrooms are light and restful, the restaurant highly praised.
Llangoed Hall
Brecon
Art lovers will love this romantic place, which has works by Sickert, Whistler and Augustus John. Staying here feels like an Edwardian country house weekend, with aristocratic, antique-filled interiors and 17 acres of landscaped gardens.
2021 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Headlam Hall
Darlington
The warm welcome and informal atmosphere at Headlam are much praised by readers. That’s not to say that certain traditions aren’t observed, but alongside afternoon tea, fine dining and period features, there is a spa and modern touches.
Pendragon Country House
Camelford
Replete with references to local Arthurian legend, this vicarage between Pentire Point and Bodmin Moor is renowned
for excellent food and attention to detail. Prefer a light-tog duvet to goose down, or perhaps fine wool blankets? Not a problem.
The House at Temple Sowerby
Penrith
Dine on fine food in a circular conservatory overlooking a walled garden at this Georgian house in the Eden valley.
Bedrooms are homely and traditional, but with crucial spoiling extras, such as spa baths and hydrotherapy showers.
Corse Lawn House
Corse Lawn
As the decades have rolled by, this handsome Queen Anne-style house beside a pond quacking with ducks has resisted fads and fashions without compromising on quality. Returning guests love its peach- coloured rooms, loose-leaf tea and G&Ts on the terrace.
Gravetye Manor
East Grinstead
Jeremy and Elizabeth Hosking’s Elizabethan manor enjoys the perfect setting, with beautiful gardens amid 1,000 acres of woodland. Inside, it’s just as good, with slick service, antique-filled rooms and Michelin-starred dining.
Grove of Narberth
Narberth
This beautifully restored Jacobean mansion oozes laid-back luxury, from four-posters to candlelit dining. Add to that views of the Preseli hills, extensive grounds, and one of Pembrokeshire’s prettiest market towns just down the road.
The Newt in Somerset
Castle Cary
As well as grand Georgian architecture, refined interiors, and a spa at The Newt, you will find a treetop walk, wild swimming pool, ice-cream parlour, and even an interactive gardening museum. And don’t forget the cyder bar.
Kinloch House
Blairgowrie
Marcello Tully’s destination restaurant is reason enough to visit this heirloom-filled former hunting lodge owned by Lord and Lady Macdonald. The setting is pretty special, too, with spectacular views of Loch Na Dal from some of the rooms.
Currarevagh House
Oughterard
The past is a foreign country at this beautiful 180-acre estate beside Lough Corrib; it has been in the same family since 1890. Step back into another era: no door keys, no TV, and a gong to summon you for a delicious four-course dinner.
The Torridon
Torridon
A long drive along a single track leads to this Victorian hunting lodge in a spectacular location overlooking Loch
Torridon. Kayak, hike and star-gaze; dine on the best Highland produce. Bedrooms have mesmerising views.
2020 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Hartwell House
Aylesbury
Once home to French royalty in exile, this National Trust-owned mansion brims with antiques, paintings, tapestries. Despite the grandeur, it’s unstuffy. Play croquet. Dress down for the café/bar, dress up for fine dining.
From £200 per night
Hambleton Hall
Oakham
The superlative staff, outstanding cuisine and sumptuously appointed bedrooms have won unstinting praise this year for the Harts’ former hunting lodge turned hotel. Beautifully landscaped gardens are bordered by shimmering Rutland Water.
The Priory
Wareham
Flower-filled gardens border the River Frome from this 16th-century former priory. You can take lunch alfresco, afternoon tea by the fire in a cosy lounge, dine very well in the Garden restaurant. Some bedrooms are in the Boathouse on the riverbank.
Bodysgallen Hall and Spa
Llandudno
Coats of arms adorn this 17th century mansion in magnificently restored gardens and parkland, run as a hotel and spa by the National Trust, with views of Snowdonia. Tea in a panelled lounge, fine dining and an aura of professionalism are hallmarks.
Lords of the Manor
Upper Slaughter
In a gentle Cotswold landscape, this cherished 17th-century manor house and former rectory is furnished with antiques, the walls hung with portraits of past rectors. You can take tea by the fire or in lovely gardens, dine formally or informally.
Hotel Endsleigh
Tavistock
A very special place, Olga Polizzi’s ducal fishing lodge stands in an Arcadian landscape with the Tamar running through. The relaxed chic style mixes contemporary touches with period furnishings, in perfect harmony with the historic building.
