'Staying in the inner courtyard of a 13th-century castle was always going to be unforgettable,' writes an inspector, on a visit to Colin Nicolson and Jessica Thompson's restaurant-with-rooms.

The chef holds a Michelin green star for his superb tasting menus at this neo-Jacobean Victorian country pile in wooded grounds on the edge of Snowdonia National Park, where past guests have included Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill.

A private drive loops through native woodland and pastures to this classical mansion overlooking a ruined Knights Templar castle and teeming fishing lake in W B Yeats country.

This sprawling honey-stone building with its tall chimneys and leaded windows offers history, grand rooms and antiques, along with a thoroughly modern spa and 21st-century luxuries.

With just one guest bedroom – or Royal Chamber – at the top of a Norman castle keep, this is surely the most romantic B&B in the Guide, and a memorable wedding-night retreat.

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.

With its romantic bedrooms and views across the Menai Strait, the former country residence of the Armstrong-Jones family offers 'exceptional yet relaxed service and great food', writes a reader this year.

With a Michelin-starred restaurant, Grade II listed garden, 17th-century pele tower and French drawing room, Askham Hall sounds as if it might be very formal; not a bit of it. 'The most homely stately hotel we have ever stayed in,' reports one reader.

There's a romantic air to the setting of this Scottish baronial mansion overlooking Loch Oich with the ruins of Invergarry Castle in the grounds.

Within a Georgian house in a trendy corner of East London once home to Huguenot silk weavers, Peter McKay and Douglas Blain set out to weave a fantasy of their own.

Anne Boleyn's childhood home, reimagined by William Waldorf Astor as a fairytale moated castle, the seat of a Tudor courtier, stands in landscaped grounds with an Edwardian 'Tudor' village, home to this exceptional B&B.

Redolent of its sometimes racy past, this veritable palazzo, designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1850 for the Duke of Sutherland, sits in National Trust pleasure grounds above the Thames.

Bedrooms (most across the road at The Angel) blend contemporary chic and modern comfort with notes of rusticity at this historic hotel in a conservation village, with the barrel-vaulted Crypt bar, and simple, excellent food in dining areas.

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.

Massive crenellated walls, with arrow slits and multi-tier bay windows, enclose panelled interiors adorned with tapestries and suits of armour at this Tudor castle and Relais et Château hotel.

A Saxon royal hunting lodge in the Gloucestershire countryside, rebuilt over centuries, is run today as a private hotel by 'lovely hosts' Christopher Trim and Kathryn Warner.

A grand country house with both Jacobean and Georgain sides, Hartwell gazes over an 18th-century landscape, with Ionic temple, obelisk, and a lake spanned by an arch from the old Kew Bridge.

Just over a mile from York, this imposing William and Mary country house in 20 acres of beautiful gardens and parkland offers 'luxurious rooms and amazing food'.

With the feel of a private club rather than a hotel, this 'very special place' lies behind the 18th-century facade of three shop-houses in a once-notorious area that is now filled with hip eateris and bars.

Breakfast is served at a vast oak table in the Great Hall at this characterful B&B, occupying a 15th-century manor house on the Dyer family's dairy farm.

This sprawling honey-stone building with its tall chimneys and leaded windows offers history, grand rooms and antiques, along with a thoroughly modern spa and 21st-century luxuries.

A private drive loops through native woodland and pastures to this classical mansion overlooking a ruined Knights Templar castle and teeming fishing lake in W B Yeats country.

A 'paradise for foodies and garden lovers in a tranquil corner of Aberdeenshire', this country-house hotel in the fertile Howe of Cromar is an architectural gem.

Redolent of its sometimes racy past, this veritable palazzo, designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1850 for the Duke of Sutherland, sits in National Trust pleasure grounds above the Thames.

Currently closed for updating by its new owners, this hotel huddles under the Welsh Black mountains, where peace, stillness and surroundings removed from the buzzing demands of the modern world are guaranteed. The hotel is due to re-open in April.

With its romantic bedrooms and views across the Menai Strait, the former country residence of the Armstrong-Jones family offers 'exceptional yet relaxed service and great food', writes a reader this year.

Where the road ends and the Irish Sea begins, this former Victorian hunting lodge with a private cove is secluded, unapologetically traditional and rich in comforts and good food.

A grand country house with both Jacobean and Georgain sides, Hartwell gazes over an 18th-century landscape, with Ionic temple, obelisk, and a lake spanned by an arch from the old Kew Bridge.

With a Michelin-starred restaurant, Grade II listed garden, 17th-century pele tower and French drawing room, Askham Hall sounds as if it might be very formal; not a bit of it. 'The most homely stately hotel we have ever stayed in,' reports one reader.

Currently closed for updating by its new owners, this hotel huddles under the Welsh Black mountains, where peace, stillness and surroundings removed from the buzzing demands of the modern world are guaranteed. The hotel is due to re-open in April.

Redolent of its sometimes racy past, this veritable palazzo, designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1850 for the Duke of Sutherland, sits in National Trust pleasure grounds above the Thames.

