Stay on a secluded private estate by the sea - once the home of the brilliant French writer, Colette

Ideal for families: pool, tennis and golf at the hotel with beach and yachting nearby. Comfortable bedrooms and a terrace for outdoor dining

A friendly, generous, big old house with not an ounce of pretension. Big families will adore gathering here to have fun and unwind

An elegantly renovated coaching inn with inspired design, beautifully simple pub food, tempting ales and gloriously comfortable bedrooms

Once a hunting lodge, this unique and authentic 18th-century architectural folly sits up a quiet tree-lined drive on the edge of the estate

Plenty of restful, comfortable space indoors and out in the Mediterranean garden with its courtyard pool – restaurants to walk to

A comfy cottage for two in the quiet, leafy outskirts of Aix with easy access to the city and a kind, attentive owner nearby

A lovely old stone house with a covered veranda and sparkling pool in a small hilltop hamlet overlooking a lush forested valley

Glorious boutique hotel on the Sorrento Peninsula with Michelin-starred restaurant and superb cellar to explore

Perfect luxury in deepest Normandy: gorgeous gardens, a heavenly pool, and interiors worthy of an art gallery

Friendly inn in the middle of Sedbergh. Lots of bedrooms to choose from, suntrap picnic area, walks in the Yorkshire Dales on the doorstep

Such lovely views from this light-filled flat, built in the 19th century – curl up with a book and gaze out to sea

A delight to stay in this 1880s croft house on the quieter west coast - fabulous vegetarian and vegan food, thoughtful rooms, lovely owners

A beautiful little house in a corner of the garden: walk for miles or just to the local pub, barbecue on the deck with its rural views

A peaceful retreat with yoga and activities to restore and renew, in the Andalusia hills between Granada and the Mediterranean coast

This small hotel with pool has elegant communal spaces, spoiling bedrooms, kind staff, delicious food and panoramic mountain views

Wow. The sort of place you long for on dreary days - inspired architecture, heavenly views, delicious home-cooked food, a lake for swimming

A handsome château filled with intrigue and interest on the edge of a Bastide town in Landes. Your charming host looks after you with aplomb