It’s always a wonderful thing to discover a wonderful new hotel, and this year our editors have been hard at work, scouring the country for hidden jewels. From country inns to Georgian manors, each of these hotels has something unique to offer, be it all fresh local ingredients in the restaurant, a warm friendly environment, or spectacular design and attention to detail. These are the Good Hotel Guide’s top 10 hotel discoveries this year.
2020 Discoveries
Editor’s Choice Hotel Discoveries
The Devonshire Arms - Four Nights for the Price of Three Autumn Escape Special Offer
Skipton
Works of art from the collection at Chatsworth hang on the walls of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire’s Dales country house hotel, which joins sister property The Cavendish in the Guide, with special praise from our inspector for the chef and sommelier.
The Great House
Lavenham
Plus ça change. . . New proprietor Dominique Tropeano has retained the cherished French ambience created by former owners the Crépys. Behind its Georgian facade this ancient, timber- framed building lives on as a fine restaurant-with-rooms.
The Coach House
Brecon
With Georgian elegance, modern comforts, plus pikelets and rarebits for breakfast, Kayt and Hugh
Cooper’s Georgian coach house turned contemporary town house B&B ticks all the boxes for trusted readers. A Brecon beacon of warm hospitality.
Cooper’s Georgian coach house turned contemporary town house B&B ticks all the boxes for trusted readers. A Brecon beacon of warm hospitality.
The Ship Inn
Elie
Rachel and Graham Bucknall continue to innovate at this seaside pub with its own beach cricket team, promoted to a full entry after our inspectors pronounced it a corker. A new sea-view private dining room doubles as a pavilion.
The Pig at Bridge Place
Canterbury
A Jacobean manor house has become the latest in the Pig family. Every part of this Piggy was quite all right with our inspectors, from the shabby chic aesthetic to the kitchen-garden menus. We’re fans of the Pig brand. Honk if you support us.
23 Mayfield
Edinburgh
A rave report from an inspector for Ross Burnie’s family-run B&B gains it full Guide status. From rosemary water and home-made fudge in the bedroom to a candlelit breakfast, everything at this Victorian merchant’s house is splendid.
The St Tudy Inn
Bodmin
Wine producer Mark Hellyar and chef/ director Emily Scott have created a smart but approachable pub-with-rooms in a picture-postcard village. Bedrooms are painted in those dreamy soft greys that Farrow & Ball calls white. Ms Scott cooks with flair and imagination.
The Duncombe Arms
Ashbourne
A heartening tale of a village inn saved from ruin by locals. . . Johnny and Laura Greenall have done a bang-up job, transforming a Victorian boozer into a stylish pub with annexe rooms and first- rate cooking, earning the nod from our inspectors.
The Lord Poulett Arms
Hinton St George
West Country fixtures The Beckford Arms and The Talbot have a new sister here, a historic thatched village pub with stylish bedrooms, high-class cooking, lovely courtyard gardens, and – such novelty! – a Basque pelota wall and a pétanque piste.
From £65 per night
The Old Manor House
Shipston-on-Stour
Serendipity led trusted readers to Jane and William Pusey’s 16th-century manor house B&B. They found a winning combination of attention to detail, a perfect balance of historic character and modern convenience, and a friendly ambience.
2019 Discoveries
Editor’s Choice Hotel Discoveries
Blue Hayes
St Ives
Unabashedly luxurious, this 1920s retreat on the hill above Porthminster Beach impressed our inspector in every detail, from the hospitality tray’s fresh milk
and bone china teapot, to the chef’s way with local seafood, to breakfast’s devilled kidneys.
and bone china teapot, to the chef’s way with local seafood, to breakfast’s devilled kidneys.
The Punch Bowl Inn
Kendal
Rooms at this popular gastropub in a pretty Lakeland village are named after past vicars of the adjacent church. The young chef works with Cumbrian produce to create dishes that pack a punch. Comfy sofas, a log burner, beamed ceilings, bags of atmosphere.
