Colourful coastal apartments and studios where you can be nicely independent, and enjoy a communal café and health club with Art Deco pool

Find beauty and tranquillity on this historic Dordogne estate for up to fourteen - plus a feast of designer colour and a fine pool to share

Five beautiful and fully accessible cottages on an organic farm for restful retreats with family or friends – a Sawday's Community Champion

Three immaculate rooms in a 17th-century building; step out onto winding streets lined with trattorias, boutiques, fountains and monuments

Small and elegant family-run hotel with airy bedrooms, plenty of private spaces and a bus to take you to the centre of bustling Avignon

A niftily restored, open-plan, beamed hayloft, just the ticket for romantics, with gorgeous views of fields and open countryside

There's a pared-back unforced elegance to this stone barn sitting quietly in its own grounds beside a cobbled courtyard awash with roses

Come for gloriously independent B&B in your own cosy retreat with a belter of a breakfast brought to your door and plenty of local walks

Cosy, peaceful retreat not far from Hadrian's Wall. A real fire, tennis, BBQ, the Coast to Coast cycle route and hilly treks from the door

Off the beaten track and into the hills – this remote, unknown bird-filled region is faultless for outdoorsy people

A neatly-converted old farmhouse on a quiet country lane with bright living spaces, heated pool, garden and hot tub just minutes from sandy beaches

A 1750 one-storey former farm building, beautifully converted into a lovely hideaway for walkers, nature lovers and peace seekers

A superb palazzo in beautiful old Florence with 13 design rooms, a cocktail menu and breakfast in your room. Arty, stylish and near the Duomo

A really well thought-out escape for a small family with children. A big garden, pool, petanque court and play barn for indoor fun

A striking 200-year-old coaching inn in a sleepy village with a classic, traditional pub feel, superb food and wines, pretty bedrooms

A medieval monastery, stunningly revived, in untouristy, car-free Pisciotta. Sip greco on the terrace; scramble through olives to the sea

An iconic Cotswold pub, restored to perfection, with a cracking bar, elevated pub food and some super-smart bedrooms in pub and extension

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake