‘There is much to like and laugh about’ at this utterly transformed Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, in a ‘glorious setting’ in the Otter valley.

In a valley on the north Exmoor coast, Mark and Pat Cowell’s ‘friendly, unpretentious' hotel stands at the end of a long private drive ‘close to wonderful walks and fabulous scenery’.

Pile in for the jolly quiz night, or sample one of the whiskies from an astonishing collection at Sue Burdge’s 17th-century dwelling house–turned–lively village pub-with-rooms.

‘In an utterly peaceful valley, Richard Johnston’s quirky B&B is a cross between a 1930s rural escape and an eccentric aristocrat’s home, with a bit of adventure at every turn, and lots to keep you entertained.’

‘A place to dress up, to dream, to luxuriate’, this ‘one-of-a-kind hotel’ on a tidal island charms Guide readers with its ‘magical setting’ off the south Devon coast.

In ‘what must be one of the most tranquil places in the country’, Huw Rees and Sam Prosser run their ‘splendid’ hotel, a handsomely converted Georgian rectory in large, well-maintained grounds.

Old-school service and attention to detail come to the fore at this ‘splendid place’ overlooking Lyme Bay.

‘Bridlepath,’ cautions the sign, ‘no vehicular access.’ Press on regardless to reach Maureen Rowlatt’s arcadian B&B in gardens and woodland on the edge of Dartmoor.

‘We cannot fault The Henley – it is one of the best traditions of our lives,’ write regular visitors to Martyn Scarterfield and Petra Lampe’s Edwardian holiday cottage, from which a cliff path leads to the beach.

In springtime, wisteria festoons Jean-Pierre Mifsud’s 18th-century manor house, an ‘oasis of tranquillity’ set amid orchards and woodlands in the Taw valley.

‘Crumbly scones’ make this chic, river-facing hotel ‘probably the best tea place in town’, but there’s much more for its fans to enjoy: ‘A lovely setting, good food and well-appointed accommodation’.

Olga Polizzi’s countryside retreat, at its origin a Regency fishing lodge created for the Duchess of Bedford, is today an ‘unpretentious, wholly enjoyable’ hotel ‘decorated with charm and taste’.

‘No airs and graces here’: guests enjoy the ‘friendly informality’, ‘care and concern’ and ready supply of leaf teas (‘oh, joy!’) at Richard Hendey’s small hotel, in a restored Georgian rectory between Dartmoor and the Devon coast.

‘It’s a pleasure to stay here.’ In a ‘beautiful location with stunning views of Hay Tor and Dartmoor’, the Hassell family’s ‘delightful’ hotel has ‘a lot going for it’: ‘friendly, helpful and efficient staff’; ‘good-quality food’; the ‘quiet surroundings’.

‘The Grose family maintains its excellent tradition’ of providing first-class hospitality near the rugged Devon coastline, where consecutive generations have run the family-friendly hotel for more than 120 years.

In a village on the South West Coast Path, Stuart Litster and Kevin Hooper run their modern B&B in a 16th-century manor house, with a welcome slice of home-made cake at the ready.

‘Personable hosts’ Andy and Julian Banner-Price run their award-winning B&B in a zestfully refurbished, ‘meticulously maintained’ Edwardian villa.'

‘All rather fun’, Fran and Pieter Hamman’s 19th-century manor house on the edge of Dartmoor national park teems with curiosities and vintage pieces.

In acres of mature woodland, Tony Pithers and Gordon Craig’s uber-modern home (one of five ‘butterfly’ houses in Devon) is all curving stairways, unexpected angles and walls of glass.

Well placed for walkers on the South West Coast Path, this 19th-century fisherman’s inn faces the beach on Start Bay.

‘As delightful as ever’, reports a trusted Guide correspondent in 2017, of Adam Fox-Edwards’s former coaching inn–turned–sporting hotel near Dartmoor.

‘We will return,’ vowed regular Guide correspondents after a stay at Chris Daly’s 18th-century manor at the heart of Dartmoor – and so they have, to find it, in 2017, as ‘friendly and laid-back’ as ever.

Rock-solid traditional values win praise for the Graves family’s late Georgian village inn, at the centre of a terrace of cottages on the edge of Dartmoor.

Wake to birdsong at this mellow stone building in secluded gardens – Bertie and Bryony Hancock’s sophisticated B&B is surrounded by the National Trust’s Buckland Abbey estate, and the 700 acres of grounds that come with it.