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.

Ship-owner Allan Hughes chose the perfect site for this handsome Lutyens-style Edwardian country house, on high ground, with panoramic views across Exmoor to the coast, the approach awash with daffodils in springtime.

Step inside a red-brick corner house in a yachting town on the edge of the New Forest, to find an idiosyncratic B&B, imbued with the generosity and personality of Tobias Feikle, perfect host and breakfast chef extraordinaire.

A Regency beauty with spectacular views from the balconies, this stylish, dog-friendly country-house hotel has a relaxed vibe, beautifully designed bedrooms, and a fine-dining restaurant.

Amid rolling hills, where Shropshire nudges Herefordshire, Pippa and Willem Vlok's restaurant with rooms comprises a picturesque set piece of medieval and Georgian farm buildings.

In a delightful village, this 16th-century village pub, now part of the Avington Park estate with its trout fishery and leisure facilities, impresses with four beautifully presented bedrooms and some very creative dishes alongside pub grub done very well.

With porte cochère, crenellated tower and fine Victorian interiors, this country house overlooking Loch Portree is redolent of the history of the Macdonald family, who have lived there for more than 200 years.

In an idyllic location, cascading down the cliffs at St Mawes with views to St Anthony's lighthouse, Olga Polizzi's seaside hotel continues to delight readers. Once home to a yacht club, it is spread across a cluster of houses and has a feel of the French Riviera about it.

Huddled below wooded hills, beside a stone bridge over the River Monnow, this whitewashed former 17th-century coaching inn serves delicious food and has great walks from the door to help you justify eating it.

Do you remember an inn, Miranda? Hilaire Belloc certainly remembered this Georgian coaching inn, from which he described setting out in The Four Men.

The Michelin-starred cuisine at this thatched gastropub in quiet Harome is the draw, but the rooms are special too, as is the setting, close to the North York Moors for a day's walking.

With smartl interiors and imaginative, locally sourced, restaurant-quality food, this dog-friendly country inn on the Lowther Estate is a happy mix of pub informality and country-house comforts.

The gardens are the great glory of John and Sue Cushing's Georgian manor house deep in dairy country, with abundant home-grown produce featuring on menus, and light summer lunches served on the rose garden terrace.

Bring the dog, bring the kids, revel in the gorgeous scenery and the great outdoors at this ‘lifestyle hotel’ with private shorefront on Ullswater and plenty of activities on offer. It's the old, staid Rampsbeck Hotel reinvented (out with the chintz and swags, on with the wetsuits or hiking boots!)

From bread to truffles, they cook as much as possible on site in this 'very cosy and friendly hotel', in the rolling South Hams countryside between wild Dartmoor and the sandy beaches of Bigbury Bay.

In a beautiful location on the shore of Loch Sunart, where otters swim in the waters and red squirrels scamper around the land, this 18th-century lodge offers country-house comforts and plenty of Scottish flair, ranging from tartan fabrics to homemade shortbread.

Formerly Barnsley House, this 17th-century stone manor house became part of the Pig group in the summer of 2024, offering the expected interesting mix of rooms and hideaways, a 25-mile menu using an abundance of home-grown produce, and the bonus of beautiful gardens created by the renowned Rosemary Verey.

The River Teign runs through the garden of this dog-friendly country-house hotel with a wide choice of rooms, a warm and friendly ambience, good food, and great walks from the door.

Made over in the Signet Collection's signature style, this country-house hotel in a picturesque South Downs village has a relaxed ambience, chic, affordable bedrooms, a boutique spa, and imaginative brasserie fare with good plant-based options.

Leave the fuss and fret of the AI(M) at Scotch Corner to reconnect with the land at this idyllic hotel, centred on a Georgian coach house amid gardens, parkland and woodland.

Readers are unanimous in their praise for James Moffett's Peak District Hotel, a 17th-centiry gem, a paradise for walkers, where the welcome is friendly, the hospitality generous and the cooking hearty.

Refreshingly different from some more traditional Lake District offerings, this contemporary hotel is in a beautiful setting overlooking Grasmere.

The neon sign outside this former steward's house in a 1,000-acre deer park sets the tone for what to expect in this unique and interesting pub owned by art dealer Ivor Braka, with provocative works by artists such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst on display within.

With produce sourced from its own farm and organic market garden, and beautifully styled and lavishly equipped bedrooms spread across cottages and above the village shop, this is a truly exceptional gastropub, a great place for foodies.

There is a wide choice of generously equipped rooms at this substantial, dog friendly, family-friendly hotel on the edge of the Burghley Estate, with a pleasantly informal ambience and imaginative, seasonally inspired food served in the bistro.

Modern mixes with medieval on the ramparts of what remains of Nottingham Castle, with this sleek hotel the perfect place to escape the bustling city.

There's a huge sense of fun at this stylish hotel, whose logo is Vanity Fair's caricature of the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Oscar Wilde's Nemesis. Laurence and Helen Beere's hotel, a quirky combination of four townhouses has pugilism-themed jokes throughout; the decor is knockout too.

More resort than hotel, this child-friendly, dog-friendly place of escape on the Farncombe estate, on a hill above Broadway, offers a wide choice of accommodation, from chic bedrooms to treehouses and shepherds' huts, with bar/lounges, fine-dining restaurant and a wide range of activities on site.

In deepest Constable country, Wendy and Jim Sarton's characterful timber-frame manor house specialises in residential art courses; there is a large studio in the ground for workshops from tutors in various mediums. But even if you're not interested in taking a course, it's a great place for an 'extremely relaxing weekend'.

Both culture and nature are on your doorstep at Maggi and Gerard Heelan's 'excellent B&B guesthouse' just five minutes' walk from the Opera House in this splendid Peak District spa town.