Lime Wood
Lyndhurst
Starry and glamorous yet relaxed, this rebuilt and extended Georgian lodge offers all you could look for in a country house hotel and spa. A perfect blend of traditional hospitality and 21st-century luxury, in a bucolic New Forest setting.
The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge
Ballingarry
Flower-filled public rooms, elegant dining and the welcoming host win praise for this hotel, a fine 19th-century parochial house and former nunnery, in terraced gardens. Traditionally styled bedrooms have truly charming individual touches.
Douneside House
Tarland
The Edwardian interiors of this Scots Revival former holiday home of the MacRobert family have been lovingly preserved in a recent makeover. Furnished with antiques, it stands in beautifully landscaped gardens. At dinner Scottish ingredients shine.
Little Barwick House
Yeovil
Afternoon tea by the fire or in the beautiful garden are among the joys at this family-run Georgian country house. They call it a restaurant-with-rooms, and dinner is a feast, but it’s not the entire raison d’être. Stay, be spoilt, unwind.
2019 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Askham Hall
Penrith
The Lowther family’s Grade I listed ancestral home has a relaxed, house-party feel, with historic and personal touches – old photographs, a priest hole, perhaps a four-poster or antique bath, topiary garden and free-ranging livestock. Great food and wine, too.
Brockencote Hall
Chaddesley Corbett
Guests drive through woodland to discover this château-style Victorian mansion with a romantic lake, fountain and ancient dovecote. Afternoon tea can be taken by the fire in a panelled library hung with oil paintings. Elegant bedrooms are supplied with all comforts.
Gravetye Manor
East Grinstead
A romantic Elizabethan manor house in well-tended gardens, Michelin-starred cooking in a dramatic glass-walled new dining room, log fires in comfy lounges, and every imaginable comfort combine at this perennial Guide favourite.
Temple House
Ballymote
Guests gather for drinks by a log fire before sitting down together to dine, house-party style, at this classic Georgian mansion in parkland overlooking medieval castle ruins. Antiques, hunting prints, a stag’s head and fossil collection make for interesting browsing.
Langar Hall
Langar
One of the Guide’s most characterful hotels, this apricot-washed Georgian mansion might be a private house, with its many idiosyncratic charms. Antique clocks tick. Walls are hung with artworks. Pretty, old- fashioned, individually styled bedrooms overlook magical grounds.
The Hare and Hounds
Tetbury
Wooded grounds surround this Victorian Cotswold stone house, built by the founder of neighbouring Westonbirt Arboretum. Interiors are stylish, but log fires, tweedy armchairs and a library of curios lend a private-house feel. Well-mannered hounds are welcome.
Judges
Yarm
Tried and trusted, this Victorian mansion is filled with antiques, books, oil paintings. Clubby armchairs are drawn up to roaring fires. From complimentary sherry and a teddy bear, to the turn-down service and morning cup of tea, here is pure, old- fashioned comfort.
Llangoed Hall
Brecon
The late Sir Bernard Ashley’s art collection still adorns this Jacobean mansion remodelled by Clough Williams Ellis. An Edwardian house-party atmosphere prevails, with fresh flowers, new-laid eggs from happy hens,
Lympstone Manor
Exmouth
Celebrity chef Michael Caines’s perfectionism is everywhere apparent in this beautifully restored Georgian mansion on the Exe estuary. From watercolours and water colours (an estuary-inspired palette) to Michelin-starred cooking, everything is tiptop.
Ballathie House
Stanley
Country sports are a big attraction at this turreted Victorian country house and estate on the River Tay. Anglers are in their element. Deer roam the grounds. It is family run, filled with antiques, a pleasing mix of grandeur and comfort.
2018 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Chewton Glen
New Milton
Imagine a luxurious resort with spa, pools, tennis, kids’ club – even a cookery school – at a quintessentially English country house, and you’ve captured the enduring appeal of Chewton Glen.
Farlam Hall
Brampton
This long-established country house hotel with a walled garden, set in a peaceful Cumbrian village, has had an elegant refurbishment without compromising ‘its sense of history and tradition’.
Gravetye Manor
East Grinstead
At the end of its mile-long drive, this Elizabethan manor house with glorious gardens and superb dining is, for many guests, the ultimate country house hotel.
Lewtrenchard Manor
Okehampton
In a peaceful Devon valley, this family-run historic manor house is loved for its architecture, romantic atmosphere, attention to detail and fine food.
