Chill under poolside palm trees or lose yourself in novels on super comfy armchairs. Funchal with its colourful markets is within easy reach

Beautiful B&B in idyllic setting, with natural salt water pool and plenty of relaxed communal spaces

A spacious farmhouse with a pool in the grounds of a stately château. Wander the walled garden, explore the countryside and pretty villages

A rare treat, 700 metres above sea level and girdled by forests, waterfalls, chestnuts and olives, this is the place to come for solace

Pretty, thatched, perfectly round: a romantic village bolthole with retro touches. Grab flip-flops, leads and run the dogs on Pendower beach

Come for a traffic-free medieval hamlet in sleepy Maremma with easy-going hosts, a beautiful garden and views over the valley

Welcome to a cosy, country-rustic bolthole for four, in a friendly, community village inn, with some of the best food in Shropshire

Once a shooting lodge, this stand-alone big building was part of a medieval estate and you can still see the grassy mount and dungeon tower

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

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

Great design along with much comfort and warmth an hour from Inverness airport, but a world away from the city and with stunning views

A roomy, open-plan space for romantics, with complete privacy but with pub, bakery and views of the market garden from your own terrace

This secluded New Forest inn is a magnet for families in summer: a good pint and the log fire make it a superb winter hideaway too

This friendly, Scottish island B&B has the Atlantic at the end of the garden and air so clean the lichen grows like beards from the trees

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

A smartly refurbished 500-year-old coaching inn with very comfortable bedrooms, good food and the Peak District at your feet

Sheep's Head Way is reputedly one of the best walks in Ireland. Come back to roaring fires, a Rayburn, art and style – terrific restorations

Come for a spot of indulgence, with seriously good food and wine, oodles to do in the courtyard, great bedrooms and a cool spa for a splurge