Best historic hotels in the UK

Our secret inspectors stay at hundreds of UK hotels to bring you honest and impartial reviews you can trust.

All the historic hotels and B&Bs featured here are brimming with character. There's everything from the history of Rob Roy and Charles I to a former boot factory in Bristol that's now one of the UK's most stylish stays. Each scored at least four stars out of five from our undercover reviewers. 

We completed stays at the hotels included within the past two years. Prices are for a Saturday night (peak price) and correct at the time of publication. All scores are out of five.

Boys Hall, Kent

Score: 4.5

Check rates at Boys Hall

Peak price: £180

The ordinary location (deep in the Ashford suburbs, tucked behind a Wickes and a car dealership) only makes this Jacobean manor house more spectacular. It's clad in wisteria from bed rock to gable. Charles I may have stayed here when hoofing it from the Roundheads, but this is Boys Hall’s first turn as a hotel – its historic old bones of beams and fireplaces lavishly restored. With just 10 rooms set around the original carved oak staircase, it feels intimate, and we’re ushered inside for tea and cake.

Rooms: While our spacious double has a four-poster bed and the sort of hefty timbered wardrobe that could house Narnia, contemporary fixtures and decorative tiles make it brighter and happier than most historic stays. Everything feels luxurious; from the sweeping floral drapes you need two hands to close, to a tea and coffee station with a choice of milks.

Food & drink: The restaurant is the main event. You’ll find fabulous fine dining (the Michelin Guide is sure to catch on soon) under huge timber joists in the brightly lit conservatory, or on the terrace overlooking the landscaped gardens. Service is warm, prices are fair and there’s lots of local flavour, from Romney Marsh lamb to Kentish wines.

Our verdict: There’s little to recommend the location, but this luxury stay is almost faultless.

Reviewed: September 2023.

Hotel Endsleigh, Devon

Score: 4.5

Check rates at the Hotel Endsleigh with Booking.com

Peak price: £290

This Dartmoor hotel was once the enviable rural retreat of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, who, in 1814, enlisted the help of landscape designer Humphry Repton to transform its grounds. Now part of The Polizzi Collection, both the Grade I-listed house and surrounding gardens are resplendent. Pick up a map and explore the 108 acres – you’ll discover follies, grottos, waterfalls and an arboretum, as well as a yew arch and fragrant rose walk with views down to the River Tamar.

Rooms: All 19 rooms have been elegantly designed by Olga Polizzi and many retain period features – we loved the fire buckets and hose reels on the landing upstairs. Our Classic Double (room 16), with its botanical paintings and roll-top bath (not all rooms have separate showers), overlooked the stables and clock tower. For the best garden views, choose one of the Repton rooms. Original hand-painted wallpaper is still on show in the Bedford rooms. A two-night stay is often required.

Food & drink: Venison, duck breast and turbot with seaweed beurre blanc were among the mains on our three-course dinner menu (£67.50), although many visit simply to enjoy a garden stroll followed by afternoon cream tea (£35).

Our verdict: Everything about Hotel Endsleigh is enchanting, including the attentive staff. A first-class escape.

Reviewed: May 2023.

Artist Residence, Bristol

Score: 4

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Price: £205

Relics of this Grade I-listed Georgian townhouse’s former life as a boot factory are everywhere – from the exposed brickwork (plastered with quirky, pop art prints) to the lofty skylights and industrial sliding doors. A five-minute walk from Cabot Circus shopping centre, it captures all the vibrancy of Bristol within its distressed walls. Soak up the buzz as staff mix liberally garnished cocktails at the long brick bar, or find a slouchy velvet sofa in the more sedate library room.

Rooms: Reclaimed furniture, potted lavender and a vintage rug set the tone in our modish double. But even the cheapest room (the pocket-sized crash pad, still with a king bed) is crammed with thoughtful touches – including a well-stocked Smeg mini bar and a coffee machine. There’s even a multi-adaptor phone charger should you forget yours.The brass Anglepoise lamps weren’t very illuminating and the tiled bathroom floor needed a mop, but really we’re nit-picking.

