The British country house hotel was born in 1948, brought to us in the pink and frilly shape of Sharrow Bay, overlooking Ullswater in the Lake District. Presided over by a splendid couple, Francis Coulson and his partner Brian Sack, it came complete with a gargantuan afternoon tea, and Sack’s famous Icky Sticky Toffee Pudding and Coulson’s bedtime poems on the pillow. People adored it. There had been leisure hotels in the countryside before, of course, but this was the first where you could be assured of being personally pampered in beautiful rural surroundings, with a committed owner at the helm offering a warm welcome, decent food, peace and quiet.
Hundreds of characterful country estate hotels have followed, and today there’s a bewildering amount from which to choose. Here we present the cream of the crop. While some continue to offer no more than the pleasures of a beautiful old house, a roaring fire and a cup of tea, others cater to our increased demands: for spas, cookery courses and activities such as foraging. These are the best country house hotels in Britain, sharing in common comfort, excellent food and the joys of the countryside.
At a glance, the best country house hotels
Country house hotels in England
The Newt is one of the most exceptional country house hotels Britain has seen. It stands in a large working estate between Castle Cary and Bruton, and its famous gardens have been entirely replanted and redesigned. There’s a cyder press, bottling plant and bar, mushroom house, History of Gardening Museum, farm shop, treetop walk, thatched ice cream parlour and wild swimming ponds. Former editor of Elle Decoration South Africa Karen Roos is responsible for the hotel’s interiors. There is plenty to admire, especially the simplicity: the rough-hewn walls of the natural, unadorned spa; the unfussy, almost Scandinavian style of the 23 bedrooms and bathrooms. Read expert review From £ 383• The best hotels in Somerset
Belmond Le Manoir's style is a happy marriage between stately Oxfordshire and eccentric French fancy. The honey-coloured manor house creates an attractive focus around which an eclectic mix of 15th-century ponds, Provençal lavender rows, a Japanese garden, kitsch sculptures and a wild mushroom patch can all co-exist. Seasonality is king in its two-Michelin starred restaurant. A 1930s-style bar serves comforting cocktails and the wine cellar stocks a French dominated list of more than 1,000 different wines. Read expert review From £ 915• The best hotels in Oxfordshire
Lympstone Manor is easily one of Britain's most exciting country house hotels, with double-Michelin-starred BBC Great British Menu icon Michael Caines MBE at the helm. The man himself takes the time to greet guests and can often be spied striding through the halls in his white chef overalls. Don't miss the eight-course tasting menu dinner. Many chefs get bogged down in zany experiments with foams and moleculars, but Michael prefers to bravely poke at the booby-trapped boundary between sumptuous and sickly. Book a room with an outdoor bath overlooking the golden syrup sunsets of the Exe estuary. Read expert review From £ 445• The best hotels in Somerset
Soho House and Friends members will love this country escape, housed inside a honey-hued Georgian house, snugly swathed in pristine parkland. Guests loll on ludicrously oversized loungers, overlooking a reed-fringed lake. With one outdoor pool overlooking the lake, and a pool housed inside a cavernous stone barn, plus sauna, a cinema, tennis courts, a football pitch, gym and a Cowshed spa, you’ll want for little else. Rooms have antique four-poster beds, roll-top baths, open fires, hand-painted wallpaper and a plethora of toiletries. Read expert review From £ 220• The best hotels in Gloucestershire
This Georgian house commands far-reaching views across its 400-acre estate (woodland, gardens, lakes, biodynamic farm) and open countryside beyond but is only an hour from London. Design-wise, there’s a sense of warmth, naturalness and flop-down homeliness that’s artistic and literary – fine 20th-century English pictures from owner Gerald Chan’s private collection, a curated collection of books in the Morning Room and bedrooms – plus earthy and artisanal (lime plaster walls in natural colours, linens, English oak floors, hand-crafted furniture). Rooms are all beautiful, with bespoke minibars, exceptional artwork and many charming, spoiling touches. Read expert review From £ 550• The best boutique hotels in Britain
