It isn’t entirely true that you get what you pay for. From a city centre stay to cheap countryside B&Bs, these are the places where you really get your money’s worth. Manor houses with spacious bedrooms, morning greetings from resident chickens or cleverly designed compact rooms in the city. Here are the Good Hotel Guide’s Editor’s Choice selections for best value for money hotels.
2024 Editor's Choice Hotels on a Budget
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
Burleigh Court
Stroud
Cotswolds charm on the cheap is on offer at this beautiful Georgian building remodelled by Clough Williams-Ellis. Elegant interiors include a panelled dining room and sitting room with gramophone and games cupboard; the gardens feature an Art Deco dipping pool. Room-only doubles cost from £129.
From £65 per night
Forss House - Hogmanay Celebration Special Offer
Thurso
Enjoy the grandeur of Scottish country-house living from just £119 for double rooms, with breakfast. Go salmon fishing on the river, relax in the panelled lounge, and perhaps indulge in a whisky flight after a delicious dinner. Book 30 days in advance to get the best rates.
The Castle Hotel
Bishop's Castle
The views are truly priceless from this country hotel in a pretty, hilltop market town a mile from the Welsh border. It’s perfectly positioned for walks from the door and, as an added bonus, dogs stay free of charge. B&B doubles from £120.
The Barnsdale
Oakham
Book an off-season Sunday stay in this former hunting lodge and not only do you benefit from a £140 room rate, but also a restaurant credit for the same amount. There’s complimentary wine on offer at check-in and ginger citrus liqueur in the contemporary rooms. Breakfast costs extra.
Cnapan
Newport
An ideal base from which to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, this town-centre B&B is beautifully furnished; bedrooms feature Welsh wool blankets and works by local artists. Guests can enjoy a complimentary tea as well as a full Welsh at breakfast. B&B doubles from £100.
Brooks Guesthouse
Bristol
For sheer fun factor, the rooftop caravans atop this central Bristol B&B are pretty cool, with prices from just £119 a night. If you prefer something a little more traditional, there are bedrooms below, from £99. Everyone gets to enjoy a slap-up breakfast.
Newbegin House
Beverley
Readers rave over the ‘ridiculously good value’ at Walter and Nuala Sweeney’s Georgian townhouse, with original features, antiques and heirlooms as well as a walled garden. The three traditional rooms include sherry, fresh milk and flowers. B&B doubles from £110.
The Three Daggers
Westbury
Stay at this lovely village inn and you can book a treatment in the spa barn; there’s also an with outdoor hot tub and sauna and an on-site brewery and farm shop. The three rooms above the pub share a farmhouse-style kitchen and lounge area. B&B doubles from £95.
The Dial House
Norwich
Themed on global gallivanting, the rooms in this unusual hotel are beautifully styled and gorgeously quirky. They range from China room, in blue and white with bamboo wallpaper to opulent Italian Palace, with a bath at the end of the bed. B&B doubles from £130.
2023 Editor's Choice Hotels on a Budget
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
Cuckoo Brow Inn
Ambleside
This jolly country inn, between Lake Windermere and Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top home, welcomes walkers, dogs and children with smiles, robust food and toasty log-burners.
Helen Browning’s Royal Oak
Swindon
'Bags of character and a warm vibe' are on offer at this pub-with-rooms on an organic farm ‘in a lovely and really rural village’ on the Marlborough Downs.
The Old Store
Chichester
Matt and Amy Marshall welcome new arrival with a drink and are happy to share their local knowledge and love of Sussex at this 18th-century bakery-turned-B&B with updated, bright and airy interiors.
The Bay Hotel
Helston
Overlooking the beach and harbour in a fishing village, this updated Edwardian hotel offers bedrooms decorated in a soothing, muted coastal palette, while in the restaurant you can dine from short, highly creative menus of seasonal Cornish produce.
Lake Isle
Uppingham
There is no isle here, no lake, no bee-loud glade, but the name of Richard and Janine Burton's lauded restaurant-with-rooms draws inspiration from W.B. Yeats’s Innisfree, a place of serenity and escape.
