2024 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
The Lygon Arms - 15% Discount Early Bird Special Offer
Broadway
In the Civil War, Charles I rallied his supporters at this 17th-century listed Cotswold hostelry. His visit is commemorated in an oak-panelled four-poster suite, while a copy of the ‘warts and all’ portrait of Oliver Cromwell in a private meeting space recalls when he also stayed here.
Star Castle
St Mary's
Built to defend our shores against invading armadas, this Elizabethan artillery castle stands within star-shaped walls. Single guests can book a guard room on the ramparts. All can enjoy cask ales and a bite within the impregnable stone walls of the Dungeon Bar.
Temple House
Ballymote
With a ruined Knights Templar’s castle by a lake, the Percevals’ ancestral home brims with paintings, heirloom antiques and family lore. Colourful forebears include one ‘Knight of the Round Table’, another who took part in the Norman Conquest, and a third granted land in reward for service to Elizabeth I.
Pale Hall
Bala
You can sleep in the half-tester bed used by Queen Victoria, and bathe in the bath she used, at this High Victorian mansion in the Dee valley, where the monarch stayed for ten days in 1889. Winston Churchill later came for the shooting, as The Duke of Westminster’s guest.
Mingary Castle
Kilchoan
A Georgian mansion stands within the forbidding curtain wall of a 13th-century fortress, with a history as turbulent as the Sound of Mull that roils below. James IV visited in 1493, 530 years before our inspector crossed the drawbridge to find a welcoming restaurant-with-rooms.
Hedingham Castle
A Norman keep, home to a single splendid guest bedroom, is the heroic survivor of a castle built for the family of one of William the Conqueror’s knights. King John laid siege, Henry VII, came in peace. Outdoor events in parkland include jousting and vintage fairs.
2023 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
Plas Dinas Country House - Spring Two Night D,B&B Special Offer
Caernarfon
If you loved the Netflix series The Crown, book into the former country home of the Armstrong-Jones family. Antiques, family portraits, memorabilia and photographs remain from the time Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon spent weekends here; the Princess Margaret suite has a four-poster bed.
Cliveden House - Three Nights for the Price of Two Midweek Special Offer
Taplow
History comes with a whiff of scandal at this Italianate 19th-century mansion that will be forever associated with the ‘Profumo affair’. It has hosted most British monarchs since George I, plus everyone from Churchill to Chaplin. Even a certain Meghan Markle spent the night before her wedding in its elegant interiors.
Askham Hall - Luxury Foodie Mid-Week Break Special Offer
Penrith
The ancestral home of the Lowthers, this Grade I listed ancestral pile comes with extensive terraced gardens and a medieval pele tower. Prince Philip used to stay in the Admiral’s Room on his visits for the Lowther Show carriage-driving events. Now the restaurant is Michelin-starred but a relaxed atmosphere prevails within.
Old Church Farm - '1000 years' celebratory discount special offer
Bristol
Once a Saxon royal hunting lodge and rebuilt over the centuries, Old Church Farm was previously a hospitality venue for Rolls-Royce. It comes with stone mullion windows as well as a Tudor arched stone fireplace and ornate plasterwork ceilings. The ruins of medieval St Helen’s church stand serene in the grounds.
Star Castle
St Mary's
As its name suggests, this Elizabethan castle in the Isles of Scilly was shaped in star formation for better defence against any potential invading armadas. Drink in the Dungeon bar and eat in the former officers’ mess before touring the ramparts, where you can watch for puffins and seals.
The Lord Crewe Arms
Blanchland
Incorporating the west cloister range of the dissolved Blanchland Abbey, and through a trefoiled arch Hobbit door, this hotel is a long way from hair-shirted monasticism. Drink and play darts in the barrel-vaulted Crypt bar before retiring to one of the suites, in miners’ cottages, with roll-top baths for two.
Hever Castle B&B
Edenbridge
Anne Boleyn’s childhood home is beautifully preserved; while guests can’t stay in the castle itself, there are atmospheric rooms in the adjacent Edwardian wings, built for former owner William Waldorf Astor in the early 1900s. Enjoy a feast of a breakfast in the oak-panelled dining room, and early access to the castle gardens.
Thornbury Castle
THORNBURY
Sleep in the room Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed in on their visit to this Tudor castle, with turrets and crenellations along with oriel windows and palatial public rooms. Eat a meal fit for a king in the restaurant, with its arrow-slit windows, and take a turn in the walled garden.