This has to be one of the loveliest spots for a hotel, overlooking a spectacular 19th-century parterre and surrounded by acres of ancient woodland running down to the Thames. Contrary to its appearance, Cliveden is not in the least bit stuck up and doesn’t mind whether you turn up in a Ferrari or a Fiat. The house has witnessed much intrigue over the years – it was the setting for the infamous Profumo affair – and a hint of naughtiness remains. Read expert review From £ 530• The best hotels in Berkshire
Chewton Glen has lovely grounds and guests can follow the stream through the woods to emerge at Naish Beach, with a view of the Needles rising from the sea. Facilities are legion: a lavish spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis centre, nine-hole golf course and many activities, from archery and buggy riding to duck herding. Bedrooms and suites, in many different styles, display astonishing attention to detail, down to the stamped postcards on each desk. Read expert review From £ 405• The best hotels in Hampshire
Beautifully decorated by Stefa Hart, who with her husband Tim has owned and run Hambleton Hall since 1979, the house exudes a feeling of controlled and carefully orchestrated wellbeing without ever feeling unnatural or overly theatrical. The flowing country house good looks are matched by the surrounding gardens and the beautiful view of Rutland Water from the lovely flower filled terrace. The cooking of Aaron Patterson, who began here as a 16-year-old sous chef, easily deserves its long held Michelin star and is rooted in local and seasonal produce, charmingly presented and always delicious. Read expert review From £ 265• The best honeymoon hotels in the UK
Perched atop a bank overlooking private woodlands traced by a boulder-strewn river, Gidleigh’s location is wild and dramatic. The décor is stylish if a little straight-laced, with everything you’d expect in an English country house hotel: antique furniture, wood panelling, stone fireplaces and elegant bouquets of flowers. The 24 bedrooms are decorated individually in a classic English country style, with supersized beds, roll-top baths, televisions, L’Occitane toiletries, spring water from the Gidleigh Estate, bowls of fresh fruit and complimentary decanters of Madeira. Head Chef Chris Eden creates superbly put together dishes in the restaurant. Read expert review From £ 297• The best hotels in Devon
A mixture of family furniture and paintings have been combined with more modern, or quirky pieces to create something both charming and unusual. The whole place feels part stately home, part private club, but mostly unique. Richard Swale is a gifted chef who draws his influences from, amongst others, Magnus Nilsson of Faviken restaurant in Sweden and Shaun Hill of the Walnut Tree, in Wales. Richard’s food is locally grown, or personally preserved and tastes correspondingly fresh and interesting. Read expert review From £ 180• The best hotels in Cumbria
A weathered stone manor house and farm building that’s grown to house 35 guest rooms, a gorgeous spa, a function centre in a converted barn, an Ofsted-registered crèche in the kids’ Playzone and two restaurants. There’s something incredibly relaxing about this hotel, with 'country modern’ bedrooms that manage to be both cosy and elegant, soothing and spoiling, natural and sophisticated. Double rooms are in the manor; family rooms overlook the outdoor pool. Read expert review From £ 364 Rates provided by Booking.com• The best hotels in the Cotswolds
This is not your standard rural retreat: a boutique members-only hotel meets Canadian wilderness cabin meets American country club. What was once a derelict farm has been transformed with some 40 reclaimed timber cabins flanking four man-made lakes and the original 18th-century farmhouse buildings. Electric milkfloats whisk guests around the estate, while families pedal by in matching dressing gowns and cow-print wellies. If feels more Truman Show than true country living. The result? The ultimate “country-lite” retreat. Read expert review From £ 295• The best hotels in the UK for spa breaks
Decoration and style tends towards the feminine and the flouncy with fabric-covered ceilings and padded fabric walls, pictures of dogs, plenty of cushions and so on but they add up, in general, to a feeling of spoiling indulgence and do not, mercifully, overwhelm. The drawing room, designed by the poet and author Thomas Hardy, is admirably classic in style, now painted a pretty blue, and the bedrooms are divinely pretty and comfortable. Read expert review From £ 255• The best hotels in Dorset
This handsome haven of comfort and wellbeing is above pretty Broadway on the north western edge of the Cotswolds. The 38 bedrooms are individually devised according to shape and outlook. Some of the 18 in the main house feature exposed stone walls and beams; entry-level rooms are among these and are large enough to accommodate a table and chair. Of the 20 rooms in adjacent wings, Rose Cottage is best for romantics and has its own hot tub, while the Courtyard suites particularly emphasise Scandinavian design. Read expert review From £ 399• The best hotels in Gloucestershire