Newbegin House
Beverley
The 'ridiculously good value' offered at this B&B astounds readers, who love staying at Walter and Nuala Sweeney's Georgian town house, where personal photographs and heirlooms complement the handsome original features.
The Roseleigh
Buxton
Readers on their annual visit to the Buxton Festival assure us that all is as good as ever at Maggi and Gerard Heelan’s excellent Victorian B&B.
The Pear Tree Inn
Melksham
This gastropub-with-rooms is set in a beguilingly pretty 17th-century Bath stone inn with mullioned windows and cascading wisteria, and lovely gardens outside.
The Blue Bell
Harrogate
A handy stopover on the A1, this is the very model of a perfect village pub, with flagged floors, beams, wood-burner, comfy seating, neat, fuss-free bedrooms, and menus that mix pub classics with more elaborate dishes
The Baron At Bucknell
Knighton
Debra and Phil Wright’s village pub-with-rooms on the Welsh borders ‘puts to shame places that charge twice as much’, writes a regular Guide reader.
2022 Editor's Choice Budget Hotels
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
Biggin Hall
Buxton
You get the Peak District without peak prices at this 17th-century country house, with beams, wood panelling and a vast fireplace in the comfy lounge. Some bedrooms have a four-poster or half-tester. B&B doubles from £110.
Aynsome Manor
Grange-over-Sands
With B&B doubles from £99, this 400-year- old manor house offers superb value close to the attractions of the Lake District. A tranquil base with traditional comforts, it has simple country-style bedrooms and excellent cuisine.
Brockencote Hall
Chaddesley Corbett
Looking for all the world like a Loire château overlooking a lake, Brockencote has smart contemporary rooms, a well-regarded restaurant and grounds you can roam with four-legged friends. B&B doubles from £120.
The Lord Poulett Arms
Hinton St George
It’s both chic and cheap at this thatched 17th-century inn, with plenty of exposed brick, beams and mix-and-match furniture in the bar and dining area and the uncluttered bedrooms upstairs. B&B doubles from £95.
From £65 per night
Brooks Guesthouse
Bristol
In the heart of the city, this uber-cool guesthouse not only has a rooftop garden, but also has Airstream-style caravans parked in it. Otherwise, rooms are smart but simple, with B&B doubles from £69, and caravans from £94.
The Gunton Arms
Thorpe Market
It’s got all the trappings of a posh country hotel, with a 1,000-acre estate and oodles of original artwork, but this is very much a proper pub, with blazing fires, flagstone floors, and rooms from a very reasonable £95, with breakfast.
The Pierhouse
Port Appin
Gordon Campbell Gray’s tranquil lochside hotel comes with spectacular sea views and delicious seafood. If you don’t mind only seeing the views from the public rooms, comfortable cliff-facing doubles cost from £125, B&B.
2021 Editor's Choice Value Hotels
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
Ees Wyke Country House
Ambleside
Beatrix Potter holidayed here, and no wonder. This country hotel overlooks Esthwaite Water, and most rooms enjoy views across the lake to the fells of the Old Man of Coniston, the Langdale Pikes and Grizedale Forest.
Cnapan
Newport
The Coopers settle you into their B&B with tea and Welsh cakes, before showing you to a bright and immaculate bedroom. Munch on kippers or Glamorgan sausages at breakfast, and read in the sunny garden.
Britannia House
Lymington
Tobias Feilke is your genial host at this double-fronted Victorian house overlooking a marina. Rooms are lavishly decorated with swags, drapes and plump sofas, and Tobias cooks up a mean breakfast in the morning.
Yalbury Cottage
Dorchester
Deep in Thomas Hardy country, this charming former shepherd’s cottage has cosy bedrooms with bucolic views, a garden with comfortable seating, and an excellent restaurant working wonders with West Country produce.
The Beckford Arms
Tisbury
There’s plenty to like about this Wiltshire pub-with-rooms: down-to-earth food (Ploughman’s, Beckford beef burger), local ales, and sophisticated rooms with oak floors and fine Welsh blankets.
Grasshoppers
Glasgow
The perfect city-centre bolt-hole – it’s right next to the station – with bright, design- conscious bedrooms. Big breakfasts include a full Scottish. There is a bar and the option of a simple meal in the evening.
