The fun begins in the sculpture-studded subtropical garden at this dog-friendly clifftop hotel, and runs through everything, from the ambience to the decor.

Thomas Hardy fans will be in their element at this local watering hole in Dorset, which was the model for 'The Sow and Acorn' in Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

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

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.

This gastropub-with-rooms is set in a beguilingly pretty 17th-century Bath stone inn with mullioned windows and cascading wisteria, and lovely gardens outside.

In 'the most idyllic location', cascading down the cliffs at St Mawes with views to St Anthony's lighthouse, Olga Polizzi's seaside hotel continues to delight readers. Once home to a yacht club, it is spread across a cluster of houses.

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

Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.

You can dine in style in the Grand Ballroom or hunker down in the cosy old Pilchard inn at this extraordinary Art Deco hotel on a tidal island just a sea tractor ride from the 21st century.

A 'laid-back, fire-in-the hearth, village pub atmosphere' prevails at this charming thatched gastropub with riverside guesthouse on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

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.

This beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion, in a hamlet between the Cotswolds and the Mendip hills, is as traditional as its owner, Baba Hine, who has been at the helm for more than 46 years.

A Saxon royal hunting lodge in the Gloucestershire countryside, rebuilt over centuries, is run today as a private hotel by 'lovely hosts' Christopher Trim and Kathryn Warner.

'Bags of character and a warm vibe' are on offer at this pub with rooms on an organic farm in a pretty l village on the Marlborough Downs.

Overlooking an iconic surfers' beach, this adults-only spa hotel has a wide choice of rooms from very affordable to luxurious with sea-view balcony.

Without and within, this dog-friendly, family-friendly, extended 19th-century pub is a mix of traditional and modern, with a relaxed vibe, varied menus and smart, unstuffy bedrooms.

Ideally situated beside Corsham Court at the heart of the village, this former coaching inn has smartly refurbished bedrooms, a friendly, casual ambience and a menu of pub classics and fancier dishes, using produce from the kitchen garden.

A hip, youthful vibe permeates this quirky hotel and local hangout above the harbour, with beach-shack chic bedrooms, café, cocktail bar and curated art collection.

In sub-tropical gardens with views over Lyme Bay, this family-run hotel offers a wide choice of accommodation, and imaginative, locally sourced food.

Down a single-track road on the edge of Dartmoor national park, this dog-friendly, ancient, thatched and whitewashed pub, with four individually designed bedrooms, is a local hub serving exceptional gastropub fare.

In a village close to Bath, one of England's oldest inns offers characterful rooms and above-average pub fare.

Serving cider since 1851, this honey-stone village pub has been attracting attention since a lockdown makeover by enthusiastic new owners. Contemporary-chic bedrooms have good fabrics, a Roberts radio, 100 Acres toiletries, views over gently rolling countryside.

In wooded grounds with Dartmoor National Park on the doorstep, the Hassell family's country-house hotel and beautiful spa impresses with a warm welcome, great service, fine-dining restaurant and bistro.

A Georgian manor house above Chesil Beach, this is a dog- and people-friendly hotel designed for holidays and fun, catering to everyone from tinies to grown-ups with sophisticated tastes.

Koos Bekker and Karen Roos have brought to Somerset the vision behind their hotel on a Dutch Cape wine estate, creating an idyll around Palladian Hadspen manor house, with farm-to-fork dining, dreamy spa, unique rooms in converted outbuildings, beautiful gardens – and a Roman villa as well as two interactive museums.

Our inspectors enjoyed their stay at Alex Morbey's honeyed-stone gastropub with thoughtfully designed rooms and excellent cooking in the busy restaurant.

In a small village on the Duchy of Somerset's estate, the Victorian Somerset Arms was relaunched in 2021 as an idealised rustic-chic country pub.

The bright and breezy restaurant, terrace and many of the New England-style bedrooms overlook South Sands beach at this contemporary hotel, where you can bring your dog, dine alfresco on Fowey mussels or crab linguine, and sleep within sight and sound of the waves.

Avowedly family-friendly and fun yet stylish, this hotel with spa occupies a Baroque Victorian mansion in five acres above the Fowey estuary.

The Gloriana of Robin Hutson's Pig hotel collection (see other entries), this Grade I-listed Elizabethan beauty stands in 'wonderful grounds in a special location' in the peaceful Otter valley.