The hotel is a characterful Georgian house, built in 1901 and owned by three generations of the Cunliffe family. That’s not to say it’s a creaking relic – the décor is glamorous boutique meets country pile. Life at the Gilpin is all about kicking back – and that’s helped by the service, about which it’s hard to say anything negative. Everyone smiles, everyone says hello – yet it’s not overbearing. Fishing, shooting, horse riding, mountain biking, paintballing and treasure hunts can also be organised on-site. Read expert review From £ 305• The best spa hotels in the Lake District
Built in the 18th century as a manor house, the hotel is set amid 500 acres of green fields and paddocks full of grazing horses. Inside, it’s all slick and stylish, a blend of traditional and contemporary, as befits a metropolitan, cosmopolitan Four Seasons hotel set in English countryside. Bedrooms are sophisticated and elegant, traditional in style but with high-tech amenities and large marble bathrooms, and flexible sleeping options for families. The fine dining restaurant is very elegant, and there is a more casual bistro, a bar with open fire and library for afternoon tea. Read expert review From £ 367• The best hotels in Hampshire
Sexy and fun as well as romantic. The 27 rooms are some of the most charming, traditional yet stylish (larders and minibars cleverly hidden inside antique cupboards; some televisions disguised as antique mirrors), comfortable, practical, quirky and soothing of any hotel bedrooms in the land. Head chef Dan Gavriilidis is responsible for the Devon version of the Pigs’ informal '25 Mile' menu, featuring the produce of the kitchen gardens and poly tunnels and the best locally-sourced ingredients. Read expert review From £ 189• The best hotels in Devon
There's a fun, innovative vibe at this haven in the rolling grounds of a private estate (sister hotel to Dormy House). It's essentially a group of cosy-chic properties created from an old coach house, stables and a farmhouse, with other contemporary additions. The buildings are dotted across a wide area, some near a small lake, others variously up a steep hill commanding majestic views over Broadway and across the Vale of Evesham. Key to the operation is The Lodge, a modern chalet-style building which is the dining, bar, lounge and general activity hub. Read expert review From £ 215• The cosiest hotels in Britain for winter
A petite, buttercream-coloured country house hotel located within the sylvan New Forest National Park. Lime Wood is a place for special occasions, restful spa weekends and romantic breaks. Its location is very much part of the place: the lush New Forest, can be seen, for example, through the windows of the spa. Over the last decade it has become a grande dame of the country, but it's certainly more fun than frills and fuss – think Bridgerton over Downton Abbey. Read expert review From £ 495• The best hotels in the Lake District
Sitting within a 500-acre estate that encompasses meadows, paddocks and woodland, the main building is a beautiful, symmetrical, creeper-covered Palladian mansion dating from 1720. Its public rooms are opulent and elegant, with a traditional country house feel. They include a panelled library, a drawing room with a corniced ceiling, an ornate fireplace as well as tassled curtains and sofas, and Restaurant Hywel Jones, laid out with white-clothed tables under a sky-painted ceiling. Read expert review From £ 292• The best hotels in the Cotswolds
Built in 1812 as the holiday home for the Duchess of Bedford, Georgiana Russell, this wildly romantic, chintz-free country estate, owned by Olga Polizzi, is steeped in royal history. It’s a verdantly gardened, Grade 1-listed Eden between Dartmoor and Exmoor, with shell houses and hidden glades for romantic tête-à-têtes. The cream teas are worth the journey alone: a help-yourself affair of just-baked scones accompanied by massive urns of clotted cream and fruit-laden strawberry jam. Breakfasts, too, are a cut above the rivals. Read expert review From £ 230• The best castle hotels in England
Step into a bygone era of English high society, original artworks and antiques at this luxurious country house hotel, where press baron Lord Beaverbrook entertained world leaders and literary greats. Grandeur and opulence ooze from every room, beautifully designed by Susie Atkinson: a cosy morning room with log fire and plump, squishy sofas offers stunning views of the North Downs and Italianate garden. The library's shelves heave with weighty tomes, and the UK's first home cinema, where Beaverbrook and Sir Winston Churchill discussed the war's progress, still has the original wood-panelling and lighting. Read expert review From £ 640• The best hotels in Surrey
