451 Best Hotels in England

This combination of four Victorian town houses on a quiet street, London's only Relais & Châteaux property, is a warren of tucked-away, intimate public rooms, where aubergine walls enlivened by gilt-framed Victorian portraits and an abundance of fresh lilies create a glamorous, luxurious, and slightly decadent atmosphere in keeping with the hotel’s former owner, Elizabeth Hurley (it’s now run by the owners of luxury country house hotel Chewton Glen). The 56 bedrooms, by contrast, are light and airy, several with four-poster beds. There’s a terrace and a good bar and grill offering all-day dining that opens directly onto buzzy, fashionable Pavilion Road. For longer stays, there are six apartments on the other side of the square.

It's hard to find a more welcoming spot than this lofty Victorian house right in the center of town, thanks to hosts who know a thing or two about local walks. They'll also supply a packed lunch if you plan to be out exploring all day. Although space is at a premium, the rooms are pleasantly decorated with prints and wood furniture.

Another member of the luxury Dorchester Collection hotel group, 45 Park Lane is a beautifully considered five-star property with no shortage of contemporary swagger to match its stylized Art Deco elegance. Spacious rooms are beautifully appointed and come with views of Hyde Park along with the blinking lights of the city below, although if you can afford one of the exceptionally appointed suites then all the better. From its sultry mezzanine cocktail bar and ultraexpensive grill restaurant to its ostentatious basement spa, 45 Park Lane opts out of staid luxury and instead presents an experience that oozes Golden Age glamour.

This sweet Georgian town house and B&B in the northeastern corner of the city is a beautiful 20-minute walk along the river from central Cambridge. All three guest rooms are cozy and comfortable; the largest of them is bright and spacious, with a cavernous roll-top tub in the bathroom, while the other two are much smaller (one has twin beds). Christine, the charming owner, bakes her own bread to accompany the delicious breakfasts, which are prepared with plenty of fresh local produce.

Located in the center of Great Malvern, the Abbey enjoys beautiful views over the Malvern Hills and the Vale of Evesham. Rooms are smart and clean, if not overly exciting, and there is a decent restaurant on-site.

This glossy boutique hotel inside the old city walls offers up-to-date style in traditional Canterbury, with good-size rooms—modern but not minimal—classed as Comfortable, Desirable, Enviable, and Most Enviable. The latter have the most space and extras like wood floors, sitting areas, and freestanding roll-top baths, but even Comfortable rooms are nicely designed with soft bedding in neutral colors (although most have no view). There's also a Fabulous suite, with a sun-trap terrace offering sweeping cathedral vistas. Back downstairs, the superb brasserie serves Modern European cuisine, while the beam-ceilinged bar offers afternoon tea every day. The hotel can also arrange private "chef's table" dining events (including a view of the action inside the kitchen).

Perched at a busy traffic intersection on the edge of Chester’s old town, this gleaming, modern hotel from the trendy ABode chain may not occupy the city’s most romantic spot, but it’s well run and comfortable. Guest rooms are spacious and quiet, with comfortable beds. The top-floor bar has sweeping views of the city; come up here for a drink as you gaze over Chester Racecourse and the Welsh hills. There’s also a lounge bar on the ground floor. The city center is a pleasant, 10-minute stroll down winding backstreets.

Those keen to explore Greenwich at a more leisurely pace than a day trip from central London permits should seek out these unexpectedly elegant rooms above a pub, a quick walk from the Old Royal Naval College in one direction and the National Maritime Museum in the other. The seven individually furnished rooms are all extremely cozy thanks to abundant plush furnishings and higgledy-piggledy windows that look out over the rooftops—and masts, in the case of the Cutty Sark—of Greenwich. Bathrooms are modern and scrupulously clean. There's no breakfast served at the pub so fill your mini-refrigerator with supplies from the small grocery store around the corner or pop out to one of several convenient cafés nearby.

This design-led option in a historic building combines a central location and hip vibe with affordable rates. Rooms with their original features including steel girders have emperor-size beds and smart TVs with Bluetooth speakers and smart concierge technology, while the all-day restaurant champions local British suppliers including an artisanal butcher from the nearby Northern Quarter. There’s also a lively feel thanks to locals who use the hotel as a co-working space, with day passes that include lunch, unlimited tea and coffee, superfast Wi-Fi, and curated playlists.

