‘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’.

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

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.

‘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.

‘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.

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.

‘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’.

‘Such a relaxed, friendly place’, Sue Burdge’s thatch-roofed pub-with-rooms, in an ‘attractive village’, is believed to be the oldest inn in the county, with a medieval mural and mullioned window to show for it.

‘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.

Narrow country lanes lead to the D’Allen family’s hotel in sub-tropical gardens overlooking Lyme Bay.

In a village on the Jurassic coast, step through the ivy-wrapped threshold of this 14th-century former cider house and into a popular pub-with-rooms.

Overlooking the bay, this large, traditional hotel is ‘old-fashioned in the best sense of the word’.

‘Warm and familiar’, this country hotel, in ‘a chocolate-box-perfect part of Exmoor’, has been refurbished in a ‘luxurious, contemporary’ style by its owner, Claire Carter.

A characterful 17th-century longhouse in the Devonshire countryside is home to Julia and Martin Blundell’s tranquil B&B.