Hotel deals and special offers in the West Country

‘A most beautiful building in lovely, peaceful grounds with a wooded walk down to the river,’ say Guide insiders of the Murray family’s splendid stone manor house.

It’s all about the sublime seaside setting at Keith Makepeace’s family-centric, dog-friendly hotel with ‘amazing views to take your breath away’.

The old-fashioned charms of this former 16th-century priory in beautiful cottage gardens sloping down to the River Frome in the centre of Wareham are not lost on readers, who conclude that ‘the hotel is a delight’.

‘The Nare’s description of itself as “the country house hotel by the sea” sums it up nicely.

‘Staying here was an experience,’ wrote Guide inspectors of Nick Dent’s Georgian farmhouse hotel, which is so dog-friendly it even hosts doggie birthday parties, and where creative reuse has been raised to an art form.

Queen Victoria thought of Italy as she viewed the ‘red cliffs and rocks and wooded hills’ that surround pebbly Babbacombe Bay, and for la dolce vita look no further than this spa hotel.

A sense of old-world elegance where ‘style is a central feature’ can be found in this independent boutique hotel not far from the cathedral.

Approach this 18th-century mansion, exulting in 500 acres of parkland and gardens, down a mile-long avenue of lime and beech trees: what awaits is ‘very grand and lovely’.

Fun time, mucking-in time and adult ‘me time’ are all part of the deal at this rambling Jacobean manor turned child-friendly and dog-friendly hotel, with extensive grounds.

It feels a bit as if you’ve fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole, at this whimsical, dog-friendly hotel with a ‘spectacular bay setting’ by the Coast Path.

It’s one long round of fun at this family-friendly hotel, centred on a Georgian manor house overlooking Chesil Beach and the Fleet Lagoon.

There are lots of good things to report about this family-friendly spa hotel this year.

Devoted to leisure and pleasure, Richard Seton’s spa hotel overlooking the Dart estuary is a perennial readers’ favourite.

Legendary hosts Sharon and Nigel Reed provide ‘thoughtful touches, too many to mention’ at their former Victorian vicarage, themed in celebration of local hero King Arthur.

A path leads from this cliff-top hotel to a stretch of private beach on the west of the Lizard peninsula – just one of several vantage points to take in the stunning coastal views.

On the South West Coast Path, this former Edwardian gentleman’s retreat has ‘wonderful’ cliff-top views over an expanse of sea and sand.

Atop the craggy Pentire headland, this cliff-edge hotel dispenses exhilarating views and the soothing sounds of the Atlantic.

On the edge of the Wiltshire Downs, this quirky, affable dining pub-with-rooms stands on an organic farm, a vision of food ethics pioneer Helen Browning.

Reached down rural lanes bordered by hedgerows, Ben Maschler’s contemporary country pub-with-rooms occupies a thatch-roofed 14th-century inn whose flagstone floors and ancient beams lend it much character.