Spread across four honey-stone town houses, this characterful hotel with fine-dining restaurant, themed around the pugilist 9th Marquess of Queensberry, really punches above its weight.

The sweep of honey-stone buildings that form Bath’s Georgian crescent is home to two majestic mansions which combine as one hotel, beyond which lie a leafy garden and atmospheric spa.

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

This long-established country house hotel with a walled garden, set in a peaceful Cumbrian village, has had an elegant refurbishment without compromising ‘its sense of history and tradition’.

Guests can eat and drink alfresco at the Hine family's hotel, a Queen Anne-style mansion overlooking a willow-draped duck pond in a rural hamlet.

‘It felt like staying with friends, albeit very hip ones,’ says a Guide insider, of the Milsom family’s hotel outside Colchester, in a 'wonderful setting' where windows frame views of Constable's Dedham Vale.

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.

‘The place breathes class,’ says a Guide inspector of Jake Dinsdale’s Jacobean-style country house, set high in the Yorkshire Dales on the Pennine Way.

‘Set in rolling hills, 15 minutes from Bath, Homewood is a lovely hotel,’ our inspector writes of this country house extravaganza.

In a medieval wool town of wonky timber-frame houses this French-style ‘restaurant and bedrooms’ hides its 14th-century origins behind a Georgian facade.

In a peaceful Devon valley, this family-run historic manor house is loved for its architecture, romantic atmosphere, attention to detail and fine food.

The words Padstow and Rick Stein go together like fish and chips, and his flagship restaurant offers stylish rooms so you can totter up to bed after your fill of the sea.

In the same family since it was built in the early 17th century, this manor house in Thomas Hardy's 'vale of little dairies' has a timeless appeal – but change has been afoot.

‘It feels like you’re walking through the pages of a history book’ at this 16th-century castle, where everything from the bee skeps in the herb-scented goodly garden to canopied four-posters is redolent of Tudor England.

This homely, family-friendly hotel, just outside Abersoch, with glorious views of Cardigan Bay, continues to get things right year after year, which is why its loyal guests keep on returning.

It's a scenic crossing from Oban to this island of white-sand beaches, where the one hotel stands on a hillside overlooking the harbour with views to neighbouring Jura.

The only hotel in Jura’s only village is part of the appeal of this modest yet hospitable, family-run affair; the rest is the peace, remoteness, views, wildlife and fresh, island-sourced food.

You can take a cream tea on the grass in front of this homely hotel on a small, rugged island, and spot dolphins in the Sound of Iona.

A bravura Victorian rebuild of a Georgian country house in wooded grounds above Portree Bay and the Sound of Raasay, Viewfield has been home to generations of Macdonalds, and is filled with family possessions and mementos.

It's a family affair in this restaurant-with-rooms with glorious views across the sheltered natural harbour of Scapa Flow to the southern Orkney islands.

‘The situation is absolutely beautiful; perfect for wild swimmers,’ write readers this year, in praise of this remote hideaway hotel on the shores of Loch Sunart.

Whether you want a ceilidh, a hooley or a quiet read, a drink or bistro meal, a bed or bunk, the Urquhart family’s hotel, in a fishing village set amid rugged mountains on the east shore of Loch Broom, can accommodate you.

A single-track road meanders through woodlands to this Georgian mansion at the foot of lonely Nephin mountain, overlooking Lough Conn, where Susan Kellett and son DJ are 'welcoming hosts'.

George the peacock struts some of the 40-acre grounds of this rural Regency-style country house, run as a hotel for more than four decades by the Bowe family (Relais & Châteaux).

When farmer’s wife Myrtle Allen opened a restaurant in her Georgian farmhouse back in 1964, she did not dream that she was starting a quiet revolution in Irish food, or that her home would become the epitome of country house hotel style.

Once you have navigated the joys of this 'rambling building' in honey Cotswold stone, with its 'superb spa', cinema and choice of dining, there are the 26 different 'rooms' in the 'beautiful, well-tended gardens' to explore.

The only sounds are the soughing of the sea and the cry of gulls at this remote Georgian manse in an 'extraordinary setting' between a three-mile sandy beach and heather-clad mountains.

Guests were ’intrigued by the old-style hospitality’ of this Ullswater institution, a creeper-covered lakeside farmhouse that maintains the traditions of a bygone age.

'The location is stunning, the views as the sun sets truly magical’ from this family-run, cliff-top hotel and spa, with acres of Scandi-style relaxation space, squashy sofas, and plenty of things to do, from relaxing in a spa pool to surfing at the beach.

In a beautiful setting in the Peak District, this historic country house offers a homely atmosphere and excellent value for money, which draw guests back year after year.

‘Neatness and sweetness all around, These at Prestonfield are found’, wrote Benjamin Franklin, after a stay at this 17th-century mansion in parkland under Arthur’s Seat. ‘This hotel was wonderful,’ a trusted reader waxes no less lyrical.

Overlooking the village pond, this golden-stone group of buildings set around a pretty courtyard ticks all the boxes for country house comforts, memorable food and good service.

Part of the Duke of Devonshire’s Yorkshire estate at Bolton Abbey, the Devonshire Arms has grown from a 17th-century inn to a country house hotel with spa, fine dining and helipads.

Tucked away behind a shopping street in a market town lies Vanessa and Les Scott’s dog-friendly, child-friendly hotel, occupying a Palladian villa in gardens.

The Teff brook runs by this 17th-century limestone small hotel and former dower house in a Nadder valley village, with views of green fields and gardens.

A seaside hotel with serious style, Olga Polizzi's glowing white collection of cottages and former yacht clubhouse cascading down the hillside is a cross between New England and Mediterranean Riviera.

A Norfolk icon, this19th-century windmill, rising from reed beds by the River Glaven, has wonderfully characterful guest rooms in the tower and converted outbuildings.

By many standards, Gilpin is the Lake District’s most luxurious hotel with no-expense-spared rooms, Michelin-starred dining, numerous staff, and acres of space.