Entries Tagged 'great britain' ↓

Hotel Devonshire Arms

This glossy, go-ahead country hotel is owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and furnished largely with objects from Chatsworth House. There are two dining rooms, the formal Burlington Restaurant and the designer Brasserie. Best of the bedrooms are the themed four-poster rooms in the Old Wing. Bolton Abbey, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6AJ. Map p75 D1

Hotel Simonstone Hall

A former hunting lodge (the American owner still takes it over for private shooting parties) with a welcoming, traditional interior. Slump in the elegant drawing room, fraternize in the Game Tavern, or withdraw to your room. The superior and deluxe ones are magnificent: huge and splendidly furnished. Hawes, North Yorkshire DL8 3LY. Continue reading →

Hotel Crosthwaite House

Handsome Georgian house; kind hosts; honest food served in an attractive dining room. Simple accommodation. Crosthwaite, Kendal, Cumbria LA8 8BP

Hotel Wateredge

Of the many places to stay around tourist-ridden Lake Windermere, this is a longstanding favourite. Family-run, with courteous, willing staff, it’s a quiet, traditional holiday inn situated right on the shores of the lake, its core being two fishermen’s cottages. Suites in the annexe. Private jetty. Recently refurbished. Waterhead Bay, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 0EP. Continue reading →

BORDER COUNTRY • NORTH WALES – SOUTH WALES

ALTHOUGH WALES NOW has its first cutting edge fivestar hotel, on Cardiff’s waterfront, this is a land best suited to the traditional country house establishment: warm, welcoming and above all, restful. Many places take advantage of the superb landscape of Wales, with views across tidal estuaries or of distant mountains. Some of the hotels we list – including a smattering of fine historic mansions – are in rolling border country. Others are along the beautiful coastline; others by the peaks of Snowdonia. Accommodation in Wales ranges from private ancestral homes, with a mere handful of rooms set aside for guests, to sophisticated retreats. Hearty Welsh breakfasts and good local cooking (with Welsh cheese a speciality) are often a feature.

Abersoch Hotels – Hotel Porth Tocyn

For 50 years, the Fletcher-Brewer family have run this excellent family-orientated hotel with magnificent views across Cardigan Bay and Snowdonia. The plain building was fashioned from a group of lead-miners’ cottages. Inside is a series of homely sitting rooms, and simple bedrooms, some interconnecting. Abersoch, Gwynedd LL53 7BU. Continue reading →

FROM PASTORAL border country to the raw, majestic scenery of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland’s landscape never ceases to amaze, and presents endless opportunities for outdoor pursuits – notwithstanding the rain and the summer midges. On the following pages you will find some of the most remote hotels in Europe, as well as ones fashioned from buildings as diverse as castles and crofts. The vast majority are in superb locations and are wonderfully secluded, perhaps overlooking a quiet loch with a view of distant mountains, or with lawns running down to a deserted swathe of golden beach. Of Scotland’s cities, Edinburgh is well served with fine hotels, and we include several useful addresses in Glasgow. Continue reading →

Balmoral Hotel

In the heart of the city, baronial grandeur, modern luxury and fine dining. 1 Princes St, Edinburgh EH2 2EQ.

Hotel Albany

Peaceful Georgian terrace close to Princes Street. Pleasant bedrooms, sparkling bathrooms. 39 Albany St, Edinburgh EH1 3QY. Continue reading →

NORTHERN ENGLAND

YORKSHIRE • LANCASHIRE NORTHUMBERLAND • LAKE DISTRICT

THE LAKE DISTRICT and the Yorkshire Dales are the areas of Northern England which have the largest number of visitors and the greatest concentration of places to stay. Windermere, in particular, offers a bewildering choice; we recommend the best and most secluded. But don’t overlook the rest of this region, which stretches north from the mouth of the River Humber to the Scottish borders: not least Northumberland and the North Yorkshire Moors for their rugged beauty, nor the cathedral cities of Durham and York. Wherever our entries are situated, they range from luxurious hideaways to plain, no-nonsense inns and are often in dramatic settings, perfect for walkers and lovers of the great outdoors.

Hotel Linthwaite House

Glorious lake views and fine grounds. A consummate, pampering hotel. Crook Rd, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria LA23 3JA.

Yorkshire Hotels – Hotel Crathorne Hall

Edwardian stately home, now part of the Hand Picked Hotels group, set in wooded grounds overlooking River Leven. Crathorne, Yarm, North. Yorkshire TS15 0AR.

Foresters Arms

 Atmospheric pub in a stone-built Dales village. Noted for its good food. NCarlton-in-Coverdale, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 4BB

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COTSWOLDS • THAMES VALLEY MIDLANDS • EAST ANGLIA

STRETCHING BETWEEN the Thames Valley in the south and a line drawn east-west from the mouth of the Humber river, Central England encompasses idyllic rural landscapes and great cathedral and university cities such as Lincoln, Manchester and Oxford. In the quintessentially English Cotswolds you will find fine places to stay in every category, from meltingly beautiful manor houses to enchanting vine-clad inns; the East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk also have a wide choice. Elsewhere there are smart townhouse hotels, a smattering of stately homes-turned-hotels and a tempting selection of country houses, located in widely differing yet easily accessible settings, and perfect for a restful few days.

Hotel Fischer’s Baslow Hall

A 1907 mock-Elizabethan house has become a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms under the aegis of chef Max Fischer and his wife Susan, an excellent hostess. The food is the point of the place (you can eat more simply in Café Max) but the smart bedrooms make a perfectly good overnight base. Calver Rd, Baslow, Derbyshire DE45 1RR. Continue reading →

LONDON • SOUTHEAST • SOUTHWEST ISLE OF WIGHT • ISLES OF SCILLY • CHANNEL ISLANDS

THE DEEP lanes, hidden valleys and sheltered creeks and coves of Cornwall and Devon make magical settings for a range of charming places to stay, from sophisticated seaside hotels to simple farmhouse B&Bs. In Dorset, Somerset and Avon there are a wealth of gracious mansions and manor houses which have been turned into hotels, perfect choices for a weekend treat. In the southeast, Sussex and Kent are favoured with a crop of delightful traditional buildings, some of them medieval, in which to stay. London had spent many years in the doldrums, but the city and its environs now have an impressive range of beautifully run, highly individual hotels. Note, however, that they are expensive and there are as yet few which stand out in the budget category.

Holne Chase

Quiet, restful former hunting lodge inside Dartmoor National Park. Perfect for sporting enthusiasts: fishing and shooting on tap. Ashburton, Devon TQ13 7NS Continue reading →

Hotel Beaufort

Consistently praised and with a high percentage of faithful regulars, this is an exceptional townhouse hotel. It is noted for the friendly attitude of its mainly female staff, the smart, tasteful decor, and the wealth of extras included in the rates (airport limo, cream teas, champagne). In a quiet street near Harrods. 33 Beaufort Gardens, London SW3 1PP. Continue reading →

Hotel Bath Priory

This is a perfect choice for a weekend treat, combining the seclusion of a country house hotel with the attractions of Bath a stroll away. The bedrooms are luxurious yet homely; the sophisticated drawing room is done out in deep reds and ochre yellow. Smooth service and excellent food (Michelin star). Weston Rd, Bath, Somerset BA1 2XT. Continue reading →