There are so many special hotels in Britain but which ones really go that extra mile and treat guests like members of their family, often providing complimentary tea and cakes or a glass of wine on arrival, as well as superb food and swish rooms? The following are The Good Hotel Guide’s 2025 best places to stay in Britain.
Best seaside hotel
The Seaside Boarding House, Burton Bradstock, Dorset
Just above Chesil Beach, and with spectacular views over Lyme Bay, this chic seaside hotel feels like a little bit of New England has been transplanted to Dorset. Owned by the founders of London’s Groucho Club, it has hip interiors and offers the freshest of seafood.
Don’t miss: Go fossil hunting on the Jurassic Coast.
Details: B&B doubles from £255 (theseasideboardinghouse.com).
Best country house hotel
Ty Mawr, Brechfa, Carmarthenshire
There are bigger and grander country house hotels, but few more popular with Guide readers or more affordable than this one, run by Gill Brown and David Hart on the edge of Brechfa Forest. Gill cooks imaginative but unpretentious meals and even dogs get a breakfast sausage.
Don’t miss: The walks from the door through the forest.
Details: B&B doubles from £135 (wales-country-hotel.co.uk).
Best foodie hotel
The Collective at Woolsery, Devon
The Collective at Woolsery, near Clovelly in Devon
The deliciously unusual meals at the Farmers Arms pub feature ingredients from their sustainable farm, organic market garden and surrounding woods. The whole enterprise includes a gourmet fish ’n’ chippy, a village shop, and swish bedrooms and cottages in the village.
Don’t miss: A visit to nearby Clovelly, which tumbles down the coast.
Details: Room-only doubles from £275 (woolsery.com).
Best in East Anglia
The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk
Everything that’s best about North Norfolk comes together at the Nye family’s hotel with its 15 rooms. Think far-reaching views over salt marshes, wildlife on your doorstep, fishermen delivering their catch to the door, and plenty of walks.
Don’t miss: A seafood platter, with Brancaster mussels and Cromer crab.
Details: B&B doubles from £150 (whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk).
Most romantic hotel
Hotel Endsleigh, Milton Abbot, Devon
Who could fail to be moved by this Regency cottage orné in an Arcadian landscape by the Tamar and peppered with follies and grottos? Olga Polizzi’s interiors are just as special, with a wood-lined hall leading to drawing rooms and bedrooms.
Don’t miss: A tour of the gardens with the gardener.
Details: B&B doubles from £290 (thepolizzicollection.com).
Best in the South
Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire
You can take a gardening or cookery course at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons
It’s no mean feat to hold two Michelin stars for 40 years. Raymond Blanc’s food is superb, but the bedrooms at this Oxfordshire manor, with its lavender-fringed pathway, glorious gardens and orchard, are as carefully crafted as the dishes. It’s not cheap but it is worth it.
Don’t miss: Take a cookery or a gardening course.
Details: B&B doubles from £925 (belmond.com).
Best restaurant with rooms
Mingary Castle, Kilchoan, Highland
Medieval feasts might have been good in this 13th century stronghold overlooking the Sound of Mull, but they can’t have been a patch on Colin Nicholson’s delicious tasting menus. There are just four rooms, characterised by four posters, rich fabrics and deep baths.
Don’t miss: A visit to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, mainland Britain’s most westerly point.
Details: B&B doubles from £225 (mingarycastle.co.uk).
Best in the South West and Channel Islands
The Blonde Hedgehog, St Anne, Alderney
‘Pretty much perfect’ was the Guide inspectors’ summary of this hotel inthe town of St Anne on the small island of Alderney. They were impressed by its convivial atmosphere, divine food in delicious combinations, beautifully styled boutique bedrooms and fantastic breakfasts.
Don’t miss: A kayak trip around the dinky island.
Details: B&B doubles from £170 (blondehedgehog.com).
Best spa hotel
Lime Wood, Lyndhurst, Hampshire
It’s not perhaps the biggest spa in a British hotel, but Lime Wood’s Herb House spa comes in the lovely, leafy surroundings of the New Forest. Expect tip-top treatments and floor-to-ceiling windows creating an outside-inside feel from the hydrotherapy pool; there’s also an outdoor heated pool.
Don’t miss: Cycling through the forest for lunch at The Pig.
Details: B&B doubles from £495 (limewoodhotel.co.uk).
