Log fires, character defined over the centuries, warm and friendly service and excellent food, country house hotels have a particular charm all of their own. Expect homemade, food, local produce, antiques and four poster beds, not to mention some of the most glorious country views around. Here is our Editor’s Choice for the best country house hotels.
2018 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Gravetye Manor - Charming British Escape
East Grinstead
‘Every comfort is anticipated’ at this ‘classy, tasteful’ Elizabethan manor house, from the garden flowers in the public rooms to ‘the most extensive cheese trolley we’d ever seen’.
Lewtrenchard Manor - April/May Two Night Break Special Offer
Lewdown
‘It’s up there with the top hotels we’ve stayed at,’ writes a reader this year of Sue and James Murray’s romantic rebuild of a Jacobean manor house, surrounded by parkland.
Chewton Glen - 4 Nights for the Price of 3 Special Offer
New Milton
‘Superb’, ‘excellent’, ‘impressive’, ‘delightful’ – on the edge of the New Forest, this model of a country house hotel and spa is on top form, having celebrated its golden anniversary.
Gilpin Hotel and Lake House - Indulgence Afternoon Offer
Windermere
‘Nothing compares to this special place,’ says a Guide reader in 2017 after a return visit to the Cunliffe family’s glamorous country house hotel.
Glenapp Castle - Complimentary Three-Course Dinner Special Offer
Ballantrae
Drive through the ‘splendid’ wrought iron gates and up a ‘beautifully wooded’ path: in ‘meticulously tended’ grounds stands this ‘impressive’ 19th-century Scottish baronial castle.
Farlam Hall
Brampton
‘A quintessential country house hotel.’ The Quinion family’s creeper-covered manor house in mature grounds ‘combines the familiar features and decor of an earlier age with exceptional service’, writes a Guide reader, a frequent guest, in 2017.
Currarevagh House
Oughterard
‘The wonderful views of Lough Corrib, combined with warm, easy-going hospitality, make this a place in which we could stay for ages.’
Hilton Park
Clones
At the end of a mile-long drive through ‘an estate of great tranquillity and beauty’ stands Fred and Joanna Madden’s Italianate mansion.
The Grove
Narberth
In ‘flourishing gardens’ near the coast, Neil and Zoë Kedward’s ‘beautifully quiet’ hotel is ‘a real haven – particularly when you arrive in the dark after a long drive’.
Longueville Manor
St Saviour
There are ‘plenty of smiles’ at the Lewis family’s centuries-old manor house standing in extensive grounds – and not just from the ‘professional, attentive’ staff.
2017 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Hambleton Hall - Summer Breaks in Rutland
Hambleton
‘Tim and Stefa Hart’s country house hotel is consistently outstanding, with service I have yet to see bettered: courteous, attentive, unintrusive. And Aaron Patterson’s Michelin-starred cooking never fails.’
Lewtrenchard Manor - April/May Two Night Break Special Offer
Lewdown
‘It’s up there with the top hotels we’ve stayed at,’ writes a reader this year of Sue and James Murray’s romantic rebuild of a Jacobean manor house, surrounded by parkland.
Marlfield House - Two Night Break Special Offer
Gorey
In woodland and extensive formal gardens, the Bowe family’s ‘beautiful’ Regency-style mansion has been providing ‘prompt and attentive service’ for more than 35 years.
Lords of the Manor - £129 per room per night Special Offer
Upper Slaughter
‘Croquet on the lawn is a must’ at this honey-stone former rectory surrounded by ‘beautiful, magical’ gardens – but that’s not all of it.
Gilpin Hotel and Lake House - Indulgence Afternoon Offer
Windermere
‘Nothing compares to this special place,’ says a Guide reader in 2017 after a return visit to the Cunliffe family’s glamorous country house hotel.
Judges - Spring/Summer Special Offer
Yarm
‘It’s the little touches’ that make the Downs family’s Victorian country house a ‘lovely, charming place’, confirm Guide readers in 2017.
Askham Hall - Midweek Special Offer
Penrith
‘We felt we were staying at a grand house rather than a hotel,’ say regular Guide correspondents this year of Charles Lowther and his family'’s Grade I listed ancestral home, built around a medieval pele tower and brimming with the owners’ personality.
The Lake
Llangammarch Wells
Approached via quiet lanes bordered by hedgerows and dark-limbed trees, Jean-Pierre Mifsud’s Victorian hunting lodge-turned-country house hotel stands in extensive grounds stretching to a lake on the River Irfon.
Hilton Park
Clones
At the end of a mile-long drive through ‘an estate of great tranquillity and beauty’ stands Fred and Joanna Madden’s Italianate mansion.
Ardanaiseig
Kilchrenan
Ardanaiseig closed as a hotel at the end of November 2017. It will be relaunched in 2018 a venue catering for groups, weddings, and corporate functions.
2016 Editor's Choice Country House Hotels
Editor’s Choice Country House Hotels
Rothay Manor - 20% Discount Special Offer
Ambleside
New brooms Jamie and Jenna Shail have refreshed this Georgian manor house since taking over in 2016, but traditional values have not been swept away.
Gravetye Manor - Charming British Escape
East Grinstead
‘Every comfort is anticipated’ at this ‘classy, tasteful’ Elizabethan manor house, from the garden flowers in the public rooms to ‘the most extensive cheese trolley we’d ever seen’.
Chewton Glen - 4 Nights for the Price of 3 Special Offer
New Milton
‘Superb’, ‘excellent’, ‘impressive’, ‘delightful’ – on the edge of the New Forest, this model of a country house hotel and spa is on top form, having celebrated its golden anniversary.
Glenapp Castle - Complimentary Three-Course Dinner Special Offer
Ballantrae
Drive through the ‘splendid’ wrought iron gates and up a ‘beautifully wooded’ path: in ‘meticulously tended’ grounds stands this ‘impressive’ 19th-century Scottish baronial castle.
Lime Wood
Lyndhurst
Think of anything you might want from a luxury hotel – ‘friendly, professional staff’, ‘well-appointed bedrooms’, ‘delightful’ public spaces, a ‘memorable’ breakfast with peerless granola.
Related Pages
Best country house hotels in Scotland
Best country house hotels in Wales- Best country house hotels in Midlands
Best country house hotels in North West- Best country house hotels in West Country
Best country house hotels in North East- Best country house hotels in South East
Best country house hotels in East Anglia- Best country house hotels in Yorkshire
- Best country house hotels in Sussex
- Best country house hotels in Lake District
- Best country house hotels in Cumbria
- Best country house hotels in Devon
- Best country house hotels in Ireland
Best country house hotels in Somerset
Best country house hotels in Dorset- Best country house hotels in Cotswolds