Spectacular views over Esthwaite Water, walks from the door and easy connections by ferry to explore the Lakes makes this 'a recharging of the batteries kind of place', reports a trusted reader. Other readers add that the friendly service and excellent food helps to make it 'one of the very best hotels'.
An iconic landmark on the harbour front, this bright-blue-painted former harbourmaster's house is home to a hotel with a great choice of individually styled bedrooms and an unpretentious restaurant, big on fish.
Behind the pretty façade of a Georgian town house in an affluent market town, this hotel is a perfect retreat, with small spa, oasis garden and croquet lawn.
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'.
Plas Tan-Yr-Allt Historic Country House B&B - Wales, Porthmadog
There's history a-plenty in this upmarket B&B, an Italianate villa with breathtaking views over the Glaslyn estuary to the Rhinog mountains, warm and welcoming hosts, and bedrooms named after famous former residents, including Percy Bysshe Shelley, who wrote 'Queen Mab' here.
Inventive cooking of beautifully presented dishes impress at this gastropub overlooking the Evenlode valley, with four rooms that are smart but not ostentatiously 'designer'.
Guests have a wide choice of individually style rooms and suites at this dog-friendly, creeper-covered hotel on the edge of the New Forest, and can opt for fine dining in the restaurant, or cheaper fare in Monty's Bar pub.
The real charm of this grand country house, with sweeping gardens, terraces, oak panelling and swish spa along with a convenient location in a hamlet a few miles from the A1 lies in its warm and informal atmosphere.
Under the big skies of Caithness, wrapped in woodland and a curve of the River Forss, this Georgian mansion offers the grandeur of Scottish country-house living but with modern-day warmth and comforts.
A former 17th-century inn, which is part of the Duke of Devonshire's 30,000-acre estate at Bolton Abbey, is today an impressive country-house hotel, with fine dining and a spa.
A French-influenced building on the harbourside, this family-friendly hotel and local hub was extensively refurbished by new owners the Original Collection in 2018.
Although the Cave-Browne-Cave family has sold its big, white hotel above Cardigan Bay, which it has operated since the days of silent film, new owners BLS UK Hotels Ltd are expected to keep things very much as they always have been, maintaining the existing management.
Family run, dog friendly and welcoming, this village pub at the foot of Howgill fells, between Lakes and Dales, is widely praised for its comfortable, individually styled bedrooms, pub classics and more creative dishes.
With its romantic bedrooms and views across the Menai Strait, the former country residence of the Armstrong-Jones family is 'steeped in history, love and charming details – a unique property'.
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.
An ideal base for walking and wildlife enthusiasts, this 18th-century inn with excellent pub food stands beside a Saxon church in a stunning village in Teesdale.
If the Borrowers opened a hotel, it would probably be something like Nick and Charlotte Dent's Georgian farmhouse, filled with upcycled objets trouvés.
After a day browsing the galleries of this buzzy, arty town, you can escape the crowds to sit serenely sipping cocktails in the sub-tropical gardens at this peaceful small hotel which doesn't allow drop-ins or children under ten.
Boutique chic has replaced backpackers' basics at this former youth hostel, which is now a popular city hotel, with a handy car park and particularly good rates for single travellers.
The last word in Cotswold chic, this boutique hotel offers contemporary-cool bedrooms beside twin venture The Crown at Ampney Brook, a 16th-century pub where fantastic food is served from an open kitchen in the inn proper and in dining 'hives' beside the eponymous brook.
Guests have a wide choice of individually style rooms and suites at this dog-friendly, creeper-covered hotel on the edge of the New Forest, and can opt for fine dining in the restaurant, or cheaper fare in Monty's Bar pub.
With the Goodwood Estate down the road and the South Downs on the doorstep, this rural, dog-friendly former coaching inn is popular with Barbour-wearing country-sports enthusiasts and hikers.
'Ideal if you want a place to unwind or as a base to explore from', this small, intimate hotel is surrounded by wild beauty on the quieter shore of Loch Ness. Owners Anna Low and Philip Crowe are 'wonderful hosts'.
An Edwardian country house in long-time family ownership is run as a spa hotel, restaurant and leisure destination with facilities for golf, tennis, bowls, croquet, swimming.
It's worth the expense to stay and eat in this 'lovely and historic house with delightful staff', conclude readers. Relaxed and easygoing, the Victorian Scottish baronial hotel on a 28-acre estate has plenty of comfy seating around log fires in bar and lounges.
Above the rugged cliffs and white-sand beaches of Lizard Point, mainland Cornwall's most southerly hotel is a contemporary retreat in harmony with nature and the seasons, with yoga classes, and a choice of dining options.
The rustic-chic bedrooms in farmhouse, cider house and barn at this rural Wye valley retreat in the Forest of Dean are all excellent, but the cooking is a still-greater attraction.
Helen and Chris Sheldon's Georgian townhouse is a 'well set-up, furnished and immaculate B&B' with a terrace that has spectacular views over Cardigan Bay.
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.
Third Night Free and Complimentary Tea Special Offer
Abbots Grange - England, Broadway
For lovers of art and history, the Taee family's adults-only B&B in parkland, built in the 14th century for the Abbot of Pershore and restored by genre painter F.D. Millet under William Morris's guidance, deserves every one of its five stars for its blend of superb modern hospitality and first-class facilities, with antique-filled interiors.
Behind a neo-classical façade, this Georgian coaching inn is a happy mix of local drop-in, hotel and restaurant, with 'comfortable rooms, good food and welcoming staff', says a returning reader.
Early Bird Autumn Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer
Scarista House - Scotland, Isle of Harris
The long drive is worth it to this edge-of-the-world location, where a Georgian manse, with pretty, traditional rooms and superb food, overlooks a long sandy beach.
This year there is no updated print edition of the Guide. Entries have been updated online.
You can still buy a copy of the 46th edition, which was published in October 2022.
Click here:
The Good Hotel Guide, founded 46 years ago, is totally independent. It receives no payments, no hospitality and no advertising from hotels selected for an entry in the printed edition. Hotels pay to be on the GHG website, but only those which have an entry in the printed Guide are eligible. Selected hotels are recommended by readers, backed where necessary by an anonymous inspection. Richard Fraiman is the owner of the Guide and is its chief executive. Jane Knight is the editor of the British Guide. Nicola Davies is a contributing editor of the Shortlist, and handles correspondence and research. The Guide specialises in small owner-managed hotels, inns and B&Bs in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and Ireland. It includes budget B&Bs, good-value hotels and inns as well as grand country houses and chic city hotels, all offering value for money in their price range.
