With a Michelin-starred restaurant, Grade II listed garden, 17th-century pele tower and French drawing room, Askham Hall sounds as if it might be very formal; not a bit of it. 'The most homely stately hotel we have ever stayed in,' reports one reader.

The rustic-chic bedrooms in farmhouse, cider house and barn at this rural Wye valley retreat in the Forest of Dean are all excellent, but the cooking is a still-greater attraction.

It might look traditional on the outside, but behind the exterior of this 17th-century stone building on the High Street, King of retail George Davies has transformed interiors to blend contemporary chic and original features, with attention to every detail, while James Wilson's cooking makes for a truly memorable meal.

In 'England's book town', under mighty Howgill Fells on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, this is just the place for a drover's platter and a pint – or Korean beef, shiso and sesame with a shot of wasabi vodka.

Former Gleneagles pastry chefs Phillip Skinazi and Andrew Mackay are enthusiastic hands-on owners at this former coaching inn in a conservation village, now an excellent restaurant with stylish, well-equipped rooms.

Inventive cooking of beautifully presented dishes impress at this gastropub overlooking the Evenlode valley, with four rooms that are smart but not ostentatiously 'designer'.

The rustic-chic bedrooms in farmhouse, cider house and barn at this rural Wye valley retreat in the Forest of Dean are all excellent, but the cooking is a still-greater attraction.

With produce sourced from its own farm and organic market garden, and beautifully styled and lavishly equipped bedrooms spread across cottages and above the village shop, this is a truly exceptional gastropub, a great place for foodies.

On this remote island of woodland, wetlands and sandy beaches, Julie-Anne Uggla's hotel combines the friendly ambience of a local drop-in with beautiful boutique bedrooms and locally sourced cooking of a very high order.

In 'England's book town', under mighty Howgill Fells on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, this is just the place for a drover's platter and a pint – or Korean beef, shiso and sesame with a shot of wasabi vodka.

The epitome of country-house luxury with gourmet dining, Tim and Stefa Hart's hotel stands on a peninsula, overlooking beautiful gardens and the shining expanse of Rutland Water.

With the Chatsworth estate on the doorstep, Lord and Lady Burlington's Peak District hotel has had a ravishing makeover to complement the superb food in its restaurants.

Chef-proprietors Guy and Brittany Manning have brought skills honed at triple-Michelin-starred Per Se in Midtown Manhattan to this thatched gastropub on the edge of Salisbury Plain, with 'stupendous' food in the bar/restaurant and garden, and stylish guest bedrooms across the road, with decking from which to watch the ducks on the River Avon.

Amid rolling hills, where Shropshire nudges Herefordshire, Pippa and Willem Vlok's restaurant with rooms comprises a picturesque set piece of medieval and Georgian farm buildings.

For more than 40 years, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at this beautiful country-house hotel 'and in our opinion, it's a travesty that he hasn't been awarded three', say Guide insiders.

Where Exmoor meets the Bristol Channel, this foodie retreat that oozes personality and style has 'very comfortable rooms with lovely sea views; the food is up there with many Michelin-starred restaurants'.

If you don't see owners Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower around their small hotel, they may be at sister venture Hamersay House, or out diving for scallops and gathering mussels for supper.

There is a house-party ambience at Justin and Jenny Green’s Georgian country house, filled with treasures passed down through generations, where produce from the kitchen garden and estate feature on the set dinner menu, and everything from bread and preserves to gin infusions is made in house.

Inspired by Spain's historic state-owned venues, this boutique hotel has a thrillingly authentic Andalusian vibe and uniquely styled bedrooms, with relaxed modern dining in Asador 44 restaurant, where meat and seafood are cooked over fire and breakfast brings sherry Welsh cakes and Santiago tart.

At the heart of some of Britain's best wine-growing country, and centred on a Georgian mansion, this Piggy has accommodation spread across the main house, stable buildings and wagons, with shabby-chic interiors inspired by a fictitious housewife named Mary, menus supplied by coast and countryside, kitchen garden and orchard, and its very own vineyard.

Beside the ferry landing, with views to Mull and Staffa, this family-run hotel and island social hub has smart, uncluttered bedrooms, and short menus of locally fished and farmed produce.

With its bright yellow front door and rhubarb-pink sitting room, this Georgian townhouse with cottages, restaurant in the adjacent ironmonger's and a courtyard garden masterminded by garden designer Penelope Hobhouse is both classic and chic.

With their background in TV and film, Sara Curran and Peter Sussman are experts in presentation. Since taking over in April 2022, they have hung artworks collected on their travels, refreshed the beautiful interiors, and added a Michelin-recommended brasserie to their 'exceptional hotel'.

Set on a 300-acre working farm, this legendary country-house hotel began life in 1964 as a restaurant run by farmer's wife Myrtle Allen, using produce from the farm and walled kitchen garden, and has grown into a thriving business, with cookery school, café and arts venue ,while keeping faith with its founding principles.

With treehouses, boathouses and shepherds' huts scattered around 70 acres of glorious grounds on the Consall Hall Estate, and delicious fine-dining cuisine in the double-height, glass-walled Plumicorn, this deconstructed, dog-friendly hotel is a haven for families, loved-up couples and the resident wildlife.

A New Forest bolthole, this country-house hotel has an easy glamour, romantic and family-friendly rooms, heart-warming Italian food and top-notch spa.

In an enchanting village, this coaching inn retains the ambience of a friendly local, with its beamed bar and real ales. But indulgent main-house bedrooms with private patio together with Michelin-starred chef James Mackenzie's spin on classic British dishes, lift it way above the ordinary.

