The red kites that soar above the Cothi valley have a bird’s-eye view of Brechfa Forest – perfect for hiking and biking – and of this rustic 16th-century country house hotel on its margin, with the River Marlais running by.

It would be easy to miss Chris and Kirsty Harrod’s Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms, tucked away above a single-track road in a Wye valley hamlet – but miss it and you’d miss out.

On the banks of the River Monnow lies this characterful boutique retreat fashioned from a 300-year-old coaching inn, all flagstone floors and beams.

‘Wow! This is the most wonderful country house,’ writes a reader.

Near the edge of town, a walk from the beach, this 19th-century town house is a popular restaurant with smart contemporary rooms – and a rather chic yurt.

Sweeping views across the Teifi valley are just one reason why this Grade II listed Italianate villa is a popular choice for weddings.

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.

In a woodland garden that stretches to the River Dee, this historic Victorian manor is today a sumptuous hotel rich in antiques and fine original features.

On the promenade, this small, family-owned hotel is furnished with ‘impressive grandeur’, from the ‘splendid’ public rooms, all oil paintings and gilded mirrors, to the sea-facing suites on its upper floors.

The panoramic views of Saundersfoot harbour and the coastline from this modern hotel above Carmarthen Bay are ‘exceptional’ – and the inward calm that washes over guests in the award-winning spa isn’t bad, either.

Well placed for walks in countryside and along the coast, this Elwy valley inn (Tir Prince group) stands around the corner from the parish church, in a small village surrounded by green fields.

The views roll out over the Vale of Edeyrnion to the Berwyn mountains, and provide a backdrop for the ‘superb’ food served in this restaurant-with-rooms.

Mock Tudor meets the Tyrol with a colonial twist at Jean-Pierre Mifsud’s former hunting and fishing lodge in wooded grounds overlooking a trout lake, with 9-hole golf course, and the River Irfon running through.

Expect art and architecture at this ‘really grand’ Jacobean mansion set in gardens and parkland in the Wye valley, with views to the Black mountains.

Amid the architectural astonishment that is Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis’s Italianate village, on the edge of a tidal estuary, this early Victorian villa is today a ‘comfortably furnished’ hotel run with ‘friendly, welcoming’ staff.

The friendly owners ‘go the extra mile’ at this well-restored Pembrokeshire longhouse, a short drive from a pleasant market town.

Coastal walks, sunset dinners and fireside chess are all within reach at Meg and Jaap van Soest’s modern B&B, in a hill-top Edwardian vicarage that has peered over the village for well over a century.