Lovely gardens surround this moated Tudor manor house, originally the home of the Hussey family, which dates back to 1524; black-and-white half-timbering combines with a later redbrick-and-stone extension. Beams, oak paneling, four-poster beds, and antiques enhance rooms in the original building, for which you should book well ahead (though they may be too old-fashioned for some); those in the extension are plainer. The hotel is a few miles north of Shrewsbury on the A528.

Magnificently sited above the Cobb, this family-owned boutique hotel combines contemporary design with the genteel charm of yesteryear. Guest rooms in the 18th-century mansion range from light, airy, and elegant to the more functional. Most have views over either the garden or Lyme Bay. Light lunchtime sandwiches and platters, plus a selection of impressive afternoon cream teas, are served in the Conservatory Restaurant overlooking an expanse of lawn. The formal Alexandra Restaurant has an impressive wine list to complement its locally sourced Modern British menu. You can get aromatherapy massages and facials in the on-site treatment room, and there's a direct path to the beach.

The architecture and the original features—green-marble wall tiles, sleek dark-wood paneling, a grand staircase winding up to a domed rotunda—are the real stars of this hotel in the city's landmark Victorian Royal Insurance Building. The loft-style rooms and suites are contemporary and high-tech without being jarring. Amenities include giant beanbags and super-comfortable platform beds. The communal spaces are welcoming, too, among them WXYZ Bar, NYL Restaurant & Bar, and Re-Fuel café with snacks and light bites.

Formerly a convent, this atmospheric lodging has a chapel that was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, architect of Truro Cathedral, as well as a main building with large, comfortable guest rooms equipped with modern fittings and luxurious bathrooms and a separate Courtyard annex with spacious suites. Quiet elegance permeates the public areas, and the semiformal restaurant offers a choice of seafood and meat dishes. The town center is a short downhill walk away.

A sense of style emanates from every surface of this stylish hotel in the heart of Kensington, and the playful vintage vibe lends the property a refreshingly down-to-earth feel in a neighborhood that can feel stodgy. Guest room decor is whimsically inspired by the cultural institutions nearby—the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert, and the Science Museum—with musical, astronomical, ornithological, and botanical themes. Some suites have balconies. Apero, the hotel's main restaurant, specializes in Mediterranean cuisine, or you can take afternoon tea in the bright and colorful Drawing Rooms.

This venerable hostelry, which incorporates the Great West Gate (circa 1473)—accessible via an ancient stone staircase—is an atmospheric base for exploring the area. Rooms are small and may present difficulties for those with mobility issues, but some have four-poster beds and wonderful views across to the cathedral, and one is in the gatehouse itself. Rugantino's serves Italian and English dishes, made largely from local produce.

Guildford was once famous for its coaching inns, and this handsome, 500-year-old hotel is the last to survive. Guest rooms have marble-lined bathrooms and reproductions of antiques; about half are in the original stone building, while the rest are in a modern annex. The courtyard, where coaches and horses clattered to a stop, is open to the sky. There's a salon with a fireplace and minstrels' gallery, and the 14th-century stone-vaulted crypt serves as the backdrop for an elegant bar. There is no in-house restaurant, but there is a branch of the excellent casual dining chain, Bill's, on the same site.

Dark carved wood, antique tiles, and a stunning location overlooking Ullswater give Another Place plenty of upscale country-house style, though the hotel manages to be more relaxed than some of its competition; it also has chic modern shepherd huts. The bar has old leather sofas and flocked wallpaper, and there is a grand piano in the lounge. Bedrooms are all individually decorated in a fresh color palette, with sumptuous fabrics, antique furniture, and huge windows pointing toward the lake and fells. The Rampsbeck Restaurant, open to the public, offers a three-course fine-dining menu including dishes such as potted brown shrimp, roasted harlequin squash, and whole charcoal-baked sea bass, as well as afternoon tea. The Glasshouse is a more casual option and has a wood-fired pizza oven. The hotel has plenty of activities and welcomes families. 

At this sleek modern branch of the small Apex chain near the Tower of London, bedrooms are reasonably spacious, with contemporary color schemes, 40-inch flat-screen TVs, and little sofas. The Lampery restaurant serves good, varied modern British cuisine, although you're hardly lacking for dining options around this neighborhood. It's worth checking out the website for good package deals and special offers, especially in the off-season.

Built in 1640, this family-run B&B atop the cobbled main street, opposite the Brontë church, has comfortable rooms with lots of light and brightly colored if simple decor. Rooms in the back have views of the moors. An excellent full English breakfast is included (though you have to order by 9 am).

