Steeped in romance, this Elizabethan manor-house hotel is a place of contrasts, blending history with modern amenities, from the Great Hall lounge and four-poster bedrooms, to Scandi-style wellness rooms with outdoor hot tub, a state-of-the art spa, a Michelin-starred restaurant and more informal brasserie.

In the grounds of Buckland Abbey, the former brew house is now a B&B with four country-chic bedrooms, while breakfast eggs are from the hens in the abbey kitchen garden.

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.

An elegant stucco-fronted townhouse, Brad and Gill Walker's B&B offers super-stylish and well-appointed bedrooms and a continental breakfast, with park, tennis and leisure pool just across the road.

The individually styled rooms are very appealing, but it is the food, both for vegans and omnivores, that really sets this gastropub apart.

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.

The 'amazing views' over Bigbury-on-Sea's sands towards Burgh Island are what first impress about this former Edwardian holiday home, but guests also appreciate the 'wonderful welcome, comfortable, characterful bedrooms, and accomplished cooking' at The Henley.

In 19 acres of sub-tropical gardens, this family-owned and family-friendly spa hotel is a happy marriage of the traditional and informal, with on-site golf, tennis and croquet, well-equipped rooms, a fine dining sea-view restaurant with a wall of windows, and the 16th-century Village Inn serving a gastropub menu.

It's proudly traditional, a bit dated but the sea views, the service, the old-school customer care, and unpretentious food, beautifully done, makes this hotel a joy, says our inspector.

Olga Polizzi's beautifully styled Georgian fishing lodge, built for the Duke of Bedford and scandalous Duchess Georgiana, stands in a picturesque designed landscape with the River Tamar running through.