2 Best Hotels in Guildford, The Southeast

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.

Part of a small boutique chain, the Harbour Hotel is one of the more contemporary offerings in this part of Surrey, with its modern and well-designed rooms attracting mostly business travelers—although the spa brings in plenty of people who want a pampering getaway. The spa has a long list of stress-busting treatments, and at pretty reasonable prices, like £135 for a 90-minute full-body massage including facial treatments. The hotel also has two good in-house dining options, but since it's right in the center of Guildford there are plenty of other options within a few minutes' walk.