The UK’s hotel scene isn’t short on history, and lately it’s been putting that history to good use. On our list, we’ve got a former Bank of Scotland turned electric-blue jewel box, a Highland coaching inn hung with Picassos, a 1960s American embassy reborn as an all-suite hideaway in Mayfair, and a Windermere lake house built for a Victorian widow. Each one has taken its past and done something entirely its own with it, and each, in its own way, explains exactly why people keep coming back… These are our best hotels in the UK.
1. Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh
The little sister of Scotland’s most iconic hotel, Gleneagles Townhouse added a certain flair to Edinburgh’s New Town when it opened in 2022. Once home to the Eighth Earl of Dalhousie, the stylish city pad is all soaring Georgian ceilings and plenty of swirling plasterwork… and then goes rogue from there. Think emerald and teal velvet, fringed sofas, claw-foot baths and boat-loads of glamorous antiques. Down in the old vaults, the state-of-the-art subterranean spa is utterly gorgeous, while upstairs the rooftop bar has become one of the best reasons in the city to stay up too late.
2. The Kensington, London
Four white-stuccoed, very good-looking Victorian townhouses knocked into one, the interiors at The Kensington are just as elegant as the outside, from the elephant sculptures that guard the lobby to the oil paintings on the staircase and the exquisite, hand-printed wallpaper. Fires are lit most evenings in the drawing room, all deep sofas and low lamps, and Town House restaurant is famous for its Sunday roast. And once you’re fed and watered, London’s greatest museums are mere steps away.
3. The Fife Arms, Central Scotland
When world-renowned gallerists get hold of an old Scottish coaching inn in Braemar, they certainly don’t stop at a lick of paint. The 46 rooms and numerous sitting rooms of The Fife Arms now hold around 16,000 artworks and antiques between them, a Picasso hanging above the mahogany mantelpiece and a Louise Bourgeois sculpture watching over the breakfast tables. But, you are still in Scotland of course, and there is plenty of tweed and tartan about as well as a Whiskey Bar showcasing over 400 bottles, and a pretty nearby village with tea rooms and quaint stone houses galore.
4. Cowley Manor Experimental, The Cotswolds
Cowley Manor Experimental is the Cotswolds with a wink – and there couldn’t be a more apt description of the term ‘one of a kind.’ Revamped in 2022 by Experimental, a group with outposts in some of the world’s hippest locations, it’s all electric-blue furnishings, lacquered lava stone and Alice-in-Wonderland themed cocktails at the bar. But outside, it’s the Cotswolds down to a tee: 55 acres of protected, green land, a lily-filled lake, meadows and plenty of rambling walks to enjoy.
5. The Chancery Rosewood, London
After six decades of looking at the concrete grille of the old US Embassy, the residents of Grosvenor Square now have something rather more exciting to marvel at: the Chancery Rosewood. Every one of the rooms is a suite rather than a standard room, all clean lines and calming palettes – and each one has a butler, too. Food-wise, Carbone, the New York Italian-American institution, has brought its theatrical service (and equally theatrical portions) to London for the first time, whilst upstairs a table at the Eagle Bar, presided over by the gilded eagle that once gazed at the diplomats, is the hottest in town.
6. Langdale Chase, The Lake District
Standing stately on the shimmering shores of Windermere, Langdale Chase might have a colourful history, but today, it’s more about the water. The AA Rosette dining room looks out through floor-to-ceiling glass over the lake, there’s a private beach and jetty for guests who fancy a wild swim, and the 1928 motor launch Albatros runs three sailings a day out onto Windermere. Down in the basement, a nine-seat cinema screens Brief Encounter and Swallows & Amazons on request – an unusual touch, but a fabulous one for waiting out a downpour.
7. Claridge’s, London
A Mayfair institution, nowhere does old-school glamour (and a little bit of naughtiness!) quite like Claridge’s. We’re talking an 1896 Otis lift, still worked by an attendant and complete with a small sofa just in case the ride up feels a little too much, the black-and-white marble lobby floor, gilded mirrors and curvy pink marble, and of course, afternoon teas of scones and finger sandwiches served on the hotel’s signature green-and-white porcelain. Time your visit for December for the unveiling of the Christmas tree: every year a different fashion designer takes charge of the towering tree in the lobby (Dior, Louis Vuitton and Burberry’s Daniel Lee have all had a turn), and every year, it’s even more spectacular than the last.
8. The Pig in the Cotswolds, The Cotswolds
Just about everything at The Pig in the Cotswolds revolves around the garden. The kitchen garden (chickens and beehives included) is the treasure trove from which much of what lands on your plate was picked, plucked or gathered that same morning. The wood-panelled restaurant, where breakfast, lunch and dinner is served on mismatched floral crockery, overlooks Rosemary Verey’s stunning walled gardens, and spa treatments happen in the rustic Potting Sheds and Sheep’s Hut, tucked into the quietest corners amongst the flowers. Oh, and cocktails on the lawn before dinner are entirely non-negotiable, whatever the weather is doing.
9. The Balmoral, Edinburgh
An Edinburgh institution, The Balmoral was built as a railways hotel (the clock on the tower has been set at three minutes fast since 1902 to help travellers catch their trains!) and is a splendid example of a Victorian take on Renaissance architecture. Inside, it’s a thoroughly elegant affair, with endlessly-helpful kilted reception staff ready to book you a table at the city’s best, plenty of heather greys, tweed carpets and tartan cushions and, at the centre of it all, the domed Palm Court where well-heeled Edinburgh locals nibble dainty scones at Afternoon Tea. An icon, indeed.
Oh yes, the UK is certainly brimming with fabulous spots to stay, all uniquely brilliant and thoroughly dazzling. And always with surroundings worth exploring over and over, and over again.
Latest blogs
As seen in