Batty Langley’s
London
Named after the arbiter of 18th-century style, this Georgian house that was once home to Huguenot silk weavers has a historical feel throughout. Interiors are filled with antiques, rich velvets and tapestries; bedrooms might have a four-poster and a canopy bath or even a secret loo behind a bookcase.
Glengarry Castle Hotel
Invergarry
The former seat of the chiefs of the MacDonells of Glengarry and visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie, Invergarry Castle, now in atmospheric ruins, lies on the estate of this hotel overlooking Loch Oich. There’s still plenty of tradition, with blazing log fires, oil paintings, four-posters, and fresh scones for tea.
2022 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
Hartwell House - Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer
Aylesbury
Live like (an exiled) King at this Grade I listed mansion, which is part Jacobean and part Georgian – just like Louis XVIII did for five years. It has 90 acres of gardens designed by Capability Brown, and stately home interiors – damask wallpapers, 18th-century busts, marble fireplaces and fine paintings.
From £200 per night
Middlethorpe Hall & Spa - 'Tailor-Made Break' Special Offer
York
Now owned by the National Trust, this splendid building built in the early 1700s is more akin to a stately home than a country house. It was sensitively turned into a hotel 40 years ago and its elegant proportions and exceptional interior woodwork have all been beautifully preserved.
Cliveden House - Three Nights for the Price of Two Midweek Special Offer
Taplow
This Italianate 19th-century mansion has seen a plethora of historical figures pass through its doors, from the Astors (who lived here) to Winston Churchill, Lawrence of Arabia and Charlie Chaplin. Admire the lavish rooms and fine art collection, swim in the notorious ‘Profumo pool’ and explore 375 acres of gardens and grounds.
The Lygon Arms - 15% Discount Early Bird Special Offer
Broadway
Past guests at this former coaching inn, with origins dating back to the 14th century, include Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Edward VII and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The past still lives and breathes through its Cotswold stone, casement windows, inglenooks and antique-filled interiors.
The Old Rectory
Boscastle
Thomas Hardy stayed in this pretty, gabled Victorian rectory in 1870, and was introduced to the rector’s sister-in-law, Emma, who became his wife and the subject of his most beautiful later poetry. Walk along the herbaceous border to Hardy’s Seat, where the courting couple used to sit.
Blackmore Farm
Cannington
The oak beams, stone archways, fireplaces and rough-hewn walls of this 15th-century manor house are complemented by displays of medieval weaponry and suits of armour, with four-poster beds in the rooms. ‘Cider Press’, in the converted barn, has a kitchen with a Welsh dresser and working Aga.
The Rookery
London
This Georgian building in Clerkenwell, with exposed brickwork, silks and velvets, open fires and antiques, is a throwback to another century. Curl up on the carved four-poster in the Rook’s Nest penthouse suite, with its 40ft spire and Victorian bathing machine, and immerse yourself in the Dickensian vibe.
Temple House
Ballymote
One of the few great Irish estates to remain in the same family, this one – which includes a 12th-century ruined castle – has been home to the Perceval family since 1665. Today, they welcome guests into their mansion, built in 1825, with its sweeping staircase and views of the mile-long lake.
Douneside House
Tarland
The real historical interest in this gabled and castellated baronial-style mansion lies in its RAF connections. The original owners, the MacRoberts, lost their three sons in flying tragedies (two in the Second World War), and the interiors are home to many photos and mementos. Serving and retired military guests are entitled to discounts.
Llanthony Priory Hotel
Abergavenny
It may offer budget prices, but this hotel is rich in history and atmosphere: the hotel adjoins a ruined 12th-century Augustinian priory. Stay in the tower rooms, accessed by a winding staircase, and enjoy a digital detox – there is no Wi-Fi, TV, or mobile signal.
2021 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
Knockinaam Lodge - Romantic Two Night Special Offer
Portpatrick
You can stay in the room where Churchill slept (and soak in the enamelled-concrete bath he used) when he and Eisenhower planned the D-Day landings from
this secluded Victorian hunting lodge. Churchillian levels of luxury abound.
Hartwell House - Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer
Aylesbury
The exiled French king Louis XVIII set up his impoverished court at Hartwell for five years after 1809, farming livestock on its roofs. He signed his accession to the throne in the library. The mansion is now run by the National Trust.
