An ‘informal, warmly welcoming’ place, this low-key small hotel is just the ticket for visitors in search of ‘peace and quiet to experience the magic of this lovely, remote island’.

‘The distilled essence of Sark – relaxed, laid-back and tranquil – this remains a most charming place.’

In a ‘stunning’ Lake District location overlooking Esthwaite Water, Richard Lee’s ‘admirable’ country hotel is liked for its ‘comfortable bedrooms’, ‘first-class food’, ‘fabulous views’ and all-round ‘lovely ambience’.

‘A cross between a hotel, a B&B and a holiday cottage, with the advantages of each, this is a very special place,’ say regular Guide readers this year.

‘Comfortable all over and pleasantly relaxed’, Clinton and Lisa Lovell’s small hotel continues to win rave reviews from guests, who say ‘it’s like staying with good friends’.

‘Set in large gardens, this lovely old house feels like a big family home, with many pictures, books and magazines.’

‘Everything is provided for the guests’ comfort’ at this ‘relaxed, friendly hotel’, in a market town close to the north Norfolk coast.

On the banks of Loch Faskally, two generations of the McMenemie family run this much-liked Victorian hotel with ‘cheerful efficiency’ and an ‘informal, personable’ air.

‘A warm-hearted spot with obliging staff, good food, gracefully homey rooms and a genial community feel’, Piers Baker’s 15th-century inn is ‘a good place in which to find oneself’, say Guide inspectors in 2017.

Come to Austwick in May for the Cuckoo Festival; come all year to the Reynolds family’s ‘lovely place’, an ‘attractive, welcoming hotel’ in an ‘excellent Dales location’.

Approached by a drive through parkland, Frances Meeres Young’s upmarket B&B, in an 18th-century coach house, is surrounded by gardens ‘planned and tended with love and skill’.

Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton’s ‘attractive old stone-built pub’ on the edge of the Fonthill Estate has an ‘airy, modern vibe’ amid traditional elements.

‘Enthusiastically and admirably run’ by its ‘hard-working young owners’, this Victorian house between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales stands on a wooded hillside with ‘magnificent views’ over green fields and grazing sheep to the fells beyond.

Close to the fine church in an ‘attractive’ medieval wool village, this ‘friendly, well-patronised’ 15th-century coaching inn has ‘the warm, buzzy feel of a country pub’, say Guide readers in 2017.

At the head of Badcall bay, this 18th-century manse is in a ‘splendid location’ – look through a gap in the trees towards a ‘tranquil scene’ of fishing boats on the water.

Somerset born and Somerset bred, Louise and David Farrance have run their B&B in this wisteria-hung 15th-century Somerset longhouse for nearly ten years.

Guests are assured of ‘friendliness and an outstanding welcome’ from second-generation owners Christopher and Andrea Varley at this ‘lovely hotel in the heart of quiet countryside’.

In a ‘fantastic area to explore’, between the Preseli hills and Pembrokeshire national park, this ‘exceptionally friendly and welcoming’ guest house was first listed in the Guide more than 30 years ago.

‘Everything is done with a smile and a bit of banter’ at Jean Urquhart’s ‘warm and welcoming’ bookshop-with-rooms, formed from a clutch of whitewashed cottages in this old fishing village.

Black swans glide on the lake in the garden; sun pours in through Venetian windows. Here, perched on a lynch, or ridge, above the Cary river valley, is a classic Georgian country house run as a B&B with ‘a touch of class’.

In a ‘marvellous Derbyshire Dales setting’, supporters of James Moffett’s rustic, laid-back hotel find much to like: ‘a warm welcome’, ‘decent home-cooked dinners’, ‘quiet, comfortable rooms’.

‘Warm and friendly’, and ‘good value’ to boot, Louise Dinnes’s Victorian pub-with-rooms stands in a conservation village surrounded by a national parkland of windswept fells.

Janet and Edward Boynton’s 19th-century coaching inn between moors and dales is roundly endorsed by Guide readers, who praise its ‘hospitable, interesting owners’, ‘enjoyable dinners’, ‘relaxing atmosphere’ and ‘excellent value’.

‘Warm and charming in its small-scale grandeur’, the Egan family’s Georgian mansion sits amid a cereals farm in Tipperary countryside.