The Gunton Arms
Thorpe Market
Damien Hirst in the ladies’ loo, David Bailey in the gents’, a deer park strewn with sculptures… This pub delights art-lovers and novelty-seekers. Under the dining room’s arched wooden ceiling, an open fire serves for grilling and smoking.
Summer Lodge
Evershot
Thomas Hardy, with his architect’s hat on, had a hand in extending this former dower house, today an exceptionally well-run hotel. Rooms have such pleasing touches as fresh flowers, fruit and shortbread. There is high-quality cooking, too.
From £60 per night
The Wellington Arms
Baughurst
A former hunting lodge today delights as a comfy country pub. Bedrooms have espresso machine and minibar. There are
honey bees, laying hens, home-grown and local produce – and Wellington teapots with a knitted cosy to buy as a souvenir.
honey bees, laying hens, home-grown and local produce – and Wellington teapots with a knitted cosy to buy as a souvenir.
Twr y Felin Hotel
St Davids
A former temperance hotel built around a working windmill has been transformed, at vast expense, into ‘Wales’s first contemporary art hotel’. A showcase for local, seasonal Welsh produce and for over 100 pieces of specially commissioned art.
Bayards Cove Inn
Dartmouth
There is a warm welcome at this former merchant’s house turned pub-with- rooms, behind a half-timbered facade, near the waterfront. Winding stairs lead to bedrooms with low, beamed ceilings. Inspectors enjoyed local crab in a lovely, pub atmosphere.
The Elms
Worcester
The name scarcely does justice to this gracious Queen Anne mansion turned luxury hotel and spa in landscaped grounds. Under new ownership, it impressed Guide inspectors from the moment they stepped into the stunning hallway.
The Raeburn
Edinburgh
Boutique rooms with rainforest shower and perhaps a roll-top bath, a library, bar, brasserie and terrace, friendly staff and Georgian elegance all come together as one harmonious whole at this family-run hotel just a 15-minute stroll from the city centre.
Brooks Country House
Ross-on-Wye
The creative owners have made over Georgian Pengethley Manor, with a beguiling mix of grandeur and fun. It stands in parkland complete with vineyard. Choose a house room or a horsebox – and get the nosebag on for hearty Herefordshire fare.
2018 Discoveries
Editor’s Choice Hotel Discoveries
The Pig at Combe
Honiton
The Gloriana of Robin Hutson’s Pig hotel collection (see index), this Grade I listed Elizabethan beauty stands in 'wonderful grounds in a special location' in the peaceful Otter valley.
The Crab & Lobster
Sidlesham
Overlooking the reed beds and salt marsh of Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve, this ‘lovely little pub’ is not a local boozer but a very good restaurant-with-rooms.
Coes Faen
Barmouth
On the edge of Snowdonia, with 30 acres of gardens overlooking the Mawddach estuary, lies one of the most innovative, eco-friendly hotels in the UK.
The Inn at Loch Tummel
Pitlochry
Spectacular views across Loch Tummel to the iconic peak of Schiehallion can be seen from this ‘characterful and quirky old coaching inn’ ten miles from Pitlochry in Perthshire’s big-tree country.
Shieldaig Lodge
Gairloch
Field-sports fans and whisky aficionados beat a path to this Victorian hunting lodge, in a ‘glorious location’ on a vast wooded estate by Loch Gairloch.
No.15 by GuestHouse
Bath
The three Guest brothers made their first bold foray into hospitality with this boutique hotel and spa occupying three Grade I listed town houses on a splendid Georgian terrace.
Sign of the Angel
Lacock
Think of a quintessential English coaching inn – half-timbered facade, big stone fireplaces, low-beamed rooms, leaded windows, panelled walls, wonky floors – and you could be describing this 15th Century village inn.
Llanthony Priory Hotel
Abergavenny
Peace, stillness and surroundings removed from the buzzing demands of the modern world are guaranteed at this hotel huddled under the Welsh Black mountains.
