Climb the candle-lit marble staircase to dream between lavender-scented sheets in splendid rooms, some with balcony or terrace

Vast rooms, thick stone walls and ancient flagged floors skilfully modernised to create comfort, surrounded by romantic château gardens

Generous apartments in a 300-year-old farmhouse with beautiful grounds and a swimming pool

Glass-and-timber doors bathe you with light, gaze at big skies and the river Dart lapping. Sublime year round, it's one of our favourites

Achingly trendy, a design-lover's dream with infinity pool, wine on the terrace, pampering spa and a sunny bay at your feet – stunning

In a chocolate-box village just an hour on the train, and a short hop in a taxi, from London is this foodie inn with pretty bedrooms

A soothing, deeply romantic bolthole with simple interiors and its own little private garden, next to a winery and surrounded by vineyards

A converted 19th-century church in the Northumberland National Park with beautiful stained-glass windows and a restored tower

An 18th-century coaching inn wrapped in countryside now a relaxed pub with rooms serving excellent food and drink with 16 inviting bedrooms

A cracking spot for this thatched and beamed 17th-century village inn with lovely gardens, just a half-mile stroll from Lulworth Cove

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

Traditional Provencal farmhouse with a large garden and a swimming pool. Historic villages with markets and great restaurants close by

Good restaurants, beach walks, a grand welcome for dogs: that’s Whitstable. Bring friends and stay in this smart house close to it all

A charming 17th-century village inn, a destination place for foodies and real beer lovers, with very comfortable and stylish bedrooms

A gorgeous wooden-clad off-grid cottage deep in the National Park with far-reaching views, unfussy interiors and spoiling extra treatments

Unwind in a beautiful old mill house on the banks of the Célé river, surrounded by high limestone cliffs for outstanding walks and wildlife

A gorgeous old gardener's house in grand Belle Epoque style, filled with every comfort and sitting in the grounds of a magnificent château

A lovely old 19th-century inn by the sea with hand-pumped ales, fresh local and seasonal food and spoiling bedrooms, some with sea views