From £200 per night
Plas Dinas Country House - Spring Two Night D,B&B Special Offer
Caernarfon
For fans of the TV series The Crown: Princess Margaret regularly stayed at this former home of the Armstrong-Jones family when she was married to Lord Snowdon. Royal memorabilia is on show; the Princess Margaret suite has a four- poster.
Cliveden House - Three Nights for the Price of Two Midweek Special Offer
Taplow
You name them, they’ve stayed at this Thameside Italianate summer palace. Former guests include most British monarchs since George I, plus personalities such as Charlie Chaplin. Not to mention a certain Christine Keeler and John Profumo.
Askham Hall - Luxury Foodie Mid-Week Break Special Offer
Penrith
Charles Lowther’s ancestral pile comes with a medieval pele tower and a 17th-century topiary garden. Prince Philip stayed in the Admiral’s Room on his visits to the hall over 30 years during the Lowther Show carriage-driving event.
The Lygon Arms - 15% Discount Early Bird Special Offer
Broadway
There’s history from both sides of the English Civil War to be found among the beams and inglenooks. Charles I stayed in 1649; his coat of arms can be seen over a fireplace in his room. And Oliver Cromwell slept here before battle in 1651.
Star Castle
St Mary's
The bar is in the dungeon and the beamed dining room in the former officers’ mess of this Elizabethan fortress, built in star formation to defend the Isles of Scilly.
Some rooms are in the original ramparts, so may have an unusual shape.
Castle Leslie Estate
Glaslough
The Leslie family can apparently trace its origins to Attila the Hun, though its Irish estate is much more recent, dating back to the 17th century. The current Victorian pile is home to such oddities as the first plumbed bath in Ireland.
The Assembly House
Norwich
Madame Tussaud exhibited her waxworks in this Georgian building, Franz Liszt gave a concert in the music room, and the local gentry danced beneath the chandeliers in the magnificent Great Hall to celebrate Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar.
Llanthony Priory Hotel
Abergavenny
The ruins of a medieval Augustinian abbey are the backdrop to this hotel, in the former prior’s lodging. There’s still a certain monastic simplicity to the rooms, four of which are in the tower, with no en-suites, TV or Wi-Fi.
2020 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
Knockinaam Lodge - Romantic Two Night Special Offer
Portpatrick
History was in the making at this secluded Victorian hunting lodge overlooking the Irish Sea, where Churchill and Eisenhower stayed to plan D-Day. Churchill Room has a vintage enamelled concrete soaking bath (the PM notoriously loved to wallow, dictating to his secretary from his tub).
Llangoed Hall
Brecon
Rumoured to stand on the site of the White Palace, home of the first Welsh Parliament, this Jacobean mansion, redesigned by Clough Williams Ellis, was once won in a game of cards. Among its many distinctions is the art collection of former owner, the late Sir Bernard Ashley.
Sign of the Angel
Lacock
Thought to date from the reign of Richard III, complete with horse passage, this is so much the quintessential olde worlde coaching inn, it was chosen to stand in for The Babberton Arms in a Harry Potter movie. Magic!
Jeake’s House
Rye
If walls could talk, this wonderfully atmospheric, antique-filled 17th-century former wool store, school, chapel and Baptist minister’s residence turned B&B could tattle all day about past visitors, from Elizabeth Fry and TS Eliot to EF Benson and Radclyffe Hall.
Star Castle
St Mary's
An Elizabethan house within star-shaped fortress walls, built to repel armadas, today welcomes all comers. You can book a single guard room on the ramparts, dine on lobster in the officers’ mess, drink St Austell ales in the dungeon where Cromwell’s man Sir John Ireton languished.
Bank House
King's Lynn
The statue of Charles I above the door of this Georgian town house and one-time bank arrived in a wheelbarrow from the market place. Guests, arriving how they may, find boutique accommodation, a brasserie in the old counting house, and great food in the River Room, by all accounts.
Temple House
Ballymote
Portraits of Perceval ancestors gaze down from the walls of this classical Georgian mansion overlooking a lake and ruined Knights Templar castle. There are blazing fires, everywhere antiques, the atmosphere of a good, old-fashioned house party.
Bayards Cove Inn
Dartmouth
Tudor black-and-white encloses Charles Deuchar’s medieval merchant’s residence. Originally named Agincourt House, it is a treasure trove of original features, exposed beams, wonky floors, carved timbers, but amenities are thoroughly modern.
