34 Best Hotels in The Southeast, England

With a casual elegance that typifies Brighton, this Regency-era boutique hotel sits close to the seafront, with rooms that are cleverly fitted into the old building. Some rooms have slanted ceilings and tiny bathrooms, but they make up for those deficiencies by having lots of light and soothing decor in shades of taupe or dove gray. There's no restaurant, although breakfast is served and cooked fresh to order. The cool bar downstairs is popular with young locals and can get quite loud, so ask for a room well away from it if you're a light sleeper.

Roaring fires, cozy rooms, and friendly locals give this 500-year-old inn its wonderful feeling of old-world authenticity. The bedrooms differ in size, shape, and style, but all are comfortable and bright with armchairs, flat-screen televisions, and modern bathrooms with rolltop tubs. You can enjoy a pint with the regulars downstairs, or dine in the good restaurant, which serves locally sourced, seasonal produce; the lamb and beef supply can be found grazing in nearby fields, while the fish are delivered by the local Shoreham fishermen who caught them. The Ram is 4½ miles southeast of Lewes, off the A27 just before Charleston.

Overlooking Chatham Maritime Marina on the River Medway, the charming boutique bedrooms above this bar and restaurant offer comfy beds, modern bathrooms, and subtle seafaring-themed decor, from wooden oar headboards to vintage maritime maps. Some rooms also come with large balconies overlooking the harbor, perfect places to sit in the evening and watch the sun go down. Downstairs, the pub-restaurant serves a mix of good-value British pub staples (beef and ale pies, cod and chips, chicken burgers) and interesting international fare (lime and chili tiger prawns, vegan koftas, goat cheese tortellini) along with a good range of lagers, ales, and craft beers. Along with being convenient for the Historic Dockyard Chatham, the hotel is right by the Dockside Shopping Centre, but keep in mind it's a 45-minute walk (or 10-minute drive) into the center of Rochester.

The country-house flavor of this 1766 Georgian mansion has been beautifully maintained by luxurious furnishings and preserved period details. There are superb views from the 14-acre grounds across the town and into the area of surrounding countryside. The unfussy Modern British fare in the crisply chic Orangery Restaurant is popular with locals, and there's a terrace with a pizza oven during the summer.