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.

A popular wedding venue, this Georgian former rectory with the ambience of a small country-house hotel scored highly with Guide inspectors for the superb cooking: a place worth visiting for the restaurant alone.

In a quiet, restful setting with its own small flock of sheep and free-range hens, this rustic-chic B&B is tucked away down a farm track by an old oak wood just three miles from the city centre.

This Victorian gothic mansion might appear a little forbidding, but step inside and you are overwhelmed by a warm ambience and beautiful interiors, while some guests choose to sleep in the woods in a timber-lined 'hive' or treehouse.

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.

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.

Named in honour of Shrewsbury's famous son, this Grade II* listed Sandford House, moments from the Severn towpath, has evolved into a B&B full of Darwin references, with animal and plant wallpapers, maps and natural history objets.

If you're looking for affordable luxury, this Victorian mansion in parkland, remodelled in the style of a French château, has spacious bedrooms, opulent suites, and a choice of small-plates dining or a tasting menu.

For bed and bard, you won’t find better than the Eden Collection’s child-friendly, dog-friendly, Georgian red-brick hotel, official partner of the RSC, right opposite the Royal Shakespeare and Swan theatres, with smart contemporary interiors, brasserie and alfresco dining.

Refurbished throughout by a new owner, this Georgian coaching inn in the city's historic heart offers a good choice of comfortable bedrooms, bars and dining options.

With views over the Hope Valley and Peak District walks from the door, this hotel and wedding venue offers a wide choice of smart bedrooms named after the Australian cricket team who stayed here in 1937.

Behind the Tudor black-and-white facade of this old coaching inn lies a gastropub big on sustainability, with some quirky options for an overnight stay.

This former shooting lodge, in a lovely Peak District setting beside the Derbyshire Wye, offers appealing accommodation, with some rooms opening onto a patio, and food of a high order in the restaurant.

In gardens bordered by the old castle moat, two knocked-together Georgian villas combine to form one beautiful, friendly hotel, with elegant and generously equipped bedrooms and suites, and exciting cooking in the conservatory using produce from the family farm.

An imposing presence on the old Great North Road, this creeper-covered coaching inn is a bit of old England, much loved for its timeless ambience, solidly traditional styling and retro classic dishes in the Oak Room, where a silver-domed carvery trolley still makes the rounds.

Food is at the heart of this hotel, with bedrooms of great charm in an ancient farmhouse and its converted outbuildings, an on-site cookery school and farm-to-fork menus of exciting, locally sourced dishes.

Part of the Signet Collection, this hotel has an easy-going vibe, smart, affordable bedrooms, relaxed brasserie dining, an outdoor spa and a rolling programme of activities, from yoga to wine tastings and murder-mystery dinners.

Behind adjacent shopfronts on the marketplace, this vivaciously styled restaurant with rooms wins high praise for its generously equipped, affordable, beautifully presented bedrooms and short, exciting seasonal menus, with dishes from the charcoal grill.

Behind the unmissable Tudor black-and-white façade of this former coaching inn and architectural gem you will find bedrooms blending modern comforts with original features, delightful staff, imaginative sharing plates and brasserie dishes in the restaurant and bar.

A fabulously photogenic, Grade I listed Jacobean building in the heart of this foodie town is home to a dog-friendly hotel where modern bedrooms with rainfall showers sit happily with original features, while guests can dine casually from a lounge menu, or more formally in the restaurant.

Bedrooms, some with access to a shared courtyard, are spread across the main house and converted outbuildings at this hotel In landscaped grounds on the edge of the Wolds, where interiors mix antiques with modern comforts, while fine and casual dining are on offer in the dog-friendly Pig and Whistle pub and restaurant.

Behind a Georgian facade, this 16th-century coaching inn in the historic town centre has cool, casual-chic interiors, warm and friendly service, innovative cooking in the restaurant, and real ales, wine, cocktails and tapas in next-door Ernest & Co Wine bar.

A 16th-century inn whose signal torch once guided travellers across the fens is today a beacon of hospitality, combining the pleasures of a cosy dining pub with individually styled bedrooms and smart modern bathrooms.

In leafy Edgbaston, a whitewashed Victorian villa is home to this colourful boutique-style guest house, its modern bedrooms furnished with some antique and retro furniture, with a bright sitting room, and Art Deco sister gastropub next door.

In a splendid, Grade I listed crescent, this spa hotel blends Georgian elegance and contemporary comforts, with a restaurant serving modern British cooking, and drinks and light bites dispensed in the bar.