Gilpin Hotel and Lake House
Windermere
By many standards, Gilpin is the Lake District’s most luxurious hotel with no-expense-spared rooms, Michelin-starred dining, numerous staff, and acres of space.
Grove of Narberth
Narberth
Described in 1811 as the 'respectable old house of Grove, embosomed in trees’, the ancient seat of the Poyer family is today a luxurious country house hotel, embosomed in verdant grounds.
Longueville Manor
St Saviour
A fountain plays before the magnificent arched entrance to Malcolm and Patricia Lewis's luxury spa hotel (Relais & Châteaux), occupying an ancient, much-altered manor house in landscaped grounds.
Currarevagh House
Oughterard
With cakes on the sideboard, drinks by the fire, and a gong to summon guests to dinner, Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s Victorian mansion in parkland on Lough Corrib has the atmosphere of a much-loved home.
Hilton Park
Clones
Built in 1734, burnt down in 1803, rebuilt over 15 years and remodelled in the 1870s in the style of an Italian palazzo, the ancestral home of the Maddens is the perfect place for an escapist Irish country house weekend.
Glenapp Castle
Ballantrae
Gazing out over the Ayrshire coast to the Isle of Arran, Glenapp may be towered and turreted, but the Scottish Baronial-style hotel (Relais & Châteaux) is more luxury country house than castle.
2017 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Hambleton Hall
Oakham
‘We have been staying at Hambleton Hall for over 20 years and have never been disappointed; the service is impeccable, the room immaculate, and the food outstanding.’
Lords of the Manor
Upper Slaughter
The River Eye drifts through the gardens of this Cotswold stone former rectory, once home to the Witts family, rectors and then lords of Upper Slaughter, run as a hotel for the past 50 years.
Askham Hall
Penrith
With a topiary garden, 17th-century pele tower and French drawing room, Askham Hall sounds grand and formal; not a bit of it.
Lewtrenchard Manor
Okehampton
In a peaceful Devon valley, this family-run historic manor house is loved for its architecture, romantic atmosphere, attention to detail and fine food.
Marlfield House
Gorey
George the peacock struts some of the 40-acre grounds of this rural Regency-style country house, run as a hotel for more than four decades by the Bowe family (Relais & Châteaux).
Gilpin Hotel and Lake House
Windermere
By many standards, Gilpin is the Lake District’s most luxurious hotel with no-expense-spared rooms, Michelin-starred dining, numerous staff, and acres of space.
Judges
Yarm
A circular drive, creeper-covered facade, rolling lawns and woodland are as you would expect of a country home once a retreat for circuit judges.
Lake Country House Hotel & Spa
Llangammarch Wells
Anne Hathaway meets Heidi in the hybrid architecture of Pierre Mifsud’s former hunting and fishing lodge, beautifully situated in the foothills of Mynydd Epynt, with a trout lake and the River Irfon running through.
Ardanaiseig
Kilchrenan
Swing round a winding road to this turreted, Jacobean-style baronial mansion – ‘a palatial old joint’ – in a ‘beautiful’ setting on the shores of Loch Awe.
Hilton Park
Clones
Built in 1734, burnt down in 1803, rebuilt over 15 years and remodelled in the 1870s in the style of an Italian palazzo, the ancestral home of the Maddens is the perfect place for an escapist Irish country house weekend.
2016 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Chewton Glen
New Milton
Imagine a luxurious resort with spa, pools, tennis, kids’ club – even a cookery school – at a quintessentially English country house, and you’ve captured the enduring appeal of Chewton Glen.
Rothay Manor
Ambleside
With newly landscaped grounds, tastefully refreshed decor and ambitious cooking that’s ‘a class act’, Jamie and Jenna Shail’s Grade II listed manor house pleases, inside and out.
Gravetye Manor
East Grinstead
At the end of its mile-long drive, this Elizabethan manor house with glorious gardens and superb dining is, for many guests, the ultimate country house hotel.
Lime Wood
Lyndhurst
There's plenty of laid-back glamour at this Georgian lodge in the heart of the New Forest, with a relaxed, family-friendly vibe and well-regarded spa.
Glenapp Castle
Ballantrae
Gazing out over the Ayrshire coast to the Isle of Arran, Glenapp may be towered and turreted, but the Scottish Baronial-style hotel (Relais & Châteaux) is more luxury country house than castle.