Eco values as well as enjoyment are fundamental to this cliff-top hotel, with sea thrift-covered roof, sweeping curves, reed-filtered pool and walls of windows to soak up the light and the seascape.

A cosy beamed pub is the warm heart of this hotel, in the shelter of wooded, red sandstone cliffs that reminded the young Queen Victoria of 'a ballet or a play where nymphs appear'.

Overlooking subtropical gardens and sandy Carne Beach, the Ashworth family's hotel delights readers with its country house style, superlative service and retro classics in the dining room.

On show through walls of windows, the sea is a huge presence at this family-run hotel on the cliffs above a surfers' beach, which offers craft sessions as well as a spa and kids club.

Renowned for its herb garden, with some 400 varieties, this Georgian merchant's manor house is set in 30 acres of Norfolk parkland. The country theme is continued throughout – garden herbs are used in the spa, bedrooms are named after plants, and cabins with freestanding tubs on the terrace overlook the orchard.

'The location is stunning, with views of the Devon coast with its sandy beaches and tumbled rocks,' writes a reader delighted by this family-friendly hotel.

Lakeland luxury at its finest comes courtesy of Gilpin, with its Michelin-starred dining, private hot tubs in the majority of its indulgent rooms and attentive staff. Its flagship rooms are extravagantly large glass-cube spa suites that extend over a pond and offer private garden, spa room and circular bath.

Trusted readers are regular returnees to this family-friendly quayside hotel with views over estuary and salt marsh, a good choice of bedrooms and a nightly changing menu.

This beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion, in a hamlet between the Cotswolds and the Mendip hills, is as traditional as its owner, Baba Hine, who has been at the helm for more than 46 years.

A New Forest bolt-hole, this country house hotel has an easy glamour, romantic and family-friendly rooms, heart-warming Italian food and top-notch spa.

The only pub on this family-owned, car-free island, the New Inn has smart contemporary interiors alongside plenty of innate charm.

You can sit on the ramparts and watch for puffins, seals and invading armadas over a cream tea at this Elizabethan artillery castle and family-run hotel within star-shaped walls.

All the bases are covered for a fun, relaxing family escape at this Jacobean manor house, which has a crèche, cinema, spa, pools, comfortable country house-style bedrooms, and formal and informal dining.

Avowedly family-friendly and fun yet stylish, this hotel with spa occupies a Baroque Victorian mansion in five acres above the Fowey estuary.

Centred on a Georgian farmhouse, with 26 ornamental gardens, a spa, gym, contemporary bedrooms, Michelin-starred dining-room, brasserie and kitchen garden terrace, this hotel has 'luxury' written all over it.

Amid gardens, native woodland and meadow, this 16th-century manor house is today a family-friendly hotel and spa with contemporary comforts and a choice of formal and informal dining.

Approached down a mile-long avenue of lime and beech trees, this 'very grand and lovely' Palladian mansion exults in 500 acres of parkland and gardens.

What began life as a cliff-top coastguard station in 1847 has metamorphosed into a relaxed luxury hotel in rural seclusion, with its own beach a walk away.