You can order a picnic hamper and walk down to a private beach through lovely gardens at Paul and Fiona Robinson’s New England-inspired hotel, or just relax on the deck, gazing across Gerrans Bay.

Just off the beach, the only pub on Robert Dorrien-Smith’s private, car-free island is a ‘relaxed’ gathering place for locals and holidaymakers alike.

An Edinburgh icon for over a century, this Victorian railway stop-over is today a thoroughly 21st-century hotel.

The austere Tudor Gothic-esque 19th-century exterior belies the delights within.

In an ‘outstanding location’ in the Ribble valley, Northcote is known principally for its restaurant, but it is also a luxury hotel (Relais & Châteaux).

A busy, multi-tasking pub, 'school-run coffees in the morning, great food and pub atmosphere at night'.

In a ‘lovely location on the quiet seafront’, with views over the Severn estuary and the pier pavilion with its Mughal-style roof, James Sommerin and family run this acclaimed restaurant-with-rooms.

Grand from every direction, this ‘very smart’ Grade II listed hotel (Bespoke Hotels) is ‘a very good place to stay, peopled with polite, cheerful staff’.

In a quiet spot, this Mayfair hotel (part of the Althoff collection) in a former diplomats’ club has a secret shortcut on to Green Park.

Take a well-regarded kitchen, throw in equally impressive bedrooms and a soupçon of laid-back glamour, and you have Paul Kitching and Katie O’Brien’s splendid restaurant-with-rooms.

‘Distinctly cool’ European luxury combines with ‘exceptionally good value’ in this City hotel designed with playful flair by Terence Conran.