A grand yet very homely place with tasty home cooking and 200 acres to explore. Play golf, sail, cycle – wonderfully informal

Gracious hosts pamper guests in their family mansion, with a wellness spa, fire-warmed lounge and four-course meals from a talented chef

Sit back and relax at this luxuriously elegant grand manor in the heart of the Dordogne with a concierge service to take care of everything

A fine designer house and pool above the coastal hurly-burly and one of the loveliest coves in Spain, backing onto a nature park. Happy hols

An ancient manor from the middle ages, built against a stone cliff with extensive terraced grounds, pool and parkland filled with wildlife

There’s a Tuscan feel to this lovely, family-friendly place – walk to the sound of cicadas, stargaze, visit vineyards, markets and castles

A pretty stone single-storey house, now renovated beautifully into a comfortable hideaway with wonderful views to woodland and river

Welcome to a beautiful space for six in Sicily’s chocolate capital - baroque jewel Modica. Laze in the garden, dip into the pool

A 16th-century timbered riverside inn with a relaxed, rustic feel, garden cabin rooms with views and fresh seasonal and homegrown food

A clutch of airy properties, most with their own jasmine-scented terraces arranged around a funky pool

The village is tiny, the bar is lively, the food is delicious. The Cotswolds are at your feet and you’re encouraged not to lift a finger

An 1820s beach house just 50 metres from the pretty sands and a first-floor deck for al fresco meals with stunning views over the water

A handsome château filled with intrigue and interest on the edge of a Bastide town in Landes. Your charming host looks after you with aplomb

In the heart of a pretty village next to a picturesque stream, your elegant B&B is a haven of peace and quiet. La Rochelle is close

A 18th-century house with pool in a small town with friendly owners and a tropical garden of banana, fig and, of course, frangipani

An old sporting lodge in Argyll renovated with sensitivity – fish in the river, gaze at the night skies, climb Ben Udlaidh

A hilltop setting for this ancient fortress with an illustrious past. You stay in apartments or farmhouses inside or outside the walls