This stylish little art-filled inn has comfortable rooms, is surrounded by good walking countryside and serves delicious food - rest here

Steps from the sea in get-away-from-it-all scenery – half an hour’s walk from St Ives’ arty heart. Sleeps 4 with pull-out beds for 2 more

High-up, simple apartments, pools with fabulous views; kids play-things and donkeys, the glittering coast, Rapallo and Portofino down below

A very peaceful, family-run hotel on the shores of Lake Garda with rose and jasmine-scented gardens for summer dinners by candlelight

Family-friendly hotel on Ullswater with a pool and a variety of bedrooms, some super-cool - swim in the lake, walk in the hills, eat well

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

Gaze out to the shimmering bay from your bird and nature-filled retreat in the tree-studded mountains near Alcúdia

An old chapel, smartly and sustainably converted, with a hot tub to soothe tired limbs after country walks through fells and dales

A sculptor's studio, flooded with light, converted into a restful holiday home surrounded by glorious countryside, near Totnes

Shady spots in the garden, a pool overlooked by tall palms, a bar nook stocked with drinks and a new spa in the Serra do Açor

Walkers and wild-lifers, here is your place in the Pyrenees. Colour, character, a welcoming family, log fires and delicious home cooking

Your very own love nest: frolic in the outdoor rolltop, hunker by the wood-burner, bask in the gardens... near Lakes and Dales

Bold, bright decor within the 19th-century walls of this pretty courtyard cottage, with a hot tub and long views over parkland and lake

Luxurious living combines with bleating sheep and bells from the church next door - 4 fabulous retreats on the Cotentin Peninsula

A stylish, cosy, stone-flagged cottage with vintage and modern furniture, wood-burners, patios and views - and three excellent pubs nearby

A beautifully restored townhouse in the heart of Amboise, steps from Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the great Château Royal