10 Great Value UK Hotel Breaks
Everyone has a budget, and whatever yours is, you always want to know that you’re making the most of it.
As we plan our holidays this year, it’s all about getting the best value – and, of course, the best experience. Here, the Good Hotel Guide shares 10 of their best value hotels.
La Sablonnerie, Little Sark
On the Channel Island of Little Sark, your journey to this hotel is by horse drawn carriage, beginning on a unique note and carrying on from there. This is an island with no cars, and La Sablonnerie embodies the elegance of a bygone era, channelling simplicity and style.
A rare jewel of a hotel, here you can spend time engrossed in one another’s company and enjoying the bounty of the sea. Tuck into Sark’s famous lobsters and freshly caught fish at dinner, roam the beaches by day, and relax listening to the call of wild birds at night.
Dinner outdoors at La Sablonnerie
The Black Swan, Kirkby Stephen
Situated between the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, The Black Swan has a reputation for excellent value and being a classy take on the traditional pub-with-rooms.
The rooms at this inn are charming and characterful with a sophisticated artistic vibe. There are some on the ground floor, some in an annexe, and they all have their own unique details. Local ales are the order of the day, food offers a creative twist on local produce, and walkers love working up an appetite roaming the surrounding countryside.
Lots of outdoor space at The Black Swan
The Green Park, Pitlochry
A Victorian country house hotel surrounded by lawned gardens by Loch Faskally, The Green Park is a nature lover’s paradise. Binoculars are always on hand to spot the wildlife as it goes about its day, and there are books and nooks galore for those who want to sit and read quietly.
There are year-round activity breaks including painting, creative writing and photography, or spend your day hiking and wild swimming before tucking into delicacies like pancetta-wrapped guinea fowl in whisky cream sauce.
The Green Park sits overlooking Loch Faskally
The Sun Inn, Colchester
A sunny yellow pub-with-rooms, The Sun Inn is a mediaeval coaching inn set in the Dedham Vale. Overlooking St. Mary’s Church tower, interiors are all low beams and characterful features just a five minute stroll from the Stour river.
Rooms are cosy and uniquely named, each with their own individual features. For example, Boudicca has a fireplace and Constable has a bay window. Food is a central feature of your stay – Chef Jack Levine uses day-boat fish from Wivenhoe, humanely reared meat and locally grown organic and biodynamic produce in a delectable menu.
A cosy fireside for convivial evenings at The Sun Inn
The Traddock, Austwick
Perfect for bringing your four-legged friend, The Traddock is the perfect place for those who enjoy a walking holiday.
A welcoming country house in the Yorkshire Dales national park, it’s homely and warm. Rooms are decorated in comforting style with lots of luxurious touches. Food follows the Slow Food Movement with locally sourced ingredients taking centre stage.
A homely and luxurious atmosphere at The Traddock
The Cottage in the Wood, Malvern Wells
With views stretching across the Severn Valley and the Malvern Hills, The Cottage in the Wood is a gem of a hotel. A smart Georgian dower house, it has rooms spread across the main property as well as the neighbouring Beech Cottage and Coach House.
Floor-to-ceiling windows in the restaurant frame a rural panorama, and superb modern cooking is the order of the day. Spend your time enjoying the peace and quiet, as well as strolling in the surrounding countryside.
A breathtaking view and mouthwatering food
Aynsome Manor, Grange-over-Sands
Aynsome Manor is an old fashioned hotel that feels like a home away from home. Peppered with elegant details, such as a grandfather clock and deep armchairs, it has a sense of warmth and tradition befitting the 400-year-old manor house. However, the hotel is also well known for offering excellent value for money.
There is a moulded ceiling in the panelled dining room, added in 1842 for a visit by the Duke of Devonshire, and attesting to its history.
Work up an appetite by climbing Hampsfell to the 19th-century travellers’ refuge built by Aynsome Manor resident John Remington.
400-year-old beams in the cosy bedrooms at Aynsome
Lake Isle, Uppingham
In the oldest part of historic Uppingham, Lake Isle is an 18th-century whitewashed former shop turned welcoming restaurant-with-rooms. Overlooking the High Street, the dining area in particular is a great place to watch the world go by outside.
Named after the W B Yeats poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, it’s a charming and sophisticated retreat, where food is a central experience. Tick into an impressive breakfast of delicacies like smoked haddock fishcakes, and evening meals of grilled sea bass with samphire pakora and mussels, or guinea fowl with salt-baked celeriac.
A warm welcome and literary links at The Lake Isle
Cnapan, Newport
A homely Georgian B&B on Newport’s main street, Cnapan is an ideal base from which to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast national park.
Rooms are contemporary and comforting complete with Welsh wool blankets, works by local artists, fresh milk. Some look out across the garden and others enjoy views of a Norman castle on the slopes of Carningli (‘mountain of angels’).
Breakfast sets you up for the day with options ranging from the full Welsh to a Scottish kipper, smoked salmon, porridge with maple syrup and chia seeds and, for vegans, chickpea and apricot patties.
By day, go riding close by, hire an electric bike, play golf on Newport links, relax on Newport sands, or watch for greenshank and goosander on the Nevern estuary.
Lots to do close by the Cnapan
Argyll Hotel, Iona
In a unique location off the Isle of Mull, Argyll Hotel is a small village hotel overlooking the Sound of Iona. Everything here feels as though it’s taking you to another world built on high values and carefully crafted beauty.
Iona is a small, remote island that’s only 3½ miles by 1½ miles, but as it’s sympathetically developed it retains its natural wonder as you explore red, green, white and pink sand beaches, and hike and cycle through its history.
Remote, tranquil Argyll Hotel
Visit The Good Hotel Guide for lots more recommendations.
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