Food & drink: Even on an unremarkable soggy Tuesday, the bar was packed. Cocktails, small plates and pizzas dominate; a rosemary paloma with tequila and grapefruit was the perfect pairing for the zingy squash and quinoa salad. But at breakfast, the colossal ‘veggie full’ with crispy grilled halloumi, smashed avocado and sriracha potatoes could have been served hotter.

Our verdict: A well-equipped home from home; you’ll only wish your own abode was this stylish.

Reviewed: January 2023.

Eleven Didsbury Park, Manchester

Score: 4

Check rates at Eleven Didsbury with Booking.com

Peak price: £180

The leafy suburb of Didsbury is famously well-heeled, and this Victorian townhouse hotel certainly holds its own. Communal rooms are almost womb-like, filled with tactile rich-toned fabrics and curiosities – from toucan bookends to Moroccan lanterns. The pretty walled garden, with century-old yew trees and a heated patio, feels a world away from the frenetic city centre of nearby Manchester.

Rooms: Snug is often a euphemism for shoebox, but not here. The smallest Snug still has wriggle room and a walk-in monsoon shower. We were upgraded to the cavernous Comfy, with a claw-foot roll-top bath in a geometric-tiled alcove. Attention to detail is everywhere, from the coffee pod menu for the in-room machine to the brimming bookcase (we only wish we were staying long enough to read all the books).

Food & drink: Small plates (such as the Thai butternut squash soup with roti) and mains are available, alongside a well-stocked bar. Take breakfast in the garden lounge, or on wicker chairs in the exposed brick conservatory. Or hang your order on the back of your door for room service. We couldn’t fault our fresh fruit salad and eggs benedict, but the full buffet (£16 when we stayed) is a little on the steep side for what it is.

Our verdict: Luxurious without being stuffy, this lovingly furnished bolthole feels joyously indulgent.

Reviewed: May 2023.

Monachyle Mhor, Perthshire

Score: 4

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Peak price: £260

It’s a six-mile, single-track drive to this remote lochside hotel, a pink 18th-century farmhouse that’s been owned by the Lewis family for 40 years. Its position overlooking Loch Voil and Loch Doine offers numerous scenic walks – including a short trek to the grave of Rob Roy MacGregor, Scotland’s answer to Robin Hood. There are also five Munros (mountains more than 3,000ft high) to climb, or simply admire, nearby.

Rooms: Each of the 17 rooms is individually styled, but regardless of where you sleep, the lavish decor has a modern Highland twist – more wall-mounted stag antlers than twee tartan. We stayed in the spacious But and Ben, with its own walk-in shower-cum-steam room. It’s one of seven Courtyard rooms, so when we went to the bar in the main house we needed a coat and umbrella.

Food & drink: Maria Paszkowska has been executive chef since 2010 and food is sourced mostly from the Mhor farm. A set dinner menu (three courses, £85) may include cured venison carpaccio, Blackface lamb and hazelnut frangipane. In the loch-facing breakfast room, we had fresh Scottish berries with crème fraîche and a traditional Scottish breakfast, complete with haggis.

Our verdict: An exclusive hideaway with attentive, friendly service – it’s worth pushing the boat out for a special occasion.

Reviewed: March 2023.

How we review hotels

Unlike all other national UK travel magazines and newspaper travel sections, Which? Travel never accepts freebies. We pay wherever we stay.

All our hotel inspections take place anonymously. We book a standard double room online, just as you would, and we sample the hotel’s facilities, just as you would.

That means no special treatment, no reviewer upgrades and no opportunity for the hotel to influence our verdict.

And no matter how badly the hotel fares, we always publish the review, warts and all. 

Our ratings

We use an overall star rating for the hotel based on what we think you should expect for the type of accommodation (B&B, luxury hotel etc) and price.

All our ratings strictly adhere to the following criteria:

• 0 stars – A dreadful hotel. We would not recommend staying here.
• 1 star – A sub-standard hotel we think is well below average in its category.
• 2 stars – An adequate hotel we think has room for improvement.
• 3 stars – A solid hotel that meets our expectations.
• 4 stars – An excellent hotel we think is above average in its category.
• 5 stars – An exceptional hotel we think is among the best of its type.