A short stroll from the sands, behind a Georgian facade, the seventh Pig in the litter has dramatic medieval and Jacobean interiors, with bedrooms in the main house, the annexe and in garden wagons, and a restaurant making abundant use of local fish, shellfish and kitchen-garden produce.

Close to Stratford-upon-Avon, this gastropub has 16 attractive, generously equipped bedrooms in an annexe block, each with a Juliet balcony or patio. It serves sophisticated dishes alongside pub classics indoors and out.

Behind the solid exterior of an Edwardian park-side villa lies a Scandi-chic boutique hotel and popular drop-in restaurant.

Chef-proprietors Guy and Brittany Manning have brought skills honed at triple-Michelin-starred Per Se in Midtown Manhattan to this thatched gastropub on the edge of Salisbury Plain, with 'stupendous' food in the bar/restaurant and garden, and stylish guest bedrooms across the road, with decking from which to watch the ducks on the River Avon.

Birdwatchers and bon vivants 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.

Deep in Thomas Hardy country, this picture-perfect thatched cottage is a popular restaurant with rooms run with great charm by Ariane Jones and her husband, Jamie.

At the heart of Wordsworth country, this Victorian Gothic mansion in 43 acres is home to a cool, super-luxury hotel, where chef Paul Leonard draws inspiration from the Lakeland landscape to compose Michelin-starred menus using produce from the walled kitchen garden and Cumbria's abundant larder.

A 14th-century clergy house is home to this hotel, with bright, individually styled bedrooms, and a restaurant serving steaks and burgers as well as highly creative dishes, using locally sourced and home-grown produce.

An imposing presence on the old Great North Road, this creeper-covered coaching inn is a bit of old England, much loved for its timeless ambience, solidly traditional styling and retro classic dishes in the Oak Room, where a silver-domed carvery trolley still makes the rounds.

A short stroll from the sands, behind a Georgian facade, the seventh Pig in the litter has dramatic medieval and Jacobean interiors, with bedrooms in the main house, the annexe and in garden wagons, and a restaurant making abundant use of local fish, shellfish and kitchen-garden produce.

Close to Stratford-upon-Avon, this gastropub has 16 attractive, generously equipped bedrooms in an annexe block, each with a Juliet balcony or patio. It serves sophisticated dishes alongside pub classics indoors and out.

An iconic landmark on the harbour front, this bright-blue-painted former harbourmaster's house is home to a hotel with a great choice of individually styled bedrooms and an unpretentious restaurant, big on fish.

For more than 40 years, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at this beautiful country-house hotel 'and in our opinion, it's a travesty that he hasn't been awarded three', say Guide insiders.

Food is at the heart of this hotel, with bedrooms of great charm in an ancient farmhouse and its converted outbuildings, an on-site cookery school and farm-to-fork menus of exciting, locally sourced dishes.

Pigs have foraged in the New Forest since the Norman Conquest, but a different breed arrived in 2011, when Robin Hutson took on a Georgian hunting lodge and reinvented the English country-house hotel, with a shabby-chic style mixing designer wallpapers and boot-sale finds in characterful house rooms and hideaway suites. Seasonal menus feature produce from the bountiful kitchen garden.

Town meets gown at this splendid city hotel, a much-revamped 19th-century coaching inn, its interiors a joyous celebration of Cambridge, where a library holds works by past alumni, some of the smart suites overlook Parker's PIece, and the menu is a showcase for the best of British produce.

Set on a 300-acre working farm, this legendary country-house hotel began life in 1964 as a restaurant run by farmer's wife Myrtle Allen, using produce from the farm and walled kitchen garden, and has grown into a thriving business, with cookery school, café and arts venue ,while keeping faith with its founding principles.

In the vast, remote, elemental landscape of Assynt, this 19th-century coaching inn overlooking Loch Glendhu is today a dog-friendly modern hotel with simple, smart bedrooms, and magical vistas from the restaurant, where short menus showcase meat from local crofters and freshly landed seafood.

In an enchanting village, this coaching inn retains the ambience of a friendly local, with its beamed bar and real ales. But indulgent main-house bedrooms with private patio together with Michelin-starred chef James Mackenzie's spin on classic British dishes, lift it way above the ordinary.

A 14th-century clergy house is home to this hotel, with bright, individually styled bedrooms, and a restaurant serving steaks and burgers as well as highly creative dishes, using locally sourced and home-grown produce.

Guests have a wide choice of individually style rooms and suites at this dog-friendly, creeper-covered hotel on the edge of the New Forest, and can opt for fine dining in the restaurant, or cheaper fare in Monty's Bar pub.

The epitome of country-house luxury with gourmet dining, Tim and Stefa Hart's hotel stands on a peninsula, overlooking beautiful gardens and the shining expanse of Rutland Water.

The Michelin-starred cuisine at this thatched gastropub in quiet Harome is the draw, but the rooms are special too, as is the setting, close to the North York Moors for a day's walking.

Birdwatchers and bon vivants 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.

Centred on a Georgian farmhouse in Arts and Crafts ornamental gardens, with a spa, gym, cinema and contemporary bedrooms, this honeyed-stone luxury country-house hotel holds a Michelin star for Ricki Weston's inspired tasting menus in The Dining Room, while guests can dine more informally on small plates in Grey's, or from an all-day lounge menu.

Down a tree-lined drive, amid meadows and mature garden, this romantic and secluded Georgian country house has cosseting bedrooms with a modern touch, suites in cottage annexes, two with a glass-box lounge, and both a fine-dining restaurant and a brasserie.

In an enchanting village, this coaching inn retains the ambience of a friendly local, with its beamed bar and real ales. But indulgent main-house bedrooms with private patio together with Michelin-starred chef James Mackenzie's spin on classic British dishes, lift it way above the ordinary.