Romantic Hotels

A stay among the spoiling country house comforts of The Cavendish is about as close as you can get to staying on the Chatsworth Estate.

A 17th-century former coaching inn that counts both Charles I and Oliver Cromwell, sundry Windsors and Hollywood royalty among past guests can fairly claim to be historic.

A garden of more than 400 herb varieties gives plant fanciers and pollinators a buzz at Nicholas Dickinson’s Georgian country house hotel. Interiors are a well-judged blend of traditional and modish style.

Exceptional food, exceptional grounds and exceptional decor are all part of the luxurious experience at Hambleton Hall - a romantic Relais & Châteaux retreat in Rutland.

A five star country house hotel with a luxurious spa, Chewton Glen is perfect for romantic escapes, especially if you stay in the impeccable treehouses in a sky high world of your own.

Sub-tropical gardens with spectacular sea views are lent an extra touch of magic by the witty artwork that fill them at this 'quirky' hotel, which also features unusual furnishings within.

Idyllically situated by a Saxon church with gardens bordered by the River Frome, this 16th-century priory has cast off its monk’s habit to become a characterful hotel.

Arrive at this William and Mary house, with its lovely facade and 20 acres of gardens and parkland, and you'd think you were deep in the country; York, however, is just over a mile away.

There are sublime views from this eccentric Victorian country house with Italianate campaniles and 20th-century porte cochère, in wooded grounds overlooking the River Usk.

Arrive by horse and carriage on this car free island, and take in the exquisite views and exemplary hospitality of La Sablonnerie - it's like escaping to your own romantic world.

For Walter Scott, the view of Stamford from this historic coaching inn was ‘the finest twixt Edinburgh and London’.

The River Eye drifts through the gardens of this Cotswold stone former rectory, once home to the Witts family, rectors and then lords of Upper Slaughter, run as a hotel for the past 50 years.

Where the Duchess of Sussex spent the night before her wedding, Cliveden House is the perfect destination for a decadent honeymoon, proposal or romantic weekend, set in beautiful grounds that seduce you on arrival.

Guests continue to be delighted by this grand country house – sweeping gardens, historic features, smart bedrooms, swish spa – with a warm, down-to-earth atmosphere.

Built for Hollywood actress Hedda Hopper, Romney Bay House is like arriving in a novel set in the 1920s. Windswept scenery and total escapism await at this achingly romantic retreat.

With its towers and battlements, this Victorian-folly castle in 20 acres of grounds looks the real deal yet is ‘extremely laid-back – you can’t fail to feel at home’.

Once a bolt hole for wealthy Venetians escaping the summer heat (plus Robert Browning, Freya Stark, Igor Stravinsky et al.), this charming little medieval hill town in the Veneto is known as ‘the town of a hundred horizons’.

A spectacular example of how to update a historic building, Seaham Hall is a historic country house turned contemporary hotel. It was the one time home of Lord Byron and continues his legacy of decadence and seduction.

The praises keep showering down on Cedar Manor, a ‘delightful’ and ‘intimate’ hotel, close to Lake Windermere, with luxurious bedrooms, thoughtful comforts and faultless yet friendly service.

Right on the edge of the water with unrestricted sea views, Cary Arms and Spa combines the warmth of a British inn with the decadent details of a luxury hotel. Little wonder it's a favourite for romantic retreats and proposals.

An exquisitely decorated boutique hotel on a quiet street in Exeter, Southernhay House Hotel has a seductive style with rich colours and sumptuous furnishings as well as an intimate atmosphere.

With a topiary garden, 17th-century pele tower and French drawing room, Askham Hall sounds grand and formal; not a bit of it.

With a mix of Jazz Age glamour and New York chutzpah, The Beaumont is one of London’s modern-day ‘grande dame’ hotels.

‘Pheasants scatter as you edge your way down the lanes’ to Pippa and Willem Vlok’s restaurant-with-rooms, occupying medieval and Georgian farm buildings around a flower-filled courtyard.

You might fancy you are in a Parisian garret, in the mysterious east, on safari, or (mama mia) in a Venetian palazzo, when you book into Hannah Springham and Andrew Jones’s hotel, with rooms themed on the Georgian Grand Tour and Victorian globe trotting.

In springtime, daffodils blanket the lawns around this secluded baronial mansion; in all seasons, the extensive grounds – the historic walled garden, mile-long nature trail, sculptures and outdoor games – invite exploration.

Down a mile-long avenue of lime and beech trees, this ‘very grand and lovely’ 18th-century mansion exults in 500 acres of parkland and gardens.

Traditional standards are upheld at this turreted 1920s mansion, one of Scotland’s first country house hotels, which has been owned by the same family for 70 years.

In a secluded swath of green countryside, Pip and Jonathan Barber’s chic B&B looks over the village towards the Norfolk coast.

The eggs Benedict are ‘made right’ at Mindi McLean’s B&B, in this ‘beautifully and tastefully restored’ 200-year-old barn at the heart of a historic village.

Luxe details such as a copper roll top bath, add to the romance of The Dunstane Houses, a luxurious get away in Edinburgh where beautiful details are accompanied by exceptional service - ideal for mini breaks, minimoons or a Valentine's Day retreat.

By the shores of Loch Long, romantic turrets and towers add to the Scottish country house experience of Beth and Murdo Macleod’s dog-friendly hotel.

In a perfect location, everything at Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa in Bath is perfectly formed. The elegance in the midst of this genteel city is perfect for an intimate romantic getaway.

In Hardy’s ‘Emminster’, ten minutes from Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, a historic priest’s house is now a restaurant-led hotel.

A long winding drive leads past a lake to this Victorian mansion, remodelled in the 1940s in the style of a Loire château, with parkland, fountain and 17th-century dovecote.

At the end of its mile-long drive, this Elizabethan manor house with glorious gardens and superb dining is, for many guests, the ultimate country house hotel.

When the Earl of Ilchester hired a certain Thomas Hardy to extend his Georgian dower house, he could not have foreseen the praise it would receive as an 'extremely well-run, very comfortable, welcoming hotel with first-class food' (Relais & Châteaux) and spa.

‘Down country lanes and a mile-long private drive’, this Elizabethan manor house is the Miss Piggy among Robin Hutson’s quirky country house hotels (see index). Like that porcine diva, it embodies fabulosity with a dash of irresistibility and a great, big dollop of attitude.

A man for all seasons, Raymond Blanc has created something beautiful at this 15th-century manor house where he has held two Michelin stars since 1984.