Bedrooms are spacious and discreet with splashes of green, violet, and dark crimson in this redbrick boutique hotel across the road from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Choose a room at the front for a view of the river and theater. The beds are all king-size, and marble bathrooms have huge mirrors and walk-in showers. Guests can take advantage of the Champagne bar and terrace during theater intermissions (there's a quieter, more hidden garden behind it), take afternoon tea in the Lounge, or pop into the stylish Club Bar for something a little stronger. There are limited accessible rooms, so ask when you book.

This Radisson hotel adjacent to the long-gestating renovation of Gilbert Scott's Art Deco Battersea Power Station in the revitalized Nine Elms area has, as the name might suggest, an art-world theme. The hotel's signature artist Jaime Hayon is responsible not only for the design of the uncluttered but welcoming guest rooms (all with floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the views---prices go up according to what floor you're on), but also for the highly stylized, art-filled public spaces. The hotel even has its own art gallery, as well as an Italian-theme all-day café, a 15th-floor Portuguese fine dining restaurant with a rooftop bar, a spa, and a heated rooftop infinity pool plus hot tub.

A short walk from Gloucester Road Tube station and within walking distance of Harrods and the Kensington museums, this is one of the better boutique hotels in this part of town. Guest rooms vary in size, but most are spacious enough, and flooded with natural light from elegant floor-to-ceiling windows. Certain periods of time require a two-night minimum.

This grand hotel overlooking Green Park offers plenty for the money: rooms are both comfortable and lavishly decorated, with deeply cushy Hypnos beds, plasma-screen TVs, luxurious fabrics, and original contemporary artworks. If you need more space, you can choose one of the luxurious apartments that occupy a row of Georgian town houses next to the main hotel buildings, each with separate living, dining, and sleeping areas and tiny, fully equipped kitchenettes. The spa is available only to guests, ensuring you can always get an appointment. The restaurant serves British-inspired food from Michelin-starred chefs and also offers a full afternoon tea—an elegant experience, complete with honey from bees in Regent's Park.

At this contemporary guesthouse near Victoria Station, minimalist decor, Scandinavian Modern furniture, and a lounge where a fire crackles away in the winter are all geared to homey comforts. Two rooms have a connecting door, effectively making a family suite. There are also nine self-contained studios and serviced apartments, including compact kitchens, for around £250–£330 per night.

Expect a friendly welcome at this antique B&B above a tearoom just across from the Market Hall, where the spacious, spotless rooms have beamed ceilings and exposed stonework. Guests are greeted with a cream tea on arrival, and an excellent breakfast will set you up for the day.

This characterful 17th-century property offers upscale suites with kitchenettes or full kitchens as well as luxury touches including bathrobes and slippers. All guest quarters are individually decorated in a mainly contemporary style; some have original features such as old beams, corniced ceilings, and fireplaces, and the Penthouse has a freestanding bath in the bedroom, with lovely views. Outside you’ll find a sun terrace and croquet lawn, and there’s a wood-floored guest lounge plus free, on-site parking. The hotel requires a two-night minimum stay on weekends. 

Situated a few miles south of Arundel, this charmingly out-of-the-way country escape offers lovely period features, expansive private gardens, and one of the region's finest spas; sleeping options are spread out across a series of houses, cottages, and courtyards. Most of the buildings are (despite appearances) less than a century old, and the rooms vary from highly decorative, medieval-style suites with four-poster beds to bright and breezy bedrooms with modern furnishings. Ask for a peek inside the 13th century chapel, one of the truly historic buildings in the grounds.

A cozy family home less than a mile south of the village, Banerigg House has unfussy, well-appointed rooms, most with lake views. Games and books fill the guest lounge. The simple B&B is walker friendly, which means you get hiking advice from the owners, drying facilities, and a roaring fire when needed.

For a no-frills stay in the Cotswolds, this minimalist but well-appointed hostel offers comfortable, different-size rooms with self-catering facilities in a refurbished building that was once a store for the town brewery. The hostel rooms are basic but clean with strong Wi-Fi; there are also single and double rooms. The neighboring New Brewery Arts center runs day courses in arts and crafts.

Located 10 miles north of Hexham and "beyond the wall," this delightful old inn combines three virtues: good food, cozy rooms, and eco-friendly credentials. Bedrooms are simple but modern, with colorful decor and good-size bathrooms, and four rooms are fully wheelchair accessible. The best option is the luxury lodge on the grounds of the hotel, complete with supersized spa bath and terrace. The restaurant uses produce grown in the hotel's own gardens, and is especially crowded on Sunday.