Grade II-listed country hotel with lovely gardens and an excellent restaurant, a short walk from Ambleside and the top of Lake Windermere

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

Four stylish Andalusian retreats surrounded by olive groves and almond trees, and a restaurant for wonderful, seasonal food

Come for authentic restoration, chic Savoyard décor, breathtaking views of the Portes du Soleil, and a chairlift a 7-minute drive

A welcoming country-house hotel that’s popular with locals and visitors alike - good food, stylish rooms and an airy restaurant wait

For walkers and lovers of wildly beautiful coastal country: two cosy old cottages and a bright, modern renovation in a cluster with others

Built in 1518 to gaze across the Loire to Amboise and decorated with discreet elegance and respect for its history. Guests love it

The sort of inn we all love - open fires, original beams, ancient flags, tasty food, with lovely bedrooms thrown in for good measure

A magical Sicilian island with a cluster of 400-year-old lava rock houses. Charming staff, freshwater pool & generous breakfast buffets

A peaceful old ivy-clad mill with a beautiful terrace overlooking the water, sculpture-filled gardens, comfortable bedrooms and hearty food

A peaceful grown-up place circled by meadows and woodland with helpful owners next door – a superb spot to explore the south-west

A rural haven in a lovely garden with comfortable bedrooms, brilliant breakfasts and bikes for hire – explore the Parque Natural

A romantic creekside cottage down a web of narrow lanes in a tumbling green valley – mess about on the water to your heart’s content

An organic farm near coast, village and Etna – super for families, done in simple good taste. Laze in the hammock, visit the coast...

Escape to the edge of the Atlantic. Find airy rooms and good food served from terraces overlooking the ocean – all with a green conscience

Four gîtes in the château’s vast barn, one in the tower. Magnificent mountain and valley views, and Sandrine’s regionally inspired meals

Former blacksmith’s workshop in a chocolate-box corner of the New Forest, where clematis climbs the trellis and all you hear are the birds

Help yourself to the farm's strawberries and peaches, hop in the car to Colares, laze on the lovely terraces or simply gaze at the view