Best hotels in Hampshire 2023: Where to stay for family-friendly trips and city breaks

Scott Evans

Hampshire is such a varied county for a holiday. For city breaks, you’ve got the ancient capital of Winchester and the lively harbour city of Southampton, among others. Alternatively, for country pursuits, you’ve got some of the best fly fishing in the UK on the pure chalk streams of the River Test (the birthplace of modern-day fly fishing) and the South Downs National Park.

Basically, whatever kind of holiday you’re in the market for, from family fun to dog-friendly getaways, this England county is a great choice to bed-down in. And with quick links to the Isle of Wight as well as London – depending on where in Hampshire you stay – it’s no wonder it’s one of our favourite places to explore.

Oh, and if you’re looking for a “beaker full of the warm South”, there are nine vineyards to explore, while local gins and beers jostle with the wines behind the bars of the region’s characterful pubs.

Whether you have your heart set on a stay in a country house hotel with falconry and fine dining, or would rather bed down in a boutique room above a memorabilia-filled city pub, we’ve picked the best hotels in Hampshire to suit.

The best hotels in Hampshire are:

• Best hotel for foodies: Lainston House
• Best hotel for fitness fanatics: Old Thorns Hotel & Spa
• Best family hotel: Four Seasons Hampshire
• Best hotel for beach access: The Beach House
• Best hotel for garden-lovers: Tylney Hall Hotel
• Best spa hotel: Champneys Forest Mere
• Best hotel for city-breakers: Pig in the Wall
• Best hotel for seafarers: Southampton Harbour Hotel and Spa
• Best for pub-lovers: The Wykeham Arms

Best hotel for foodies: Lainston House

Neighbourhood: Sparsholt

Enjoy Lainston House’s fusion menu (Lainston House)

This handsome red-brick country house hotel is the kind of place you want to pull up to in an Aston Martin. You can leave your wellies at home and help yourself to a pair of Hunters, which are lined up by the fireplace in reception. You’ll need them to explore the extensive grounds, which include the country’s longest avenue of lime trees, a Victorian kitchen garden, a sundial and the ruins of a 12th-century chapel. The six-course tasting menu with wine-pairing in the wood-panelled Avenue restaurant and the wood-fired fusion menu in Wellhouse, which is also home to a cookery school, makes this a popular choice for foodies.

Best hotel for fitness fanatics: Old Thorns Hotel & Spa

Neighbourhood: Liphook

Relax and unwind in Old Thorns’ luxury spa (Old Thorns)

This is Hampshire’s answer to a resort hotel, with so much to do on site you may not want to leave (although it’s worth popping into Gilbert White’s house, which is 15-minute drive away). Perfect for sporty types, the gym here is a Matrix equipment showroom and has all the latest hi-tech equipment. Studio classes include Spivi immersive spinning classes and there’s an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, 20m indoor pool, thermal suite and a spa offering Germaine de Capuccini treatments.

Choose between normal hotel rooms, upmarket penthouse apartments or charming eco pods out in the grounds. Dine in the onsite Kings restaurant and drink cocktails in the glamorous champagne bar or pints in the sports bar.

Best family hotel: Four Seasons Hampshire

Neighbourhood: Hook

The Four Seasons is perfect for families (Four Seasons Hampshire)

An impressive country-house hotel in a striking red-brick Georgian building that commands a 500-acre estate in North Hampshire. Go for first-class service, lush interiors and extensive leisure facilities, which include clay pigeon shooting, bird watching and horse riding, as well as a top-notch spa and pool. If you’re going with the family, the children will love the high ropes and zip wire, Sharkies reef splash pool, chatting to the falconer and handling the hawks, falcons and owls and scrambling about on the wooden play equipment. A fully supervised kids club on weekends and during school holidays is also a big draw.

Best hotel for beach access: The Beach House

Neighbourhood: Millford on Sea

Breath in that sea air at the Beach House (The Beach House)

Scramble through the grassland at the end of the beer garden of this gorgeous gabled Victorian villa and you will be straight onto the beach at Millford on Sea, where, on a clear day, you can see across to the Needles on the Isle of Wight. The hotel is owned by Hall and Woodhouse and serves the sort of bistro-style pub food they are known for (steak and Tangle Foot pie or Forum lager-battered fish and chips, for example). It’s worth a visit just to admire the Pre-Raphelite fireplaces and Arts and Crafts stained-glass windows of this former electricity magnate’s home.

Best hotel for garden-lovers: Tylney Hall Hotel

Neighbourhood: Basingstoke

With a huge outdoor swimming pool, Tylney Hall is the ideal break (Booking.com)

This Victorian Tudor-style country-house hotel is situated on a 66-acre estate just outside Basingstoke. The interiors whisk you back to a bygone age with marble fireplaces, walnut and oak panelling, shelves of antique books and – in the Italian lounge – an ornate ceiling removed piece by piece from a Venetian palace. But it’s the grounds that really have the wow factor: the view from the hall is one of the longest uninterrupted vistas in Hampshire and you can see for 14 miles along an avenue of giant redwoods. Many of the formal gardens were the work of Victorian landscape architect Gertrude Jekyll and have been fully restored, including a water garden, Italian and Dutch gardens, a rose garden and a kitchen garden.

Best spa hotel: Champneys Forest Mere

Neighbourhood: Liphook

Find ultimate luxury at Forest Mere (Champneys Forest Mere)

One of the best-known names in spa hotels, Champneys Forest Mere is always filled with a mix of girlie getaways, mothers and daughters bonding and romancing couples. They come to enjoy the extensive spa facilities, which include hydrotherapy pools, thermal suites, outdoor jacuzzis, treatments and fitness classes. When not in the spa, you’ll catch people jogging or doing jumping jacks around the extensive grounds, or wild swimming in the lake. At night, you can gather to listen to an uplifting lecture or lounge in front of a roaring fire in the old manor house.

Best hotel for city-breakers: Pig in the Wall

Neighbourhood: Southampton

Treat yourself to dinner at The Pig (Pig in the Wall)

This city bolthole from the Pig group is literally built into the old Medieval city walls and occupies two converted Georgian town houses. Expect the colourful and creative styling familiar from other Pig properties, including Moroccan floor tiles, antique beds and stripped floorboards. A bijou deli is the place for breakfast and dinner – although it’s worth taking them up on the offer of a complimentary transfer to and from the Pig restaurant in the nearby New Forest.

Best hotel for seafarers: Southampton Harbour Hotel and Spa

Neighbourhood: Southampton

This five-star stay is known for its fantastic food (Booking.com )

This five-star hotel is situated right on the waterfront in a private marina in Southampton and a stay here is like staying on board a luxury liner (it certainly looks like one from the outside). Choose a suite on the top “deck” to enjoy a balcony with far-reaching views over Southampton harbour and the Solent. The lively rooftop HarBAR on 6th is the place for cocktails and woodfired pizzas around the firepits on the terrace, while the Jetty serves up fine-dining from local celebrity chef Alex Aitken. Spend a weekend here enjoying the spa and indoor pool and watching a movie in the private cinema.

Best for pub-lovers: The Wykeham Arms

Neighbourhood: Winchester

This 18th-century pub sits sandwiched between the cathedral and the college in the ancient city of Winchester, the former capital of England. The walls are packed with pictures and memorabilia from the college and the city, and you may find yourself sitting at an old wooden school desk complete with inkwell, instead of a more usual wooden table. The boutique rooms above and in the annexe opposite continue the period feel with antique desks, vintage telephones and Victorian bathroom suites. However, they still have the modern luxuries you’d expect, such as Nespresso machines, bathrobes and roll-top baths.

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