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.

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.

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.

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.

Just off the main street of this popular Cotswolds town, this family-run 16th-century former coaching inn is well liked for its three tasteful bedrooms, pub classics done well alongside more adventurous dishes, and an oasis garden at the rear.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A veritable palazzo, this Italianate mansion in National Trust pleasure grounds above the Thames oozes opulence, with bedrooms ranging from doubles to lavish suites, as well as a fine dining restaurant overlooking the parterre, and simpler options in the Astor Grill.

Occupying a row of honeyed-stone 15th-century weavers' cottages, this dog-friendly hotel has an inviting locals bar, individually styled bedrooms that blend contemporary comforts with tradition, and a restaurant serving classics alongside more modern dishes.

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.

East Coast America meets South Coast England at this single-storey, seaside-chic hotel with appealing room choices, fantastic locally sourced food, a spa cabin, beach yoga workshops, and a vast expanse of sands, washed by the English Channel, just over the spectacular dunes.

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.

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.

The launch venture of Hector Ross's Signet Collection, this Georgian inn with riverside terraces, across the road from Hampton Court, has beautiful, luxurious bedrooms and suites mixing contemporary opulence and classic style, excellent brasserie fare and a tasting menu in the river-view restaurant.

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.

Smart hotel accommodation combines with the ambience of a friendly local at this 17th-century country inn, part of Fuller's Cotswold Inns and Hotels collection, where bedrooms mix modern comforts with original features, the restaurant features small plates, Sunday roasts, pub and bistro classics, and your dog can join you in the bar or sun-trap walled garden.

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.

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.

Close to Canterbury, this family-friendly village gastropub has four stylish bedrooms, informal dining inside and out, and imaginative menus of locally sourced produce.

Nicknamed 'The White Palace', this seafront Victorian extravaganza is grand in stature but friendly by nature, a fine place to take afternoon tea, or to sip cocktails to the sound of the Palm Court Strings, with outdoor pool, health club and spa, a choice of restaurants, smart bedrooms and suites.

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.

An 18th-century coaching inn renamed to honour past farrier landlords, the former Maytime, a sister venture to Daylesford Organic farm, is a community hub a short stroll from the River Windrush, with simple, chic ground-floor bedrooms, a menu of rustic seasonal dishes and pub classics, a rear terrace and walled garden.