The Good Hotel Guide is the leading independent guide to hotels in Great Britain & Ireland, and also covers parts of Continental Europe. The Guide was first published in 1978. It is written for the reader seeking impartial advice on finding a good place to stay. Hotels cannot buy their way into the Guide. The editors and inspectors do not accept free hospitality on their anonymous visits to hotels. All hotels in the Guide receive a free basic listing. A fee is charged for a full web entry.
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Hotels in Essex
One of the largest counties of England, many people dismiss it as commuter country. But it is full of history, and it makes a good base to explore Constable country (he was born near here).
Maison Talbooth, Dedham
Featured Hotels with Special Offers
The Sun Inn
Colchester, Essex
Complimentary Dinner Special Offer
A landmark on Dedham's picturesque High Street, looking onto St Mary's Church, Piers Baker's medieval coaching inn impressed our inspectors with a comfortable bedroom 'overflowing with character', swift and personable service, and expert cooking of elevated pub food, especially seafood.
The White Hart Inn
Colchester, Essex
Complimentary Dinner Special Offer
Cross the causeway to an island renowned for its seafood and tuck into some of its best at this 'lovely dog friendly foodie retreat', left empty and derelict from 2013 until Piers Baker stepped in to revamp it in 2021.
More Hotels in Essex
Dedham Hall
Colchester, Essex
In deepest Constable country, Wendy and Jim Sarton's characterful timber-frame manor house specialises in residential art courses; there is a large studio in the ground for workshops from tutors in various mediums. But even if you're not interested in taking a course, it's a great place for an 'extremely relaxing weekend'.
Roslin Beach Hotel
Southend, Essex
Popular with locals, this lively hotel overlooking Thorpe Bay has a range of smart, affordable bedrooms, some with a balcony, alfresco dining within sound of the waves, and locally sourced dishes in the well-regarded restaurant.
Talbooth House & Spa
Dedham, Essex
With quirky, stylish bedrooms, spa, tennis court and outdoor pool, the Milsom family's country house in the heart of Constable country is a perfect place to relax and recharge. Guests have a choice of brasserie-style menus at nearby sister hotel Milsoms, and fine dining at the legendary Talbooth Restaurant, in a Tudor building right by the River Stour.
Hedingham Castle
Essex
With just one guest bedroom – or Royal Chamber – at the top of a Norman castle keep, this is surely the most romantic B&B in the Guide, and a memorable wedding-night retreat, with fine-dining available in the Banqueting Hall.
The Pier at Harwich
Harwich, Essex
The views from this quayside Victorian hotel overlooking the Stour and Orwell estuaries are ocean-going and full of action, while the industrial-chic ground-floor bar is the place for small plates, ales and interesting gins, the first-floor brasserie for fish and shellfish landed almost on the doorstep, the comfy bedrooms for a great night's sleep.
One of the largest counties of England, many people dismiss it as commuter country. But it is full of history, and it makes a good base to explore Constable country (he was born near here). More on Essex Dedham Vale, in the Stour valley on the Suffolk border, was made famous by his paintings and is an area of outstanding natural beauty. You can visit the site of Flatford Mill and see some of his work in Bridge Cottage. Dedham has a lovely old church. The Good Hotel Guide has some hotels set right in Constable scenery plus others in coastal and village locations. Colchester, Britain's oldest town (it was the Romans' first capital in England) has associations with Boudicca, and a Norman castle. Twelve miles away is St Osyth Priory on the Tendring Peninsula: an attractive collection of old buildings, it houses paintings from Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum.Coggeshall is a lovely village with many 16th- and 17th-century houses and a square dominated by a Victorian clocktower. Thaxted, where Gustav Holst once lived, has a fine half-timbered guildhall. Saffron Walden, too, has many fine old buildings including a restored windmill. Nearby Audley End, a grand Jacobean mansion once owned by Charles II, stands in magnificent grounds designed by Capability Brown. Harwich, an ancient port, is now best known now as a ferry port but its old town is worth exploring. Essex's seaside resorts include Southend-on-Sea , Clacton-on-Sea, Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze.