Best in the Midlands
Hambleton Hall, Rutland
YuU can feast your eyes on the view over beautifully kept gardens to Rutland Water while you tuck into delicious dishes at this Michelin-starred hotel, where every mouthful created by chef Aaron Patterson is an explosion of flavours. Bedrooms are the epitome of elegance.
Don’t miss: The 23-mile cycle ride around Rutland Water.
Details: B&B doubles from £370 (hambletonhall.com)
Best in the North
The Traddock, Austwick, North Yorkshire
Traditional bedrooms and highly regarded food characterise The Reynolds family’s small country house hotel with spectacular views over the Dales. But it is the highly personal touch that gives guests the feeling of staying in a friend’s home.
Don’t miss: Order a picnic for a day walking the Dales.
Details: B&B doubles from £120 (thetraddock.co.uk).
Best hotel for gardens
Bodysgallen Hall, Llandudno, Conwy
The kitchen garden supplies the restaurant at Badysgallen Hall in Conwy
A 17th Century parterre as well as a rose garden and woodland walks make up the 200 acres of Renaissance pleasure grounds and gardens at Bodysgallen, on the slopes of Pydew Mountain. The kitchen garden supplies the restaurant in this traditional hotel.
Don’t miss: Nearby Llandudno.
Details: B&B doubles from £179 (bodysgallen.com).
Best in Scotland
Prestonfield, Edinburgh
Walls might be clad in leather or 17th century tapestries at Prestonfield in Edinburgh
It’s pure theatre at this sumptuous hotel with kilt-wearing staff and peacock-patrolled parkland, near Royal Holyrood Park. Walls might be clad in leather or 17th century tapestries, and fabrics are opulent.
Don’t miss: Hike up Arthur’s Seat for great city views.
Details: B&B doubles from £247 (prestonfield.com).
Best hotel for walkers
The Castle, Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire
Geared to guests who come to walk the Shropshire hills, this hotel has everything from maps and packed lunches to boot brushes and drying facilities. There’s no charge for dogs, either. There are three bars, a good restaurant and comfy rooms.
Don’t miss: Ludlow, which is only around 30 minutes away.
Details: B&B doubles from £130 (thecastlehotelbishopscastle.co.uk).
Best in Wales
Penally Abbey, Pembrokeshire
A dream of a hotel on the coast near Tenby, Penally Abbey is so good, it has won this award twice in three years. An air of romance hangs around beautifully designed interiors, with a candlelit restaurant, cusped windows and plenty of antiques and French-market finds.
Don’t miss: Nearby Penally Beach.
Details: B&B doubles from £215 (penally-abbey.com).
Best hotel for dogs
Mill End Hotel, Chagford, Devon
Walkies from the door and a boot room, sink and towels to clean muddy paws on your return… four-pawed guests are as welcome as their owners in this former mill by the River Teign. And you can book a dog sitter.
Don’t miss: The National Trust’s Castle Drogo, two miles away.
Details: B&B doubles from £160 (millendhotel.com).
Best hotel in a city/town
The Cookie Jar, Alnwick, Northumberland
Debbie Cook has transformed what was the Convent of Mercy into a quirky 11-bedroom boutique hotel offering urban chic and something of the ambience of a Soho club. The Chapel suite comes with a circular stained-glass window and a divine bathtub.
Don’t miss: Alnwick Castle, with its links to the Harry Potter films (will reopen from March).
Details: B&B doubles from £205 (cookiejaralnwick.com).
Best B&B
The Terrace, Ventnor, Isle of Wight
The Terrace on the Isle of Wight has views out to sea and guided wine tastings each evening
Forget your standard B&B – this lovely place is all about wine, with guided tastings each evening in a room lined with bottles. With views out to sea, the contemporary-chic rooms come with a wine fridge and beach towels. The four-course breakfast is pretty special too.
Don’t miss: The coastal walk to charming Steephill Cove.
Details: B&B doubles from £200 (theterraceventnor.co.uk).
Best pub
The Howard Arms, Ilmington, Warwickshire
It was a case of all’s well that ends well for this pub on the green near Stratford-upon-Avon, which was rescued by enterprising locals. Interiors come with flagstones, beamed ceilings and bags of character, while food ranges from pub fare to imaginative dishes.
Don’t miss: A visit to William Shakespeare’s birthplace.
Details: B&B doubles from £140 (howardarms.com).
For more details see goodhotelguide.com