10 top historic places to stay in Britain

From fairytale castles to stately homes, Britain is lucky enough to have a vast selection of period buildings which have now been repurposed into some of the most beautiful and elegant hotels. Here, the Good Hotel Guide has picked ten of the best historic stays in England, Scotland and Wales, which all come with fascinating stories. 

10 of the best historic hotels in Britain...

 If you loved the Netflix series The Crown, book into the former country home of the Armstrong-Jones family, between Snowdonia and the Irish Sea. Antiques, family portraits and photographs remain from the time that Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon spent weekends there. The Princess Margaret suite has a four-poster bed, double-aspect view and royal memorabilia from the time when she was married to Lord Snowdon. The Snowdon room features a carved bed and heritage bathroom, with several of Lord Snowdon’s original signed photos in the corridor outside. Dine like royalty in the Gunroom Restaurant or take afternoon tea in various settings around the house. 

Booking information: B&B doubles from £179, plasdinas.co.uk

Named after the eccentric arbiter of 18^th-century style who published a range of architectural books, this Georgian house was once home to Huguenot silk weavers. Now, it feels like you’ve walked back through the centuries as you leave a Spitalfields street behind and enter interiors overflowing with antiques, rich velvets and tapestries. Bedrooms might have a four-poster and canopy bath or even a secret loo behind a bookcase. Relax by the fire in a book-lined library before ordering from the room-service menu. Despite the historic feel, you still get all the mod cons at this unique property.

Booking information: Room-only doubles from £319, battylangleys.com

The childhood home of Anne Boleyn, this fairytale castle is a treasure trove for history buffs, from the lock Henry VIII took with him to ensure his safety in the great hall, to the ill-fated Queen’s prayer books. While guests can’t stay in the castle itself, there are atmospheric rooms in the ‘Tudor village’, built for former owner William Waldorf Astor in the early 1900s. Beautifully decorated, some with elaborate plaster ceilings or beams, the rooms have graced everyone from Winston Churchill to Grace Kelly. Enjoy a feast of a breakfast in the oak-panelled dining room and early access to the castle gardens; guests receive complimentary castle tickets.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £175, hevercastle.co.uk

The atmospheric ruins of Invergarry Castle lie on the estate of this hotel in a Scottish baronial mansion overlooking Loch Oich. You can walk to the old castle, which was the former seat of the chiefs of the MacDonells of Glengarry and which Bonnie Prince Charlie visited twice. Back at the hotel, there’s still plenty of tradition, with blazing log fires, oil paintings, four-posters, and fresh scones for tea. At night, the menu features local, seasonal and foraged ingredients; traditional-style bedrooms might have a four poster or view of the loch through a bay window.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £125, glengarry.net

History comes with huge dollops of opulence and a whiff of scandal at this Italianate 19^th-century mansion that will be forever associated with the ‘Profumo affair’. It has hosted most British monarchs since George I, plus everyone from Churchill to Chaplin. Even a certain Meghan Markle spent the night before her wedding in its elegant interiors. All rooms are furnished with antiques; some come with a hot tub on the terrace or an enormous marble bathroom. The dining room has magnificent views over the parterre to the Thames, with the informal and more affordable Astor Grill in the old stables. Be sure to hit the spa and the pool where secretary of state for war John Profumo clapped eyes on the model, Christine Keeler. 

Booking information: Room-only doubles from £505, clivedenhouse.co.uk

Incorporating the west cloister range of the dissolved Blanchland Abbey, this hotel is a long way from hair-shirted monasticism. Drink real ale and play darts in the barrel-vaulted medieval Crypt bar before climbing the sweeping stone staircase to tuck into good seasonal produce in The Bishop’s Dining Room. Bedrooms have all the mod cons, including free lightweight travelling water bottles and Nespresso machines, while suites in neighbouring miners’ cottages have a log burner and roll-top bath for two. ‘No other spot brings me sweeter memories,’ wrote WH Auden after a stay in 1930. We think you’ll agree.

Booking information: B&B doubles from £189, lordcrewearmsblanchland.co.uk

The ancestral home of the Lowthers, this historic pile comes with a 17^th-century topiary garden and medieval pele tower. Prince Philip used to stay in the Admiral’s Room on his visits for the Lowther Show carriage-driving events. Now the restaurant is Michelin starred but a relaxed atmosphere prevails within, with dogs and children mingling among family heirlooms, books and modern art. One drawing room has doors to a classic English country-house garden. Main house bedrooms – some with leaded windows and four posters – mix antiques with modern pieces, while those in the courtyard are more rustic. 

Booking information: B&B doubles from £180, askhamhall.co.uk

Once a Saxon royal hunting lodge named Alveston Manor and rebuilt over the centuries, Old Church Farm was previously a hospitality venue for Rolls-Royce. It comes with sone mullion windows as well as a Tudor arched stone fireplace and ornate plasterwork ceilings. Explore the ruins of medieval St Helen’s Church with its 12^th-century tower and Saxon nave wall in the grounds before returning to a superb dinner cooked by co-owner and Cordon Bleu-trained Kathryn Warner. Then retire to one of five bedrooms where antiques rub shoulders with modern fabrics. 

Booking information: B&B doubles from £160, old-church-farm.co.uk

 Sleep in the room Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed in on their visit to this Tudor castle, with turrets and crenellations along with oriel windows and palatial public rooms. After a major refurb, rooms now drip with chandeliers and there are modern frescoes and wood-panelled walls. Look for the Stafford knot, the emblem belonging to the original owner Edward Stafford, third Duke of Buckingham, everywhere from the enormous fireplace to the arched doorways. Eat a meal fit for a king in the restaurant, with its arrow-slit windows, and take a turn in the walled garden. 

Booking information: B&B doubles from £249, thornburycastle.co.uk

As its name suggests, this Elizabethan castle in the Isles of Scilly was shaped in star formation for better defence against any potential invading armadas. Drink in the dungeon bar and eat in the former officers’ mess before touring the ramparts, where you can watch for puffins and seals. You get much more than military-style meals in the dining room – the food is superb, with lobster and crab caught from the hotel’s own boat and fresh produce from the kitchen garden. 

Booking information: B&B doubles from £312, star-castle.co.uk

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