2019 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
Hartwell House - Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer
Aylesbury
For the five years after 1809 this Jacobean country mansion, refashioned in the 1700s, housed the court of the exiled Louis XV111 of France, along with his niece, the daughter of Marie Antoinette, and the exiled monarch of Sweden. The roof was converted into a miniature farm with birds and rabbits in cages, and tubs of vegetables and herbs, while outbuildings hosted the shops of impoverished French émigrés. Now in the hands of the National Trust it caters for a rather different clientele but the vast elegant rooms still have remarkable decorative ceilings, panelling and fireplaces, alongside historic paintings and antiques.
From £200 per night
The George of Stamford - 'Irresistible Stays' Special Offer
Stamford
An institution in this town of mellow stone. There may well have been a hostelry on this very spot in the tenth century. Its clientele of pilgrims and knights on their way from the north to Jerusalem would have stayed in the adjoining religious houses, with the ancient stones contained in the present-day building, including the crypt beneath the Champagne bar. The main block was rebuilt by Lord Burghley in 1597, an era reflected in the mullioned windows and initials over the entrance, while, just over a century later, the George became a famous stagecoach stop, the route’s two destinations listed on doors marked London and York. The famous gallows sign, erected directly outside across the old Great North Road, both welcomed guests and deterred highwaymen. Past guests include Charles I, William III and Sir Walter Scott.
From £195.00 per night
Llangoed Hall
Brecon
Tucked into serene grounds reaching down to the River Wye, this unashamedly romantic Jacobean mansion sits on land believed to be the original site of the White Palace – home to the first Welsh Parliament in 560 AD. Its remarkable past includes being owned for two generations by a family who had acquired it for winning a game of cards, and a later redesign into an Edwardian country house (for a London bowler-hat maker) by Clough William Ellis, his first major commission, over a decade before his work on Portmeirion. Formerly owned by Sir Bernard Ashley (husband to fabric designer, Laura), it holds his superb art collection including sketches by James Whistler and works by Augustus John.
The Old Rectory
Boscastle
Twenty-four years after it was built in 1846 this Victorian rectory played host to one Thomas Hardy, then an architect working on the renovation of nearby St Juliot’s church. It was a stay that saw him fall in love with rector’s sister, Emma, his future wife. Over four decades later, following her death, he returned as a writer, penning some of his finest verse, the lines recalling the past, the rectory and the ‘wandering western sea’. Converted into a B&B in 2000, it retains period features including sash windows, fireplaces and atmospheric staircase, while the original Victorian walled kitchen garden supplies produce for breakfast.
Old Parsonage Hotel
Oxford
This splendid Headington stone property is built on ground owned by University College – the same landlord as when its construction, interrupted by the Civil War, was finished in 1660. Original features include the doorway with its mighty oak door, stone window frames and north stairs – one of two staircases in its design. Initially owned by the prosperous chef of nearby St John’s College, it has since been occupied by a master in Chancery to Edward IV, two Oxford mayors, a wig maker and a sculptor. In the late 19th century its tenants included Oscar Wilde, temporarily suspended from Magdalen College after returning late from travels in Greece.
Prestonfield
Edinburgh
Designed as a replacement for a mansion burnt down during anti-Catholic protests in the late 17th century, lavish Prestonfield still displays the rewards of the original owner’s family’s fortune. Artworks, antiques and decorative features include Chinoiserie lacquered cabinets and the Leather room’s gilded Spanish wall coverings. The Italian room, a private dining venue, has panels painted with Italian-style landscapes inspired by travels of Sir Alexander Dick (the Rhubarb restaurant celebrates the fact he successfully introduced the plant to Scotland) while a future descendant remodelled and extended the property with a glorious circular stable block, an imposing new entrance and surrounding parkland. Since it became a hotel half a century ago guests have included Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Elton John.
The Rookery
London
The days when a rookery was slang for an urban slum may be long gone – the hotel’s home area of Clerkenwell is now the haunt of many city types – but this hotel, forged from a tumble of 18th-century houses, has oodles of Georgian charm. The warren of interconnected buildings has antique furniture, wood panelling and stone flags, along with gilt-framed mirrors and Turneresque landscapes. Each bedroom is named after a raffish former resident. There are 17th-century carved oak beds, period four-posters and heavy silk curtains, with the showstopper of a two-storey penthouse suite boasting a sitting room beneath a 40-foot spire.
