A popular wedding venue, this Georgian former rectory with the ambience of a small country-house hotel scored highly with Guide inspectors for the superb cooking: a place worth visiting for the restaurant alone.

Named in honour of Shrewsbury's famous son, this Grade II* listed Sandford House, moments from the Severn towpath, has evolved into a B&B full of Darwin references, with animal and plant wallpapers, maps and natural history objets.

There is great food and serious fun to be had at this clifftop hotel on the South West Coast Path, its interiors filled with whimsical touches, its bedrooms all unique, its subtropical gardens a wonderland of witty sculptures.

You don't have to blow a fortune to stay at this relaxed yet refined hotel in some converted barns, the former home of Langham Glass, and featuring many charming nods to its heritage.

A fourth venture for Justin and Charlotte Salisbury, this 16th-century beamed farmhouse-cum-local, a former haunt of Dylan Thomas's, has a range of highly individual rooms, mostly in outbuilding with outdoor seating, as well as larky modern art, upcycled, recycled and vintage furniture, a restaurant and bar serving pub food with a difference.

Refreshingly different from some more traditional Lake District offerings, this contemporary hotel is in a beautiful setting overlooking Grasmere.

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.

Modern mixes with medieval on the ramparts of what remains of Nottingham Castle, with this sleek hotel the perfect place to escape the bustling city.

In a hamlet just 25 minutes from Bath, 'the Carps' is a 'very nice country pub' offering 'very good' food, and oodles of atmosphere in the stone-walled, beamed bar, with fire and log-burner.

Country-house luxury abounds at this child-friendly, dog-friendly hotel, a Georgian mansion in ‘well-maintained gardens a huge joy to visit’.

Everything is peachy at this apricot-hued Georgian country house in the Vale of Belvoir, at the end of a long avenue of lime trees, transformed from a family home into a delightful, idiosyncratic and much-loved hotel.

'Hotel settings don't get much more spectacular than the Polurrian's, on the cliff edge overlooking its own beach,' writes a guide insider. The relaxed family and dog-friendly hotel makes the most of the coastal views.

A lovely, wisteria-swagged, 17th-century Bath stone inn, this is a gastropub with a wide choice of characterful rooms, a serious attitude to food, regular comedy nights and an irrepressible sense of fun.

Lakeland luxury at its finest comes courtesy of Gilpin, with its Michelin-starred dining, private hot tubs in the majority of its indulgent rooms and attentive staff. Its flagship rooms are extravagantly large glass-cube spa suites that extend over a pond and offer private garden, spa room and circular bath.

The Buchanan family's 16th-century coaching inn offers a warm Yorkshire mix of traditional pub, smart food and modern bedrooms with character. Overlooking the market square, it's a popular locals' spot both for the ales in the fire-warmed bar and snug and the accomplished cooking.

Big picture windows frame views of the Dart at this cool, contemporary hotel with a leisure vibe, uncluttered chic bedrooms, relaxed bistro dining in the riverside restaurant and alfresco.

Leave the fuss and fret of the AI(M) at Scotch Corner to reconnect with the land at this idyllic hotel, centred on a Georgian coach house amid gardens, parkland and woodland.

Bring the dog, bring the kids, revel in the gorgeous scenery and the great outdoors at this ‘lifestyle hotel’ with private shorefront on Ullswater and plenty of activities on offer. It's the old, staid Rampsbeck Hotel reinvented (out with the chintz and swags, on with the wetsuits or hiking boots!)

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.

In the Debatable Lands, just south of the Scottish border, Gerald and Margo Smith's stylish, Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms scored very highly with a trusted Guide reader – and no debate about that!

Life is attuned to nature at this country-house hotel in a Georgian mansion on a working estate. with walled garden, biodynamic farm, luxury spa, and two restaurants that celebrate seasonality and provenance.

An Edwardian homage to 17th-century style, this beautiful manor house with rich Jacobean-inspired interiors is run as a luxury hotel with fine-dining restaurant where you can enjoy a 'truly memorable meal'.

Roses festoon this family and dog-friendly 17th-century pub with rooms, in a thriving village close to the RSPB's Snettisham Nature Reserve.

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.

Much loved by readers, this hotel, restaurant and social hub beside the Great Ouse offers a wide choice of rooms, an all-day lounge and bar menu, sophisticated cooking in the large, attractive dining room.

From bread to truffles, they cook as much as possible on site in this 'very cosy and friendly hotel', in the rolling South Hams countryside between wild Dartmoor and the sandy beaches of Bigbury Bay.

A Regency beauty with spectacular views from the balconies, this stylish, dog-friendly country-house hotel has a relaxed vibe, beautifully designed bedrooms, and a fine-dining restaurant.

In the heart of the Gloucestershire countryside, this one-time Saxon hunting lodge, rebuilt over centuries and rich in Tudor detail, is an intimate B&B, with large and characterful bedrooms, welcoming hosts, and a Cordon Bleu dinner cooked by arrangement on Fridays and Saturdays.