No-nonsense farm conversions with open, airy rooms and good big showers sharing a pool, a playground and fabulous views. Great walks, too

Step through a door in an old wooden gate to discover a courtyard garden on the edge of town close to golden sands

Painting courses on request, gardens full of roses, a parasol’d terrace, a seductive pool… we love this welcoming, traditional hotel

Beautiful Noto is 4 miles from the Ionian Sea, and this creative renovation, with lush garden, stands above the throng. Heaven in Sicily

Tucked at the bottom of a long track and surrounded by a gorgeous natural landscape, is this generous end-slice of a 17th-century stone farm

Pluck grapes, splash in the child-shallow pool and explore the ‘Yorkshire of Italy’ with rolling green hills and conical trulli

A warm, gracious townhouse in a small town, run by delightful new hosts. Explore chateaux, canoe on the Loire... cycle to Angers!

A peaceful spot for this beautifully restored old barn surrounded by lovely gardens and a sparkling pool on the banks of the Dordogne river

A Victorian house on a 5000 acre estate, snazzily renovated and tucked down a track with a private lake, in the quieter part of Cumbria

Exceptional generosity reigns at this complex of 5 excellent, colourful holiday apartments, with pool and meals, on the Sorrento Peninsula

Up in the Cévennes, this big, beautiful family house has superb views, a fine kitchen, lots of space and masses to do and see

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

You will fall in love with this very special Tuscan agriturismo between the mountains and sea: peace and simplicity prevail

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

Capture the spirit of a different era in these immaculate studios and apartments surrounded by umbrella pines, down the road from St Tropez

There's a pared-back unforced elegance to this stone barn sitting quietly in its own grounds beside a cobbled courtyard awash with roses

Stylish interiors, beautiful rooms, lovely staff and wonderful food – all this in the Forest of Dean with great walking and cycling trails