![The Retreat Elcot Park hotel, Newbury](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/HERO_June-2022-Credit-Tom-Greenly_3.jpg?w=2200&h=880&crop=1)
The best hotels in the UK
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/06/Susan-dArcy.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1)
Susan d'Arcy
Hotels Editor
Our team, many with more than 20 years’ reviewing experience, have an unrivalled knowledge of the UK hotel industry. Through our own research, intel from industry contacts and word-of-mouth recommendations, we are always seeking out new properties and keeping an eye on how established players are upgrading and reinventing themselves to bring Times Travel readers the very best hotels in the UK.
Every hotel, pub and guesthouse we review has been visited in person by at least one of our journalists, sometimes more than once. We assess each one using a set of criteria that includes sense of place, design, food, location, sustainability efforts, family-friendliness, accessibility and the welcome for our four-legged friends.
We also mine a very rich seam of information: our fellow guests. So we’ll chat to people over the breakfast buffet and watch their interactions with staff, particularly when they get the final bill at check out.
Obviously, while some considerations are factual, others are subjective and that’s where our expertise kicks in. Our collective experience gives us the nous to judge the merits of every potential entrant in a wider context. This is vital for the two trickiest but most important counts: value for money and great service.
All the places featured here have something special to commend them. Whatever your taste and budget, we are confident that you will find many tempting suggestions that will keep you packing your travel bags for the coming year.
Use our handy search tool to find the best British hotels by criteria including price, family-friendliness and accessibility.
Main photo: the Retreat at Elcot Park in Berkshire
London
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Claridges-Corner-Terrace-Suite-518-7.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Side-Hustle-Credit-SimonUpton-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_IMG_0745.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![A bedroom at The Princess Royal Hotel, London](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Bedrooms_Margaret_ThePrincessRoyalWeTheFoodSnobsHighRes-22.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_BvlgariHotelLondon_TheBvlgariLounge_SeatingFullArea_-HR.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Sun Street Hotel, London](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_EK7A8903.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Other House, South Kensington](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Other-House_Owl-Monkey-Bar-2.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Chateau-Denmark-York-Apartment-Master.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_Tribe_II_June_01_1500px.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Lime Tree Hotel, London](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_0JEP3284.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_MAR-108-Marylebone-Lane-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_29_AMANO-Covent-Garden-Rooftop-Terrace-John-Athimaritis.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
Southeast
![The Retreat Elcot Park](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_June-2022-Credit-Tom-Greenly_3.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![A bedroom at Heckfield Place hotel in Hampshire](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_HP_Signature_Room_Long-Room_1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The George in Rye, East Sussex](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_46A1494-Panorama.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Fairmont-Windsor-Park-Horses.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/USE_FEATURED_0JEP3587.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Massey_TheStar2_0621_459RT-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_01-Exterior.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_DSCF4407.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Updown Farmhouse](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED__updown_stills3539.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Drone-footage-leonardslee-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/USE_FEATURED_halfway_26jpg-JS288929104-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Danebury-5.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Fort Road Hotel, Kent](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_FRH_Restaurant-18.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Lime-Wood-in-the-summer-Credit-Jake-Eastham.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
Southwest
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Artist-Suite-Overview.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Bell and Crown, Wiltshire](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_bellcrown1084.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Nici-bedoom-3.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Cyders-by-the-fire.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_The-New-Inn-Tresco-Pavilion-Credit_David-Butler-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_DSC_0850-Edit.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Copy-of-Exterior_0713-final.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_Etons-R10-bedroom-3_49622298816_4f159d5e88_o-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_0JEP3701.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_Exterior-shot-of-The-Headland-Hotel-Spa.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_OldFerryInn-53.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_Mollies-Bristol-4822.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Outlaw's Guest House](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_ONR-exterior.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_GWC_Glebe-House-36_lower2.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/USE_FEATURED_Restaurant_210514_AtTheChapel_CR2s-059.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/FEATURED_TheCasterbridge_Room.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Credit-Steven-Brownhill-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_2PH033.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
Central
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_DSC_8047.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Thyme-Ox-Barn-Interior58.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Pheasant at Neenton](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Pheasant-Front-from-Churchyard-5x3-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Rutland-Hall-Hotel_Main-Hall.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Royal Oak, Ramsden, Oxfordshire.](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_ASHLEY-BAR-10-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Wildhive_Zoomed-Out-Hotel-Shot_Callow-Hall_HR_105.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Grand Hotel, Birmingham](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_TGHB_Exterior_6626.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Hampton Manor hotel in Solihull](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_095.Cottage.4773.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Boathouses.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Dormy House, Worcestershire](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_0JEP7381.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED__MG_0188.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_GeorgeInnBarford-0126.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Rafters at Riverside House](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_RAFTERS-M2-Hotel-8.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Photo-26-05-2021-16-57-06.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Pit-Terrace-53.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_2022.03.09_TheCrown_0003.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
North
![Seaham Hall](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_DJI_0848.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Outside_Another_Place_Shepherd_Hut_Credit_Jeremy_Phillips-2.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Hare & Hounds, Cumbria](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_HARE_HOUNDS_346.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/USE_FEATURED_0JEP1961.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Grantley-Hall.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Angel at Hetton hotel, Yorkshire](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Angel-exterior-shot-Sept-2021.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_External-View.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Freemasons_Wiswell_External01.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_the-vices-york-057.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Credit_MariellLindHansen-2.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_HIGH_RES_The_Whittling_House_0024.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_PUB-Lunch-022.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_DeMatosRyan_AliceHawthorne_NunMonkton_Yorks_©HuftonCrow_043_Credit_Jim-Poyner.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_WHITEHOUSE_044_Credit_Steven-Barber.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Titanic-Liverpool-exterior.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
East
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Angel-Stoke-By-Nayland-Constable-Photography-August-20220235.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Retreat East hotel in Suffolk](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Retreat-East-July-2022_Credit_Emma-Cabielles-272.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![The Gonville Hotel, Cambridge](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_gon-382.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Harper-Ivys.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_maison-shot.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Globe-Feb-2022_Credit_Emma-Cabielles-14.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_1350_White_Hart_Mersea-0688-WEB.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_ConghamHall_NEW-exterior_hires.CROP-copy-3.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Carpenters-Day-1-April-2022_Credit_Emma-Cabielles-133-1-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Sculthorpe-Mill-Exterior.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
Wales
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Credit_Heather_Birnie_Fforest_Albion_091.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Parador 44 Hotel, Cardiff (Owen Mathias Photography)](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Credit_Owen-Mathias-Photography-5.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED__Plas-Weunydd-Snow-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_ynyshir-016.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_TheRoystonexternal_Credit_The-Royston.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Grove-Garden-images-Owen-Howells-Photography-0002.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
Scotland
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Glen_Townhse_2_Shot_87_Spence_Hero_Wide_Landscape_3271-1.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_drone.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Junior-Suite-Room-1_1a040e5b-4e6c-4438-b6bd-4dd631687e7d.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_014-Commons-Club-Bar-Lounge.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_scones.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_128A0786_family-room-shared-facilities.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![Gleneagles in Scotland](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_Family-Exterior.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_The-Taybank2v2.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)
![](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/FEATURED_THE-FIFE-ARMS-EXTERIOR-_LANDSCAPE.jpg?w=380&h=285&crop=1)