Life is attuned to nature at this country-house hotel in a Georgian mansion on a working estate. with walled garden, biodynamic farm, luxury spa, and two restaurants that celebrate seasonality and provenance.

For more than 40 years, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at this beautiful country-house hotel 'and in our opinion, it's a travesty that he hasn't been awarded three', say Guide insiders.

Historic features are seamlessly blended with contemporary styling at this riverside gastropub with indoor, outdoor and waterside dining, and a menu of pub classics alongside more inventive dishes.

A fourth venture for Justin and Charlotte Salisbury, this 16th-century beamed farmhouse-cum-local, a former haunt of Dylan Thomas's, has a range of highly individual rooms, mostly in outbuilding with outdoor seating, as well as larky modern art, upcycled, recycled and vintage furniture, a restaurant and bar serving pub food with a difference.

A fine base for exploring the Chilterns, this urbane hotel is just outside a picturesque riverside village near historic houses and vineyards.

A bus ride from Greater London, in the Surrey hills, this whitewashed former coaching inn is a good mix of friendly local and gastropub with rooms, a good base for walking, cycling and picnics on Box Hill.

So handy for Windsor Castle and Great Park, this is a friendly, affordable independent hotel with relaxed dining in restaurant and bar.

With 100 metres of waterfront, river-view bedrooms, casual all-day dining, and plenty to do, this is a fun, casual hotel with a good choice of bedrooms at affordable prices.

An ideal base from which to visit Highclere (aka Downton Abbey) or to spend a day at the races, this dog-friendly, equestrian-themed gastropub has bedrooms in former outbuildings, including the old stables, a wide-ranging menu of pub classics, grills, and imaginative small and large plates.

Just a couple of minutes' drive from Petworth, with views over farmland to the South Downs, this gastropub has smart contemporary bedrooms and some exciting menu choices.

Jeremy Mogford's conversion of the old Barclays Bank right in the city centre gets credit for its smartly furnished bedrooms, marble bathrooms, and an art-adorned all-day bistro, Quod, in the old banking hall, with Italian garden terrrace.

A family and dog-friendly 18th-century inn with riverside gardens in the Vale of the White Horse, this is now part of Butcombe Boutique Hotels, which has refurbished the six bedrooms with botanical and Arts and Crafts wallpapers, king-size beds, vintage pieces and Bramley toiletries. Menus mix sharing plates, pub favourites and some more adventurous dishes.

Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and Elizabeth Taylor were among notable guests entertained by press baron Lord Beaverbrook at this glamorous Victorian mansion overlooking Italianate gardens, now an opulent spa hotel and treasure trove of memorabilia, with a tempting range of dining options.

Old-world atmosphere and contemporary comforts are in perfect balance at Jeremy Mogford's 17th-century stone country house in the city, handy for all that Oxford has to offer, and with an eclectic art collection, intimate restaurant, walled dining terrace, and immaculate bedrooms, some with outdoor space.

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

Pigs have foraged in the New Forest since the Norman Conquest, but a different breed arrived in 2011, when Robin Hutson took on a Georgian hunting lodge and reinvented the English country-house hotel, with a shabby-chic style mixing designer wallpapers and boot-sale finds in characterful house rooms and hideaway suites. Seasonal menus feature produce from the bountiful kitchen garden.

Between the Thames and Windrush, this 17th-century pub blends all the charm of a traditional village local with rugs on flagstone floors, comfy sofas and log-burner, country-chic bedrooms including the impressive four-poster Blenheim Suite, and gastropub cooking in the atmospheric dining room.

You can paddleboard on the river, take a yoga class, stroll to see the deer in Richmond Park, and feel a world away from central London at this smart, multifaceted Thames-side hotel.

In rose-filled gardens approached by a bridge across a stream, the Wild family's hotel, converted from three 17th-century cottages a stroll from its own quayside, has well-equipped, country-classic bedrooms, and both formal and informal dining in restaurant and brasserie.

In a historic and picturesque South Downs village, this colonial-style Victorian villa with galleried veranda has 16 classy bedrooms and an airy restaurant and dining terrace serving short menus of locally sourced, seasonal, modern British dishes.

This chic and stylish small hotel, in a beautifully restored Regency building that once hosted the future Queen Victoria, has lovely public spaces for relaxing, drinking or dining, and an enviable clifftop position on a garden square above the sands and Royal Harbour.

A stunning baronial-style Victorian manor house overlooking a red-deer sanctuary in the New Forest, this spa hotel with outdoor pool has been stylishly updated as an adults-only retreat with a well-regarded restaurant offering à la carte, prix fixe and vegan menus of locally sourced food.