Hotels UK

A quiet revolution happened in the United Kingdom between the late 1980s and the Noughties. Back in the day hotels, B&Bs and self-catering cottages were often places of convenience rather than comfort. And glamping? Well that had yet to be invented. Luxury and originality, such as it existed, came at an enormous price, and upmarket hotels often rested on their laurels, focusing instead on keeping the wrong kind of people from enjoying their tired rooms and intimidatingly posh food. Hospitality was simply something Britain wasn’t very good at: if you wanted to experience good food and a half-decent place to stay at a reasonable price, well, you had to go abroad.

Fast forward to the 2020s and Britain is a different country, packed full of great places to stay often run by passionate people who live and breathe good hospitality. The dread word ‘boutique’ was the first indicator that things had changed, and of course is now an over-used term. But it does give a flavour of a new kind of British hotel or guesthouse that began to appear thirty or so years ago – small, independently owned, and putting the guest experience front and centre. There was a new sense of contemporary style in guest rooms, where luxury didn’t necessarily mean antique furniture and four-posters. The renaissance in Modern British food made an appearance too, with lots of places revamping their restaurants and basing their menus on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. And service was authentic, never trying too hard to please but always on hand if needed.

Like all good revolutions, change has continued, with new trends and activities emerging – wild swimming, food foraging, art classes, yoga and wellness retreats – and many establishments offering alternative accommodation: shepherds huts, lodges with hot tubs, even treehouses. The best places now have an eye on the environment too, with renewable energy sources, discounts for those arriving on public transport and kitchen gardens saving on food miles.

The Cool Places collection doesn’t pretend to include all of Britain’s best places to stay, but instead aims to provide a curated selection. Our choices are deliberately eclectic, driven not so much by budget as by the uniqueness of the property, its location, facilities, décor – or just its owners and the extra mile they often go for their guests. We avoid the usual global brands that dominate accommodation in many towns and cities, the point being that it’s not always about what you spend on a room, it’s where you spend it, with plenty of surprisingly affordable options if you know where to find them. We also aim to provide a range of choices in most corners of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Hotels UK

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Britain's Best Hotels, Pubs and Inns

Lygon Arms

Nailcote Hall

The Plough Inn Hathersage

The Queen's Head Hotel

The Traddock

Tan Hill Inn

The Sun Boutique and Lounge

The Hawes Inn

Mackays Hotel

The Plough Inn

The White Horse at Chilgrove

Eltermere Inn

Flitwick Manor

New Road Hotel

Assembly Hotel

The Briar Rose

Lulworth Lodge

Malmaison Belfast

Grasshoppers

Ox Pasture Hall Hotel

The Swan Hotel

Lock & Key

Hard Day's Night Hotel

62 Castle Street

Cow Hollow Hotel

Hope Street Hotel

Whitworth Locke

Stock Exchange Hotel

The Midland Hotel

The Bell Inn

Dakota Leeds

Hart’s Hotel

Frederick Street Townhouse

The Grand Hotel Birmingham

Hotel Brooklyn

Clementine's Town House

Guy Fawkes Inn

Minster Hotel

Bootham Tavern

The Churchill Hotel

Market Street Hotel

Eden Locke

Black Ivy

Tigerlily

The Raeburn

Fingal

The Scotsman Hotel

The One Tun

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What Customers say about Cool Places

Everything I needed for a stay

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6 out of 5!!!!

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Easy to navigate

Patrick, Verified Customer

Such a great variety of properties

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Great, simple, straightforward

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