This grand stately pile on a sporting estate in Dartmoor National Park caters for every whim, whether rugged outdoor pursuits or fine dining and pampering. Inside, there’s a heated swimming pool and whirlpool with deckchairs overlooking the grounds, plus steam room, sauna and gym, while the ESPA Spa offers an extensive range of treatments. Outside, in the 275-acre grounds, there’s an 18-hole championship golf course, tennis courts, a croquet pitch, archery and rifle range, putting green, helipad and beautiful lakeside walks to be had. Read expert review From £ 184• The best hotels on Dartmoor
Steeped in a wealth of family history and nestled in the pretty thickets of rural Dorset, this Jacobean country home has been in the same family for some 400 years. It boasts a collection of imposing family portraits, from valiant military ancestors to glamorous American heiresses, along with pretty, traditional rooms with Jacobean windows and garden views. The grounds are quintessentially English with magnificent trees towering over groomed hedges, flowers and bird song in spring and summer, and a fairy-tale white bridge over the Divelish Stream. Read expert review From £ 225• The best hotels in Surrey
Country house hotels in Wales
Probably Pembrokshire’s loveliest bolthole. Set above the sea, amid tumbling gardens, the beautiful bones of this Strawberry Gothic house have been brought back to life by a family who run it with love, decorate it with a keen eye for interiors, and source food locally. Melanie and Lucas employ a close-knit crew of lovely, local friends and family as staff. Their son Jacques, will whip his phone out from behind the bar and show you all the best beaches and how to get there. Lizzie (who runs reception) acts, in Melanie’s words, as 'an all round fairy godmother' and will go to any length to help you out Read expert review From £ 190• The best hotels in Gwynedd
• The best hotels in Wales
Bodysgallen is just as a country manor ought to be: it wings you back to a more graceful era, with its grand oak-panelled hall, library and dark-wood drawing room that's suited to afternoon tea. Beautifully tiled fireplaces are well stoked in the winter months. The house was built over 600 years ago – the oldest part being the 13th-century tower that's reached by a spiral staircase, which was built as a lookout. Ramble the romantic grounds, unwind in the spa or use it as a base to explore seaside Llandudno, castle-topped Conwy or the high peaks of Snowdonia. Read expert review From £ 340• The most romantic hotels in Wales
Llangoed is grand without overstepping the line into ostentation, and everything is designed to catch the eye, be it the antique barley-twist furnishings and chandeliers, or the bespoke Linwood fabrics, exquisitely arranged flowers and Royal Warrant crockery. Service is discreet, attentive and personal. Unlike in many hotels of this calibre, the staff are visible: you can chat with the head gardener in the kitchen gardens, for instance, or ring down for a butler to bring coffee and a morning paper to your room. The hotel has impeccable eco credentials, too, scooping multiple awards for its sustainable approach. Read expert review From £ 155• The best hotels in Wales
The hotel is set in 26 acres of grounds amid deep countryside, with distant views of the Preseli Hills. The main building is a handsome three-storey residence with Georgian proportions and distinctive Arts and Crafts panelling and fireplaces. The lounges – cosy yet elegant, with real fires, window seats, plush sofas and modern prints and paintings of coastal Pembrokeshire – set the tone of the whole property. There are 26 rooms in total. Expect treats such as the softest of sheets, posh toiletries, thick towels and house-made biscotti. Read expert review From £ 352Country house hotels in Scotland
Built in the 1920s as a railway resort hotel, the design is Scottish Baronial meets French chateau, with all the opulent comfort of a grand country house on steroids. (A dull-looking modern addition to one side is easily ignored). It’s so big you need the map provided when you arrive, but this five-star formality comes with a splendid sense of ease: time seems to slow from the moment the kilted doorman welcomes you to the hotel. Read expert review From £ 251• The best hotels in Scotland