The Pipe and Glass Inn
South Dalton
In an enchantingly lovely village, this classic coaching inn continues to impress guests with Michelin-starred food, traditional pub features and indulgent bedrooms.
Restaurant James Sommerin
Penarth
There are great views over the esplanade to the Bristol Channel and the Art Deco pier pavilion from Louise and James Sommerin’s Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms.
2017 Discoveries
Editor’s Choice Hotel Discoveries
The Dial House - 'Free Bottle of Fizz' September Special Offer
Norwich
Highly idiosyncratic and seriously fun, Hannah Springham and Andrew Jones’s hotel features bedrooms themed on the Georgian Grand Tour and Victorian global gallivanting.
The Gallivant
The name says it all: a place to skip along Camber Sands, enjoy backgammon in the bar, chill in the garden or relax with yoga – and with no children to disturb the peace.
Goldstone Hall
Market Drayton
Everything in the garden is lovely at John and Sue Cushing’s red brick Georgian manor house hotel in dairy-farming country five miles outside Market Drayton.
Chapel House
Penzance
There is a friendly, open-house ambience at Susan Stuart’s beautiful B&B with views over the harbour and Mount’s Bay: drop into the kitchen at any time for coffee, cake and a chat.
Penally Abbey
Tenby
You would need a heart of stone not to be charmed by the creeper-covered facade of this Strawberry Hill Gothic house, with its pretty ogee windows, decorative eaves and hilltop position above gardens tumbling to the sea.
The Red Lion
Somerton
There's bags of olde worlde character in Clare and Charlie Garrard's thatched gastropub, with flagstone floors and exposed beams and plenty of cosy corners and crannies.
The Devonshire Arms
Langport
Behind a handsome 18th-century blue-lias-stone facade, a former village inn overlooking the green is these days a contemporary drop-in bar and restaurant-with-rooms.
The Plough
Kelmscott
In ‘a gorgeous village hidden away on the banks of the Thames’, this 17th-century inn is owned by Sebastian and Lana Snow, who also have the Five Alls, a stroll along the Thames Path at Lechlade (Shortlist).
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.
The Inn at West End
WEST END
Closed down because of ill health at end of September 2018. Gerry and Ann Price ‘set the standard’ at their ‘well-run’ pub/restaurant-with-rooms, where the ‘hands-on owners’ foster a hub-of-the-village atmosphere. Closed down because of ill health at end of September 2018.
2016 Discoveries
Editor’s Choice Hotel Discoveries
Knockendarroch Hotel - Book 2 nights and get a 3rd half price Special Offer
Pitlochry
On the leafy edge of Pitlochry, with views to the Perthshire hills, Struan and Louise Lothian’s hotel has the feel of a Victorian country house in town.
Newbegin House
Beverley
It is a rare treat to stay in a fine Georgian town house that is still very much a family home, with personal photographs and heirlooms complementing the handsome original features.
The Seaside Boarding House
Burton Bradstock
A playful mix of Edward Hopper’s Cape Cod and Edwardian seaside hotel, this white-painted villa above Chesil Beach has an easy-going stylishness, conducive to fun.
Old Downton Lodge
Ludlow
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.
The Bridge Inn at Ratho
Ratho
Expect a ‘cheerful welcome’ at this gastropub-with-rooms, which stands by a bridge over the Union Canal in a conservation village.
The Carpenters Arms
Thirsk
Overlooking the Vale of York, this deceptively large village inn blends traditional pub features with Scandi-style bedrooms, and classy food with a range of good ales.
Eckington Manor
Eckington
A cavorting Pan with an overflowing cornucopia promises all manner of good things at Judy Gardner’s restaurant-with-rooms and cookery school in 60 acres of water-meadow pasture.
St Mary’s Inn
Morpeth
‘Friendly, attentive’ staff encourage a ‘jovial, relaxed’ feel at this updated pub-with-rooms, in a ‘cleverly renovated’ former hospital building.