Newbegin House
Beverley
Walter and Nuala Sweeney will welcome you like trusted regulars to their atmospheric Georgian house, with its shuttered sash windows, fine antique furniture, family heirlooms, books, paintings and walled garden.
2020 Editor's Choice Value Hotels
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
The Old Rectory
Boscastle
It’s the little things that mean so much at Sally and Chris Searle’s B&B – free laundry, a morning paper, fresh flowers and produce from the beautiful organic garden, eggs from the hens, a lift into Boscastle for dinner. Doubles from £75, single £60.
The Old Vicarage
Newtown
Double rooms at Helen and Tim Withers’s eco-friendly Victorian vicarage in the Cambrian mountains start at £95 (£70 for a single guest). A family can stay for
£150, and an imaginative mezze platter is just £12. The warm hospitality is free.
£150, and an imaginative mezze platter is just £12. The warm hospitality is free.
Thistleyhaugh Farm
Morpeth
If you could put a price on the warmth of welcome from Enid Nelless at this family- run Georgian farmhouse B&B, it would certainly be far higher than the £110 they charge for a double room (single £70).
Great breakfasts, home-made shortbread and hugs.
Great breakfasts, home-made shortbread and hugs.
The Rock Inn
Newton Abbot
With double rooms from as little as £110, a small charge for an extra bed for a child, a three-course dinner for £24.95, and Dartmoor on the doorstep, the Graves family’s friendly inn offers bargain breaks at any time of year.
Newbegin House
Beverley
Georgian elegance, a walled garden, rooms filled with antiques, generous extras (fresh milk, biscuits, chocolate), and an award- winning breakfast are all yours at Nuala and Walter Sweeney’s lovely home for a modest £90–£100 (single £60).
No. 33
Hunstanton
B&B starts at £95 a room (add £10 for an infant’s bed, deduct £10 if staying solo) at Jeanne Whittome’s stylish seaside B&B. A cream tea is served on arrival, and guests are presented with a discount voucher to spend at the owner’s deli.
The Roseleigh
Buxton
In a lovely situation overlooking the Pavilion Gardens lake, Gerard and Maggi Heelan’s Victorian B&B is a veritable snip. Traditionally furnished rooms cost
£35–£56 per person. The opera house is nearby. Readers sing the praises.
£35–£56 per person. The opera house is nearby. Readers sing the praises.
Jura Hotel
Craighouse
You could pitch your tent in the field in front of the McCallum family’s hotel overlooking the Sound of Jura and pay as little as £5, but for £100 more you can have a snug double room, a comfy bed and your own bathroom. A bar meal won’t break the bank.
2019 Editor's Choice Value Hotels
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
The Black Swan - Two night Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Special Offer
Kirkby Stephen
Double rooms start from £95 at Louise Dinnes’s Victorian pub-with-rooms in an Eden Valley conservation village. It’s ideal for fell walkers and ramblers, with a comfy lounge and superior pub food; fish and chips for £12.
The Ceilidh Place
Ullapool
A night in the bunkhouse, fish and chips in the café and a glass of Chilean Sauvignon will set you back £42.15 at Jean Urquhart’s fun music venue and bookshop-with-rooms. A good bedroom won’t break the bank either.
Aynsome Manor
Grange-over-Sands
Hosts Chris and Andrea Varley’s take great care of guests at their Lake District manor house. Comfortable rooms start at under £100, and at night the daily changing menu of locally sourced fare costs from £23.95.
Thistleyhaugh Farm
Morpeth
An ideal base for exploring the Northumberland coast, the Nelless family’s Georgian farmhouse B&B sits amid their organic livestock farm. Doubles cost £100, singles from £70, including a hearty breakfast (Craster kippers, local sausages, free-range eggs).
Dolffanog Fawr
Tywyn
There are views of lake and mountain from Alex Yorke and Lorraine Hinkins’s Snowdonia B&B. Rooms (from £90 single, £110 double) are supplied with smart toiletries. Breakfast, and a four-course dinner four nights a week, win plaudits.