The Lord Crewe Arms
Blanchland
Now part of the small stylish Calcot Collection, this hospitable hotel has weathered stones that were laid in 1165 at the founding of Blanchland Abbey. Once the abbot’s lodge with guest quarters, kitchen and dining room, it retains in its gardens the cloisters where the white-robed monks walked. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1539, the lodge was reincarnated as a manor house, used for hunting by Northumbrian aristocrats, before later becoming a local inn for moorland lead miners, its name originating from the previous owner, Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham. It still reeks of history with flagstone floors, barrel-vaulted ceilings and an enormous fire, along with bedrooms in former miners’ cottages.
The Pig on the Beach
Studland
Today a member of the highly successful litter of Pig hotels this eclectic riot of turrets, chimneys and gingerbread windows, decorated with gargoyles and stone carvings, was the 19th-century coastal villa of aristocratic MP George Bankes. Its walls, rumoured to contain the remnants of King John’s medieval castle, now contain the group’s signature artfully mismatched interiors including a 17th-century woodcarving from a Portuguese palace. The grounds, gazing across to Old Harry Rocks and the Isle of Wight, also boast significant history in the shape of the concrete bunker from which Churchill, Eisenhower and King George VI observed the rehearsals for the D-Day landings.
2018 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
Bodysgallen Hall and Spa - 25% Discount Spring Special Offer
Llandudno
This Tudor Gothic-style Elizabethan mansion, extended over centuries, overlooks parkland with a rare 17th-century parterre, walled rose garden, cascade, lily pond and follies.
Middlethorpe Hall & Spa - 'Tailor-Made Break' Special Offer
York
First-time visitors can’t help but stand and stare at this exquisite country house, with its William and Mary symmetry and 20 acres of gardens and parkland.
Burgh Island Hotel
Bigbury-on-Sea
Pack your Schiaparelli gowns, beach pants and playsuits, and board the 'sea tractor' for a trip back to the 1930s at this Art Deco hotel on a tidal island where the beau monde came to play.
Sign of the Angel
Lacock
In a National Trust village, this is the quintessential olde English inn, timber-framed, with jettied gables, a horse passage, a tiny bar, five rustic-chic bedrooms, sitting room, garden, gastropub menu.
Lewtrenchard Manor
Okehampton
A ‘stunning Jacobean building’ is, astonishingly, largely the creation of Victorian squire, parson and prolific author the Revd Sabine Baring-Gould.
The Goring
London
The epitome of Edwardian grand-hotel luxury, with its liveried doormen, dazzling interiors, glamorous bedrooms and Michelin-starred dining, the Goring is, for all its cachet, welcoming and unaffected, with an acres of garden at the rear.
Temple House
Ballymote
A private drive loops through native woodland and pastures to this classical mansion overlooking a ruined Knights Templar castle and teeming fishing lake in W B Yeats country.
Castle Leslie Estate
Glaslough
Gorgeous interiors and a friendly, informal ambience are a winning combination at Susan Stuart’s beautiful B&B, where every bedroom has a sea view, and breakfast is quite special.
Llanthony Priory Hotel
Abergavenny
It’s not big on modern luxury, but you can find absolute peace and natural beauty here in the prior’s quarters, beside the picturesque ruins of an Augustinian priory under the Black Mountains.
2017 Editor's Choice Historic Hotels
Editor’s Choice Historic Hotels
Bodysgallen Hall and Spa - 25% Discount Spring Special Offer
Llandudno
This Tudor Gothic-style Elizabethan mansion, extended over centuries, overlooks parkland with a rare 17th-century parterre, walled rose garden, cascade, lily pond and follies.
Hartwell House - Three Nights for the Price of Two Special Offer
Aylesbury
An equestrian statue of Frederick, Prince of Wales, marks your arrival at this glorious Jacobean-cum-Georgian mansion, a hotel since the late 1980s.
From £200 per night
Middlethorpe Hall & Spa - 'Tailor-Made Break' Special Offer
York
First-time visitors can’t help but stand and stare at this exquisite country house, with its William and Mary symmetry and 20 acres of gardens and parkland.
Lewtrenchard Manor
Okehampton
A ‘stunning Jacobean building’ is, astonishingly, largely the creation of Victorian squire, parson and prolific author the Revd Sabine Baring-Gould.
Currarevagh House
Oughterard
‘A winding drive through woodland takes you back in time’ to Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s Victorian country house on a 180-acre estate on the shores of Lough Corrib.
Castle Leslie Estate
Glaslough
Gorgeous interiors and a friendly, informal ambience are a winning combination at Susan Stuart’s beautiful B&B, where every bedroom has a sea view, and breakfast is quite special.