Come for good architecture, thoughtful design and much space for relaxing: swimming, massages, hammam and sauna, beautiful bedrooms

Comfortable apartment steeped in Breton history, in a beautifully renovated gabarier’s house overlooking the marine estuary

A charming comfy cottage with wood burner, delicious hilly views, walks radiating from the door. We didn’t want to leave!

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

An open-plan kitchen, sunny terrace and fruitful gardens shine at this private hillside villa. From here, it's easy to ski, swim or sunbathe

In the gardens of a laid-back country house, a barn with books, games, faded rugs and a grand piano – a treat for convivial families

An impressive manor house set in gentle rolling countryside ten miles from Oxford with a delightful garden, warm hosts and organic breakfast

Come here in the summer (it’s closed Nov-April except by arrangement) for candlelit dining, chintzy bedrooms, long views over the park...

A three storey house and garden with sea glimpses in the 'vieux village' named for the Mimosa trees which flower in profusion in winter

Be inspired by hilltop views, unwind in beamed rooms by huge fireplaces or scramble down to the beach for family adventures

With stunning coastal views and family farm surroundings, these cottages are bright and roomy; plus wood-burning stoves and indoor pool

Perfect for lovers of the quintessentially English cottage - carefully renovated and classily stylish - a ramble to nearest pub

Something to astound at every turn where the traditional and downright quirky collide to stunning effect. Friendly, flexible hosts too

A gorgeously quirky historic building overlooking the bustling harbour with a cracking bar, St Austell ales, superb food and stylish rooms

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

An 18th-century limestone barn, now a quiet hideaway for a group of friends or family in a very rural spot surrounded by fields and woods

A spectacular hillside house, with brilliant food, welcoming hosts, wonderful walks all around and views to Windemere beyond

A comfortable and light-filled converted stone barn in the pretty Vendée, a quiet and rural spot but just half a mile from town