Massages onsite, posh toiletries and robes, honesty bars, nine-course dinners and even complimentary jelly beans… B&Bs these days increasingly offer the kind of extras you’d expect from upmarket hotels.
Yet they also come with a warm welcome, often with complimentary tea and cake, from hosts who make you feel at home from the minute you step in the door.
The good news is that if you’re tired of cookie-cutter hotels and want a bit of personality with your next staycation, the Good Hotel Guide is on hand with a dose of inspiration.
Check out 10 brilliant B&Bs not to be missed below...
1. Broom House at Egton Bridge, North Yorkshire
In the North York Moors National Park but only a 15-minute drive from Whitby, this farmhouse B&B makes a terrific base for walks; the Coast to Coast path is half a mile away. Guests receive a genuine welcome from owners Luke and Brianne Cockill, their daughter and two cockapoos. There is a full English in the morning, tea and cake in the afternoon, an honesty bar in the evening and village pubs a short stroll along the river for dinner.
Simple, uncluttered bedrooms are done out in soft shades. Those on the second floor have beams; all have views of the garden, fields and moors.
Doubles from £100, B&B, broom-house.co.uk.
2. Britannia House, Lymington, Hampshire
Tobias Feilke knows his stuff: he has worked in some of Europe’s finest hotels, including The Savoy and Chewton Glen in England. He transformed his Victorian house into four beautiful B&B boudoirs in 2000. Quirky details abound, from the suit of armour and display of hats to an abundance of swags and tassels.
One room has its own sitting room, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony with views over Lymington Harbour to the Isle of Wight. Breakfast is cooked on the range and served at the kitchen table, setting guests up to explore the nearby New Forest.
Doubles from £139, B&B, britannia-house.com.
3. Plas Tan-Yr-Allt, Tremadog, Gwynedd
The history of this Regency villa with views over the Glaslyn Estuary to the Rhinog mountains is kept alive in each of its three rooms, named after former residents. The Madocks Room is named after William Madocks, who built the house as well as the nearby sea wall along which steam trains still puff and chuff.
The room has a four poster, as does the one named after Percy Bysshe Shelley, who wrote Queen Mab here. Miss Hilda’s Room is less grand but still has a corona bed canopy; she was the aunt of Clough Williams-Ellis of Portmeirion fame.
Doubles from £150, B&B, plastanyrallt.co.uk.
4. Rayanne House Holywood, Belfast
Gaze from the windows of some of the 10 rooms here on to Belfast Lough, where the Titanic set sail for Southampton before its ill-fated Atlantic crossing.
Conor and Bernie McClelland’s Victorian house makes full use of its setting – on certain dates, they cook the entire nine-course dinner served aboard the liner the night she sank.
If you’re more golf than gourmet, book the Rory Room, with its
golf-themed bathroom – the shower’s grab rail is fashioned from one of Holywood-born Rory McIlroy’s clubs.
Breakfast is of titanic proportions, including dishes such as Co. Down kippers and crockpot oven-baked ham with eggs and tomato sauce.
Doubles from £135, B&B, rayannehouse.com.
5. The Coach House, Brecon, Powys
More quality hotel than modest B&B, this former inn near the centre of town is perfectly placed to explore the Brecon Beacons National Park.
You can even order a picnic to take with you – if you have any space after a breakfast that includes Welsh rarebit made with local beer and Welsh cheese, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and laverbread or a full Welsh.
The six comfy, modern rooms come in soft greens and oatmeal, with leather chairs and oak furniture, plus hotel-style extras such as robes and Netflix. There is also a lounge-library and a secluded back garden.
Doubles from £92, B&B, coachhousebrecon.com.
6. 23 Mayfield, Edinburgh
Served by the fire in the elegant dining room, the award-winning breakfasts here range from
slow-cooked porridge or kippers to haggis, clootie dumpling and tattie scone. The bedrooms are just as special, some with four posters, antiques and polished floorboards.
Ross and Kathleen Birnie’s Victorian house beneath Arthur’s Seat has plenty of original details, with stained-glass windows, cornicing and plasterwork ceilings. Some books in the library date back to 1740, and there’s a Georgian chess board in the club room. Leave your car in their free onsite parking and walk 20minutes into the centre of Edinburgh.
Doubles from £159, B&B, 23mayfield.co.uk.
7. Trewornan Manor, Wadebridge, Cornwall
Imagine that you’re to the manor born in this 13th-century stone house, which is set in 25 acres on the Camel Estuary just a few minutes from Padstow and Rock.
Each of the seven tastefully decorated rooms has an emperor bed, while some have beams or window seats. Extras include treats of flapjacks and jelly babies as well as posh toiletries.
Relax in the lounge or follow the path across fields to the village pub. There is a generous breakfast menu that runs from pastries to pancakes.
Doubles from £165, B&B, trewornanmanor.co.uk.
8. No 33, Hunstanton, Norfolk
Like the idea of a B&B but prefer not to bump into the host all the time? Here, guests are left to their own devices without live-in owners.
However, a concierge service can organise everything from bike hire to birdwatching or beauty treatments. The five stylish rooms are in a palette of greys and whites, with splashes of colour. A continental breakfast picnic awaits you in your room. Then it’s over to you to explore the north Norfolk coast – the Coast Path runs to Cromer, or you can take the Coasthopper bus.
Doubles from £140, B&B, 33hunstanton.co.uk.
9. The Old Rectory, Hastings, East Sussex
Designer Lionel Copley has transformed his Georgian rectory into a beautiful B&B on the edge of the old town. The eight stylish rooms in soft hues have touches of luxury such as hand-painted wallpaper or a chandelier, plus the odd unexpected quirk – a secret toilet is hidden behind a bookcase in one room.
Guests are greeted with homemade cake in the sitting room and can enjoy a G&T later in the walled garden, or a massage any time during the day.
Breakfast is a treat, with everything possible made onsite. They bake their own bread, make their own sausages, cure their own bacon and use the inhouse smokery for the kippers and smoked salmon.
Doubles from £125, B&B, theoldrectoryhastings.co.uk.
10. Chapel House, Penzance, Cornwall
At Susan Stuart’s beautiful B&B, the six bedrooms don’t just come with sea views but also have iPads loaded with details about the surrounding area.
Guests can borrow gear from the boot room, book in-room treatments and are welcome to drop into the kitchen any time for coffee, cake and a chat. Georgian on the outside but full of contemporary chic within, the house has three bedrooms on the top floor with an open-plan landing and retractable glass roof should you wish to bathe under the stars. A communal kitchen supper is held every Friday and Saturday night.
Doubles from £200, B&B, chapelhousepz.co.uk.
- Prices are listed for the cheapest available rate in April. Some properties have a two-night minimum stay.
- For more great B&Bs see goodhotelguide.com/editors-choice-b-and-bs.
