'In its glory, in the very beautiful Otter valley', this Elizabethan manor house is the fifth member of Robin Hutson’s Pig family.

Perfect peace reigns at this friendly hotel in at the end of a quarter-mile drive, in a densely wooded river valley at the western edge of Exmoor national park.

A ‘time capsule of ancient England’, Sue Burdge’s venerable former dwelling house has been the village pub and hub since 1837.

‘We did 14 miles over the moor today and are now pleasantly weary. It is a great place, very sad and wild,’ reads a letter – not from a Guide reader, but from Arthur Conan Doyle, said to have been inspired to write The Hound of the Baskervilles while staying at this 18th-century manor house.

‘To call it a hotel is to miss the point.’ In a peaceful valley, Richard Johnston’s quirky B&B is ‘a blend of rural escape and aristocratic eccentricity'.

A consortium headed by Office Space in Town has just acquired hotel space in Devon. This gleaming white Art Deco hotel on a tidal island, sold by its former owners after 17 years, is undergoing a multi-million-pound make-over,

‘It’s clear why so many guests return again and again.’ Huw Rees and Sam Prosser’s converted Georgian rectory, in large, well-maintained grounds, ‘is a haven of rural peace within easy reach of Exmoor and the sea’.

‘Old-fashioned in style and lovely for it.’ Returning guests this year were pleased to discover that Peter Wharton’s ‘splendid’ hotel overlooking Lyme Bay ‘sails gracefully on, without feeling the need to change things for the sake of change’.

A trug of sparkling wine, organic home-made fudge, fresh fruit and flowers awaits guests at the ‘lovely’ Maureen Rowlatt’s rather special B&B by a stream, in a private valley on the edge of Dartmoor.

‘As superb and lovely as ever,’ Martyn Scarterfield and Petra Lampe’s Edwardian holiday cottage turned guest house is ‘a home-away-from-home’ for many devoted returning visitors.

Deep in the Taw valley, Jean-Pierre Mifsud’s wisteria-hung 18th-century manor house is a characterful ‘high standard’ hideaway, surrounded by orchards and woodlands.

‘Completely wonderful in every way.’ ‘One of our absolute favourites.’ Readers give the thumbs-up to Richard Seton’s spa hotel overlooking the River Dart.

A Regency cottage-orné, built by Jeffry Wyatville as a fishing lodge for Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford, is run today in characteristic relaxed-chic style by Olga Polizzi (see also Tresanton, St Mawes).

In the rolling South Hams countryside, Richard Hendey’s Georgian rectory turned small hotel is ‘a delightful place to stay, peaceful and friendly’. Interiors are smart and contemporary.

On the edge of Dartmoor National Park, with views to granite Haytor, the Hassell family’s hotel is ‘a little off the beaten tracks – but worth finding’.

At the end of a ‘precipitous, twisty descent’, ‘courageous’ visitors are rewarded with ‘unrestricted views and a genuine, good-humoured welcome’ at Lana de Savary’s ‘fabulously secluded’ cliff-face hotel.

Minutes from the cathedral quarter, Deborah Clark and Anthony Orchard combine heritage and urban cool at their luxury town house hotel.

In an ‘absolutely beautiful position’ overlooking Start Bay, Rachel and Nigel Heath’s 19th-century village fisherman’s inn is ‘a relaxing place to stay’, writes a trusted reader this year.

In the former brew house, Bertie and Bryony Hancock’s sophisticated B&B is surrounded by the National Trust’s Buckland Abbey estate.

Michael Caines’s ‘beautifully restored’ Georgian manor house stands in parkland beside the luminous Exe estuary.

Close to the beach, Phil Harnett and Vicki Osborne’s recently refurbished B&B makes a tranquil ‘home from home’.

‘Tucked away at the end of the main street of this idyllic town, seconds from the water’s edge’, Charles Deuchar’s pub-with-rooms is a medieval merchant's house in a 17th-century shell.

For 120 years the Grose family have looked after this family-friendly’ hotel approached by lanes ‘resplendent with wild flowers’.

The Far East meets the South West at Stuart Litster and Kevin Hooper’s inviting B&B in a South Hams coastal village.