No. 33
Hunstanton
Guests arriving at Jeanne Whittome’s stylish B&B are offered afternoon tea and a discount voucher for sister business Thornham Deli, which supplies breakfast bagels, smoked salmon and cream cheese. Doubles priced from £95, £85 for single occupancy.
Killiane Castle Country House and Farm
Drinagh
A 17th-century farmhouse grafted on to a 15th-century castle, in lovely grounds, is run by the Mernagh family as a wonderful guest house. Newcomers are welcomed with home-baked biscuits. Doubles start at just €120; breakfasts are a treat.
2018 Editor's Choice Value Hotels
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
The Black Swan - Two night Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Special Offer
Kirkby Stephen
Holding court in the centre of Ravenstonedale, ‘twixt the Lakes and the Dales, The Black Swan has the hallmarks of a much-loved village inn: home-cooked food, cheery atmosphere and comforting bedrooms.
Cnapan
Newport
With a home-from-home ambience, this Georgian B&B on Newport’s main street is an ideal base from which to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast national park.
The Ceilidh Place
Ullapool
Scottish culture and celebration are at the heart of the Urquhart family’s hotel, café, bar and restaurant near the ferry terminal on Loch Broom, a social hub with simple bedrooms, young staff, short and interesting locally sourced menus, and a bunkhouse for those on a budget.
Thistleyhaugh Farm
Morpeth
This 'excellent, traditional farmhouse B&B', with huge bedrooms, generous hospitality and breakfasts to fuel the day, is now in the capable hands of the family’s second generation of hosts.
Lake Isle
Uppingham
There is no isle here, no lake, no bee-loud glade, but the name of Richard and Janine Burton's lauded restaurant-with-rooms draws inspiration from W.B. Yeats’s Innisfree, a place of serenity and escape.
2017 Editors Choice Value
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
Cnapan
Newport
With a home-from-home ambience, this Georgian B&B on Newport’s main street is an ideal base from which to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast national park.
The Old Rectory
Boscastle
With romantic Thomas Hardy associations, this Victorian rectory is run today as a B&B with traditional bedrooms, original features, lovingly tended garden, and home-grown produce at breakfast.
The Carpenters Arms
Pensford
Rambling roses and brimming hanging baskets adorn ‘the Carps’, a friendly local pub-with-rooms in a hamlet 25 minutes from Bath.
The Manor Coach House
Worcester
Tea and cake await new arrivals at this well-run B&B, with spotless bedrooms in a Victorian former coach house set around a courtyard, each with its own entrance, and a bright little breakfast room
Grasshoppers
Glasgow
It feels a bit like finding platform 9¾ but trust us: buzz an intercom to enter a grand, buff-stone railway office block by Glasgow Central, ride the lift to the penthouse and step into a cool city hotel.
Newbegin House
Beverley
The 'ridiculously good value' offered at this B&B astounds readers, who love staying at Walter and Nuala Sweeney's Georgian town house, where personal photographs and heirlooms complement the handsome original features.
2016 Editor's Choice Value Hotels
Editor’s Choice Budget-friendly hotels (formerly Budget, Value)
The Black Swan - Two night Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Special Offer
Kirkby Stephen
Holding court in the centre of Ravenstonedale, ‘twixt the Lakes and the Dales, The Black Swan has the hallmarks of a much-loved village inn: home-cooked food, cheery atmosphere and comforting bedrooms.
The Old Store
Chichester
Matt and Amy Marshall welcome new arrival with a drink and are happy to share their local knowledge and love of Sussex at this 18th-century bakery-turned-B&B with updated, bright and airy interiors.
Thistleyhaugh Farm
Morpeth
This 'excellent, traditional farmhouse B&B', with huge bedrooms, generous hospitality and breakfasts to fuel the day, is now in the capable hands of the family’s second generation of hosts.
Ael y Bryn
Eglwyswrw
Readers can't stop raving about the 'impeccably furnished rooms, lovingly manicured garden and well-stocked library' at this adults-only B&B in countryside outside the village of ‘Egg-lis-oo-roo’, with views to the Preseli hills and Carningli mountain.