The Top 50 Boutique Hotels In The UK

The United Kingdom has a lot of hotels. Really, a lot. From the very, very old like the Maids Head Hotel that claims to have been hosting guests in various ways for nearly a thousand years to the very, very expensive like the Manor House Wing of the Rosewood London – a snip at £25,000 a night but your suite does have its own zip code!

With such an array of choices on offer, it can be hard to decide where to stay. Mostly the ideal option is somewhere in between the weird and wallet-bruising, and few options achieve that better than the boutique hotel. Privately owned, small enough to be personal but big enough to be professional, in interesting places but not too far from civilization, and as often as not offering a real taste of what life is like in their location rather than creating an all-encompassing (read: sterile) resort you need never leave.

Happily, a relatively new body called, straightforwardly, the Top 50 Boutique Hotels has made its mission to decide and define exactly that. Curating a wide ranging group of travel industry experts, hoteliers, travel writers and influencers, it has just released its definitive list of the top 50 for 2022 and into 2023. You can see more of the methodology and judges here.

The best boutique hotels in the UK

The number one boutique hotel in the UK is the 33-room Lime Wood Hotel, a secluded five-star retreat in the New Forest National Park on England’s south coast. A classic countryside getaway 90 minutes from London, Lime Wood embraces its forested environs, creating a natural, cosy and relaxed country house feel.

Rooms are generous and indulgent, places to not only to sleep but to hang out and unwind in. The Herb House Spa continues the nature aesthetic with herb-garden yoga, forest views from the indoor hydro and outdoor hot pools. And the restaurant, Hartnett Holder & Co, serves signature Italian dishes from renowned chefs Angela Hartnett and Luke Holder.

Runner-up spot goes to The Newt, an extraordinary Georgian house and working estate that brings to life its Somerset surroundings, not least with its apple orchards and cyder press. Forty rooms are spread across the main house and farmyard creating very different but equally luxurious experiences, the cavernous barn spa houses a hammam and indoor-outdoor pool, the farmyard kitchen serves garden to table dining and a vast array of programs invite guests to dive headfirst in the garden and experience it up close.

Third place Heckfield Place in Hampshire shows a clear theme developing in boutique hotel appeal – people’s desire to escape, to get back to nature, but only in the most luxurious environs. Heckfield is another albeit very different Georgian manor house set in 400 acres of blissful, perfectly managed nature.

In fact, it’s not until sixth place and the ten-room Artist Residence London that we encounter a city-based hotel, notable for its relaxed, creative aesthetic that brilliantly diffuses its central-west London location.

The best of the rest

Elsewhere, the southwest of England features prominently with Lympstone Manor in Devon (the highest new entry to the list), and Padstow Townhouse and The Idle Rocks both in Cornwall all making the top ten. It’s a theme that continues into the top 50 where the region dominates with 14 of the best boutique hotels.

The UK capital is represented by five boutique hotels in the top 50. Following the Artist Residence comes The Mandrake (19th), L’Oscar London (26th), The Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell (37th), and Henrietta Hotel (43rd). Scotland is home to four of the best, including The Fife Arms (15th) and lovely Foyers Lodge (19th) on the shores of Loch Ness.

Elsewhere, separate awards for Food and Drink went to Number One Bruton in Somerset, for Most Unique Experience went to Gilpin Hotel and Lake House in Cumbria, and for Best Service went to Gravetye Manor in Sussex.

The Top 50 Boutique Hotels 2022

1. Lime Wood Hotel, Hampshire
2. The Newt, Somerset
3. Heckfield Place, Hampshire
4. The Pig at Bridge Place, Kent
5. Lympstone Manor, Devon
6. Grantley Hall, Yorkshire
7. Artist Residence London, London
8. Idle Rocks, Cornwall
9. Thyme, Cotswolds
10. Padstow Townhouse, Cornwall
11. Yorebridge House, Yorkshire
12. Hambleton Hall, Rutland
13. Beaverbrook, Surrey
14. Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, Cumbria
15. The Fife Arms, Scotland
16. The Queensberry, Somerset
17. Foyers Lodge, Scotland
18. Another Place, Cumbria
19. The Mandrake, London
20. Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms, Lancashire
21. Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall
22. Hotel Tresanton, Cornwall
23. Titchwell Manor Hotel, Norfolk
24. Watergate Bay, Cornwall
25. Wild Thyme & Honey, Gloucestershire
26. L'oscar London, London
27. Middleton Lodge, Yorkshire
28. Rothay Manor, Cumbria
29. The Gallivant, Sussex
30. The Tawny Hotel, Staffordshire
31. The Wild Rabbit, Oxfordshire
32. Calcot Manor Hotel, Cotswolds
33. Grays Court Hotel & Restaurant, Yorkshire
34. Number One Bruton, Somerset
35. Hampton Manor, West Midlands
36. The Rectory Hotel, Wiltshire
37. The Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell, London
38. Hipping Hall, Cumbria
39. Cliveden House, Berkshire
40. Links House at Royal Dornoch, Scotland
41. Great Fosters, Surrey
42. Dormy House Hotel, Cotswolds
43. Henrietta Hotel, London
44. Gravetye Manor, Sussex
45. House of Gods, Scotland
46. The Samling Hotel, Cumbria
47. Seaham Hall, Durham
48. Linthwaite House, Cumbria
49. Grove of Narberth, Pembrokeshire
50. Number 38 Clifton, Somerset