Following a stunning redesign, this family-friendly, luxury New Forest hotel and spa continues to set the standard for country-house comfort, romance, fun and superb food.

For more than 40 years, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at this beautiful country-house hotel 'and in our opinion, it's a travesty that he hasn't been awarded three', say Guide insiders.

A fourth venture for Justin and Charlotte Salisbury, this 16th-century beamed farmhouse-cum-local, a former haunt of Dylan Thomas's, has a range of highly individual rooms, mostly in outbuilding with outdoor seating, as well as larky modern art, upcycled, recycled and vintage furniture, a restaurant and bar serving pub food with a difference.

Amid 1,000 acres of historically important gardens, pleasure grounds and woodland, this romantic Elizabethan manor house, built by an ironmaster for his bride, forms an impressive backdrop for Michelin-starred cuisine.

Free-roaming ponies and donkeys wander past the garden gates of this Arts and Crafts-style single-storey house in the magical surroundings of the New Forest.

A fine base for exploring the Chilterns, this urbane hotel is just outside a picturesque riverside village near historic houses and vineyards.

So handy for Windsor Castle and Great Park, this is a friendly, affordable independent hotel with relaxed dining in restaurant and bar.

An ideal base from which to visit Highclere (aka Downton Abbey) or to spend a day at the races, this dog-friendly, equestrian-themed gastropub has bedrooms in former outbuildings, including the old stables, a wide-ranging menu of pub classics, grills, and imaginative small and large plates.

'A really nice place to stay, in a lovely quiet village setting,' this beautifully renovated 17th-century thatched inn lives anew as a local pub with rooms. Manager Claire Lenkowiec and chef Valerio Grimaldi-Plant run the show for the owners and, by George, they get it right!

In rose-filled gardens approached by a bridge across a stream, the Wild family's hotel, converted from three 17th-century cottages a stroll from its own quayside, has well-equipped, country-classic bedrooms, and both formal and informal dining in restaurant and brasserie.

Babe of the litter, this little piggy occupies a crenellated Georgian house and former pub built into the medieval city wall, with an artful granny's attic aesthetic, just a dozen bedrooms, and a deli using produce from the kitchen garden at the mother Pig at Brockenhurst in the New Forest.

The launch venture of Hector Ross's Signet Collection, this Georgian inn with riverside terraces, across the road from Hampton Court, has beautiful, luxurious bedrooms and suites mixing contemporary opulence and classic style, excellent brasserie fare and a tasting menu in the river-view restaurant.

East Coast America meets South Coast England at this single-storey, seaside-chic hotel with appealing room choices, fantastic locally sourced food, a spa cabin, beach yoga workshops, and a vast expanse of sands, washed by the English Channel, just over the spectacular dunes.

Visitors to Daylesford Organic's farm shop can stay at this 18th-century Cotswold stone inn, a modern take on a traditional pub and the epitome of rustic chic, serving delicious and exciting dishes from a short menu of seasonal and sustainable produce.

Old-world atmosphere and contemporary comforts are in perfect balance at Jeremy Mogford's 17th-century stone country house in the city, handy for all that Oxford has to offer, and with an eclectic art collection, intimate restaurant, walled dining terrace, and immaculate bedrooms, some with outdoor space.

An 18th-century mansion built around an older core, this family-oriented and dog-friendly hotel in the New Forest offers flexible dining, high tea for the little ones, a bistro-style restaurant menu and lounge menu, plus bedrooms mixing period and contemporary styling.

With the emphasis on laid-back luxury, this Regency mansion in parkland, once home to Percy Shelley's mother, is today a country-house hotel that is part of the Signet Collection, offering surprisingly affordable bedrooms, a swish spa, a brasserie and pan-Asian restaurant.

Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and Elizabeth Taylor were among notable guests entertained by press baron Lord Beaverbrook at this glamorous Victorian mansion overlooking Italianate gardens, now an opulent spa hotel and treasure trove of memorabilia, with a tempting range of dining options.

A veritable palazzo, this Italianate mansion in National Trust pleasure grounds above the Thames oozes opulence, with bedrooms ranging from doubles to lavish suites, as well as a fine dining restaurant overlooking the parterre, and simpler options in the Astor Grill.

Occupying a row of honeyed-stone 15th-century weavers' cottages, this dog-friendly hotel has an inviting locals bar, individually styled bedrooms that blend contemporary comforts with tradition, and a restaurant serving classics alongside more modern dishes.

Jeremy Mogford's conversion of the old Barclays Bank right in the city centre gets credit for its smartly furnished bedrooms, marble bathrooms, and an art-adorned all-day bistro, Quod, in the old banking hall, with Italian garden terrrace.

At the heart of some of Britain's best wine-growing country, and centred on a Georgian mansion, this Piggy has accommodation spread across the main house, stable buildings and wagons, with shabby-chic interiors inspired by a fictitious housewife named Mary, menus supplied by coast and countryside, kitchen garden and orchard, and its very own vineyard.

A New Forest bolthole, this country-house hotel has an easy glamour, romantic and family-friendly rooms, heart-warming Italian food and top-notch spa.

Pigs have foraged in the New Forest since the Norman Conquest, but a different breed arrived in 2011, when Robin Hutson took on a Georgian hunting lodge and reinvented the English country-house hotel, with a shabby-chic style mixing designer wallpapers and boot-sale finds in characterful house rooms and hideaway suites. Seasonal menus feature produce from the bountiful kitchen garden.

Smart hotel accommodation combines with the ambience of a friendly local at this 17th-century country inn, part of Fuller's Cotswold Inns and Hotels collection, where bedrooms mix modern comforts with original features, the restaurant features small plates, Sunday roasts, pub and bistro classics, and your dog can join you in the bar or sun-trap walled garden.

Idyllic days could be spent in summer at this South Downs wine estate, with rustic-chic bedrooms in converted barns, vineyard tours, and relaxed informal dining in the restaurant.

A stunning baronial-style Victorian manor house overlooking a red-deer sanctuary in the New Forest, this spa hotel with outdoor pool has been stylishly updated as an adults-only retreat with a well-regarded restaurant offering à la carte, prix fixe and vegan menus of locally sourced food.

Sigrid Grawert is a welcoming hostess at her smart B&B in a village eight miles from Oxford, offering stylish contemporary bedrooms, an award-winning breakfast with a speciality porridge menu, and a suntrap garden.

History meets the modern world at this Elizabethan manor house, a luxury hotel in eight-acre grounds, with gracious drawing room, swish spa and fine-dining restaurant.

This good-value B&B in a Victorian farmhouse on the Sissinghurst estate makes the perfect base for a visit to the iconic English gardens laid out in the 1930s by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. The largest bedroom looks out to ancient woodland and to the castle's iconic Elizabethan tower.