The traditional granite longhouse hotel at Weeke Barton might be a 500-year-old rural home, but its interiors are pure modern city chic.
If you’re planning a group weekend away, book the whole house (it sleeps up to 12 adults and four children).
Standing proudly at the 18th hole of the town’s world-famous golf course, Rusacks St Andrews has been restored to its striking best with richly furnished rooms, handsome detailing throughout, three top-drawer dining destinations and peerless views
A dip in the indoor pool, in the spa building below a high stone ceiling, is so peaceful it’s verging on a religious experience (the church-like vaulted windows add to the effect)
Wrapped in manicured gardens with sweeping views over Windermere, Linthwaite House delivers 21st-century sophistication amid a stirring landscape.
The cocktail menu at the Bar & Conservatory takes guests on a taste tour of Italy via the lakes. Whatever the season, settle by the window with a Windermere Spring, an exotic blend of saffron, lime juice, vanilla and orange syrup with Peychaud’s bitter.
Located in quintessentially British Oxford is the Randolph Hotel by Graduate and its resident restaurant The Alice – a heritage-filled hideaway fit for magicians and muggles alike.
The hotel was purpose-built in the 1860s, but has also lent a helping hand to the public in times of crisis – the most notable being as a field hospital to treat those injured during the air raids of the Second World War.
The hotel hosts regular retreats throughout the year, whether it’s for fitness or an artists’ workshop. And look out for screening nights at the ‘Hidden Cinema’, which seats 25.
There are visual flashes around the Peacock at Rowsley Hotel in Derbyshire that seem to indicate, as you arrive, that time has stood still in the village.
In the restaurant, chef Dan Smith turns locally sourced ingredients into fine‑dining feasts with an adventurous Mediterranean undercurrent; pigeon with spinach, puy lentils and a Madeira jus, for example; or fruit minestrone with orange and saffron tagliatelle. There’s a simpler bill of fare in the bar, where you can also order from the restaurant menu if you can’t drag yourself away from the fireside.
No 1. by Guesthouse, York is a 19th-century townhouse that dips a dainty toe into the past and is set to become a beloved fixture of its present
For rainy days, there’s a stash of board games in the lounge; or you could ask staff to talk you through the curios on display throughout, many of which relate to aspects of the city’s industrious nature: haberdasher’s tools, gas lamps, apothecary drawers. And for sunny days, ask the hotel to pack you a picnic, which you can lay out in the museum’s botanical gardens or Dean’s Park by the Minster.
In the heart of the Cotswolds market town of Cirencester, boutique hotel the Kings Head Hotel adds a sympathetic stamp of contemporary country style to 450 years of history.
Keep your eyes peeled as you walk up the wrought iron stairs to your room – the eponymous King is featured on the bannisters and, as you climb from floor to floor, he grows from a toddler, to a middle-ager (complete with bald pate) and finally to an old man.
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