A wonderful watery setting for a super family hotel. White sands and sunsets, waddling ducks, breakfasts to relish …

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

A nicely priced inn on Shaftesbury's high street with a warm contemporary style and some excellent food – fine local walking waits

A nature-filled estate for smart lodge holidays in rural peace with woods and coast to explore, onsite activities and yummy homemade meals

A luxurious 1920s manor house with superbly stylish rooms, secluded gardens and a heated pool; close to the Picardy coast

A 17th-century stone mansion within the ancient walls of Avignon. Walk to cafes, watch the shows at the Festival, chat with convivial hosts

Chat long with gentle hosts over home-grown dinners; see stars above, walks, rivers and wildlife all around. Rustic comfort in rural Burgos

A serene restaurant-hotel on Chesil beach, with a perfect view of the big blue sea. How restorative can a hotel be?

Choose the atmospheric early Georgian house or the garden bedrooms, all have views, Paul's welcome is genuine and his dinners delicious

Gorgeous small hotel perfectly placed for the magical Dales - stylish bedrooms, open fires, lovely staff and pretty gardens all wait

Spacious bedrooms, friendly hosts and a classic English country house in a peaceful hamlet with walks from the doorstep

Enjoy fields of lavender and vines as far as the eye can see from this neat cottage, sharing a pool and gorgeous gardens with other guests

A 300-year-old cottage and a secluded, magical setting next to the longest sea loch in the UK, for walkers, dreamers and nature lovers

A large, attractive 18th-century house with sweeping lawns, outdoor seating areas and two free-standing baths by an ivy-clad wall

Vibrant, artistic barn conversion in the heart of York, a five-minute walk from the Minster. Convivial place with helpful, friendly hosts

A Victorian farm steading cleverly repurposed as an open-plan holiday home with bright, colourful interiors, deep in the Perthshire hills

A bit like staying with friends in a smart country house, but not having to help - an elegant refuge near Bradford-on-Avon

Light and sunny annexe with your own entrance in the centre of vibrant Buckfastleigh with lovely gardens, for couples plus a child or two