Novanta, Tuscany, Italy
A farmhouse hotel straight out of a painting in rural Italy. Artistic souls and those who enjoy a chat over dinner will love it here. Join chef Jereon as he harvests the kitchen garden and drop some pasta-making hints, hike to nearby mountain villages or just read by the pool in a hammock. Amongst the ancient buildings are a treehouse and skylodge, serene and innovative places to stay with the ancient farmhouse as the communal centre.
Perfect if you like: beautiful scenery, delicious food and sociable meals
7 Longport, Kent
A delightful, traditional Bed and Breakfast directly opposite the site of St Augustine’s Abbey and a five-minute walk to the Cathedral. You pass through Ursula and Christopher’s elegant Georgian house to find a pretty courtyard fringed with fig trees and rambling rose outside your self-contained cottage. Breakfast is up at the house, so you have the perfect blend of privacy and company.
Perfect if you like: history, cosy cottages, peace and quiet
The Tudor Kitchen, Pembrokeshire, Wales
This little bolthole gives solo travellers a 10% discount and is the perfect size for one, with everything required to cook and relax. Your self-catering space is in the oldest part of Daniel and Jemma’s house and the bedroom used to be the dairy, as you can see from thick, ancient beams with their original kitchen hooks. On rainy days, snuggle up in front of the fire and get lost in a new book. In spring or summer, explore the bountiful wildlife on the Pembrokeshire coast.
Perfect if you like: solo rates, fireplaces and characterful cottages
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Five Acre Barn, Suffolk
Your hosts, David and Bruce, will greet you warmly with tea and freshly baked cake. A guest sitting room, large breakfast table and open-plan kitchen run the length of the old barn, with steps at one end leading down to an award-winning cedar-clad guest wing. Leisurely, sociable breakfasts include locally sourced and home-baked products. You can walk to the local pub, you’re five minutes’ drive from Aldeburgh and Thorpeness and there are miles of empty beaches all along the nearby coast.
Perfect if you like: a sociable atmosphere, coastal walks and big breakfasts
Dorset House, Dorset
A convivial B&B with books, magazines, games, walking maps and daily papers. You can use all the rooms as you like, so get your book and spend an hour on the sofa, wander into the kitchen to help cooking or have a drink on the terrace. Lyn makes a cake every day for the breakfast table. Enjoy home-toasted granola too, along with freshly ground coffee, seasonal juices and meat from the local organic farm. Lyme will keep you busy but if you want to venture further then visit pretty fishing villages Beer and Branscombe or Bridport with its bustling Saturday market.
Perfect if you like: contemporary interiors, a relaxed ambience and weekend markets
Grand Hôtel des Balcons, Paris, France
Les Balcons has the lot: an idea of service that produces tea on winter afternoons and a daily feast of a breakfast (cooked specials, organic yogurt, fruit salad, espresso), that’s free if it’s your birthday. Owners and staff appear to work with lightness and pleasure. Having decorated their Art Nouveau hotel by taking inspiration from the floral 1890s staircase windows, Jean-François and directrice Marie run the place with great charm. They’ll send you out smiling to wander the avenues and boulevards of the enchanting Latin Quarter and the rest of this fabulous city.
Perfect if you like: elegant interiors, art and city breaks
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More inspiration…
Solo Travel Collection
View more of our places in the Solo Travel Collection, from vibrant B&Bs in historical libraries, to buzzing foodie hotels and peaceful self-catering cottages in rural Devon.
Digital Detox Collection
A collection of places to full get away from it all and take a break from technology. Head into the middle of nowhere, take long walks in the countryside and spend quality time without any distractions.
Coastal Cottages
Cottages, hotels, inns and self-catering places on the coast with character, creativity and soul. Discover everything from white villas in Amalfi, to terraced spa hotels on the Cornish coast and old stone cottages in Pembrokeshire.