Gorgeous interiors and a friendly, informal ambience are a winning combination at Susan Stuart's beautiful B&B, where every bedroom has a sea view, and breakfast is quite special.

This sprawling honey-stone building with its tall chimneys and leaded windows offers history, grand rooms and antiques, along with a thoroughly modern spa and 21st-century luxuries.

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.

At this Grade I listed Georgian House of Assemblies, where glamorous event spaces drip with chandeliers, you'll find a restaurant, cookery school, and 15 spacious bedrooms, styled with pizzazz and a sense of fun, several with their own garden or lounge.

Where the road ends and the Irish Sea begins, this former Victorian hunting lodge with a private cove is secluded, unapologetically traditional and rich in comforts and good food.

A Georgian merchant's house and former bank on a square beside the mouth of the Great Ouse is today a stylish hotel, brasserie and popular local hang-out.

A stroll from the quay, behind a quaint, jettied, black-and-white facade, a drop-in café, bar and restaurant has excellent pet-friendly bedrooms, approached via creaky, winding stairs.

A private drive loops through native woodland and pastures to this classical mansion overlooking a ruined Knights Templar castle and teeming fishing lake in W B Yeats country.

Swathed with creepers and bedecked with flowers, this wildly atmospheric B&B stands on a cobbled street in a medieval citadel with views over Romney Marsh.

A tree-lined drive leads to this 17th-century Wye Valley mansion, remodelled in 1912, replete with country-house comforts, important artworks, and a well-regarded fine-dining restaurant.

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.

A grand country house with both Jacobean and Georgain sides, Hartwell gazes over an 18th-century landscape, with Ionic temple, obelisk, and a lake spanned by an arch from the old Kew Bridge.

With the feel of a private club rather than a hotel, this 'very special place' lies behind the 18th-century facade of three shop-houses in a once-notorious area that is now filled with hip eateris and bars.

With peacocks in the garden, kilt-wearing staff, fire-warmed sitting rooms and antiques at every turn, this 17th-century country house is an indulgent experience.

There is a hint of Castle Gormenghast about this fairytale 1820s marine villa, with its jumble of roofs, gables, gargoyles, towers and dormers, in gardens running down to a sandy beach.

Bedrooms (most across the road at The Angel) blend contemporary chic and modern comfort with notes of rusticity at this historic hotel in a conservation village, with the barrel-vaulted Crypt bar, and simple, excellent food in dining areas.

'Over five decades the dear old George has never missed a beat, and our stay was as perfect as ever in this beautiful, old but supremely comfortable hotel in a lovely town.'

A tree-lined drive leads to this 17th-century Wye Valley mansion, remodelled in 1912, replete with country-house comforts, important artworks, and a well-regarded fine-dining restaurant.

'A stone's throw from everything Oxford has to offer', Jeremy Mogford's second hotel (see the Old Bank) impressed our inspectors with its 'peaceful, classy vibe'.

Just over a mile from York, this imposing William and Mary country house in 20 acres of beautiful gardens and parkland offers 'luxurious rooms and amazing food'.

This Tudor Gothic-style Elizabethan mansion, extended over centuries, overlooks parkland with a rare 17th-century parterre, walled rose garden, cascade, lily pond and follies.

You can dine in style in the Grand Ballroom or hunker down in the cosy old Pilchard inn at this extraordinary Art Deco hotel on a tidal island just a sea tractor ride from the 21st century.

Gorgeous interiors and a friendly, informal ambience are a winning combination at Susan Stuart's beautiful B&B, where every bedroom has a sea view, and breakfast is quite special.

The epitome of Edwardian grand-hotel luxury, with its liveried doormen, dazzling interiors, glamorous bedrooms and Michelin-starred dining, the Goring is, for all its cachet, welcoming and unaffected, with an acres of garden at the rear.

A private drive loops through native woodland and pastures to this classical mansion overlooking a ruined Knights Templar castle and teeming fishing lake in W B Yeats country.

Currently closed for updating by its new owners, this hotel huddles under the Welsh Black mountains, where peace, stillness and surroundings removed from the buzzing demands of the modern world are guaranteed. The hotel is due to re-open in April.

A grand country house with both Jacobean and Georgain sides, Hartwell gazes over an 18th-century landscape, with Ionic temple, obelisk, and a lake spanned by an arch from the old Kew Bridge.

This Tudor Gothic-style Elizabethan mansion, extended over centuries, overlooks parkland with a rare 17th-century parterre, walled rose garden, cascade, lily pond and follies.

Just over a mile from York, this imposing William and Mary country house in 20 acres of beautiful gardens and parkland offers 'luxurious rooms and amazing food'.

Gorgeous interiors and a friendly, informal ambience are a winning combination at Susan Stuart's beautiful B&B, where every bedroom has a sea view, and breakfast is quite special.

'A winding drive through woodland takes you back in time' to Henry and Lucy Hodgson's Victorian country house on a 180-acre estate on the shores of Lough Corrib.