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

Master Builder’s House

The William Cecil

Mullion Cove Hotel & Spa

Thurlestone Hotel

The Pilot Inn

Hare and Hounds Hotel

The Crown Inn Chiddingfold

Broad Street Townhouse

White Horse & Griffin

Hambleton Hall

The Bull & Swan

Saint Paul's House

The Old Rectory

The Mitre

Bedruthan Hotel & Spa

The Falcondale

The Chequers

Twr y Felin Hotel

Penrhiw Priory

Chewton Glen & Treehouses

The Lion at Bicester

The West Arms ★★★★★

voco St David's ★★★★☆

Blakeney Hotel ★★☆☆☆

The Pig ★☆☆☆☆

Karma Sanctum Soho

Ashling Park Estate

Shoreditch House

Jolyons

Star Inn

Port Lympne Hotel

Kilpeck Inn

The Loch & the Tyne

Morston Hall

Tillingham Vineyard

Karma Sanctum on the Green

The Grange

Lord Poulett Arms

Malmaison London

The Marine Hotel

White Vine House

Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens

The Harp, Old Radnor

Drunken Duck Inn

Prospect House

The Seafood Restaurant Rooms

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Everything I needed for a stay

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Such a great variety of properties

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