No bows to passing fashions here. Moving with the times means waterfall showers, Bang & Olufsen stereos and televisions, while the unashamedly country house style – all swags, gilt, silk and brocade, sparkling crystal, polished wood and an all-pervading sense of time suspended, remains. Nowhere else makes grandeur so cosy, combining Jacobite rose wallpaper, Venetian chandeliers and French Empire-style ceiling frescos with perfectly judged élan. Dinner begins with a drink by the fire in the Great Hall, followed by a delightfully light-handed five-course menu with a distinctly Highland accent. Read expert review From £ 410• The best Scottish castle hotels
Resurrected after a devastating fire, this baronial mansion on Loch Lomond’s bonny banks is what the region has been missing: a truly world-class resort hotel for couples, families or friends that feels utterly Scottish. There’s plenty to shout about, including paddle boarding, falconry, jet skiing, a champagne cruise, and a Highland tour by 4x4 or seaplane, which is appealingly docked out front. The refurbished leisure club – with its two pools, mini spa and Nessie-sized flume – is another marvel, and popular with land-lubbing families, rain or shine. Read expert review From £ 340• The best hotels for spa breaks in Scotland
Secluded in a verdant estate of walkway-studded forests, with giant redwoods and pond-kissed formal gardens, Glenapp Castle is a grand 19th-century Scottish Baronial escape. Sandstone battlements viewed from the Azalea pond and Italianate gardens evoke a fairy tale, while imposing public rooms with Austrian wood panelling, period furniture, log fires and objets d’art create a warm, modern Victorian ambiance. Old-school, posh and opulent, without being stuffy, the castle has a sense of being at ease with its privileged role in the country life of South Ayrshire. Read expert review From £ 342• The best places to stay on Scottish lochs
A row of Wellington boots and Barbour jackets by the back door are a statement of intent at the heart of this welcoming house, and you don’t have to like whisky to love the low-key luxury vibes offered here. Hidden in a walled garden next to the sea in an often overlooked corner of the Highlands, it’s one to seek out for those who appreciate life’s quieter pleasures. A highlight has to be the delightful staff who are well-versed in impeccably efficient informality. They will arrange transfers from Inverness, private distillery tours, picnics, archery on the lawn, clay pigeon shooting and no doubt anything else you might require. Read expert review From £ 405• The best dog-friendly hotels in Cornwall
Dumfries House Lodge, set on a 2,000-acre country estate on the fringes of Burns Country, is playing a prominent role in the renaissance of this part of lowland Scotland. Homespun service in regal surroundings takes the potential stuffiness out of what is a charming bolthole with a cottage feel and royal connections. All rooms are en-suite, stocked with Arran Aromatics toiletries, robes and slippers and with either a shower or both a shower and separate bath. Given the need to navigate around the vast estate on foot, wind-up torches and umbrellas are a welcome inclusion. Read expert review From £ 130• The best family-friendly hotels in Cornwall
The delight is in the detail at this wildly romantic, sublimely comfortable, uniquely fascinating passion project from international art dealers Hauser & Wirth. You’ll like it for the location and because it's a great hotel, but you’ll love it for the extraordinary imagination that's turned art into an experience. From William Morris to Timorous Beasties, interior designer Russell Sage has used sumptuous fabrics, acres of antiques and fine oriental rugs, whilst transforming high-class bric a brac into objets d’art, to create meticulously realised, light-hearted design drama. Read expert review From £ 250Frequently asked questions
What is a country house hotel?
A country house hotel tends to be located (as the name clearly suggests) in a rural environment or on the edge of a suburb. Traditionally, they are old stately houses that have been converted into hotels and endevaour to retain that sense of a 'home' – perhaps with British classics like a grand roaring fire in the corner of a plush living room, a help-yourself library or afternoon tea served in fine bone china. Because of their situations, guests can usually take part in lots of outdoor activities such as horse riding, walking, archery, cycling, fishing, golf or tennis.
Which is the oldest country house hotel?
Sharrow Bay, which opened in 1948, has always been described as the first ever country house hotel, as coined in an advertisement by Francis Coulson who presided over the Ullswater mansion with his partner Brian Sack. The hotel closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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