Chill out in your winter bolthole

Whether you want cosiness, conviviality or candle-lit dinners for two, there’s a British hotel that’s perfect for you, says Fiona Duncan

Hotels are like people: they are all terribly different. Like people, they have diverse charms and characteristics that appeal to some but not to others; like people, they are better at certain things and not so good at others; like people, they aim to please but don’t universally succeed.

We people choose our friends carefully, gravitating towards those we find attractive and with whom we have something in common – interests we can share, style we mutually admire. When it comes to choosing hotels, it’s the same: we are drawn towards some, uninterested in others – and looks, location, character, facilities and the youthfulness or otherwise of other guests all come into play. When planning a muchneeded break, especially at this time of year when the nights draw in and our spirits need a lift, we want an ideal fit. In the chilly depths of winter, I dream of escaping to the perfect cosy hotel – perfect, that is, for me, which may not be perfect for you. This compilation aims at finding a good match for everyone.

I often marvel at just how subjective a hotel can be. Earlier this year I told a friend – a very chic and fashionable friend, to be sure – that I was off to the Nare in Cornwall for a much-anticipated staycation. Her mouth fell open with amazement and I could see that the esteem in which she had held me as a hotel critic had just crumbled to dust. “The Nare?” she gasped. “That terrible old-fashioned place where they insist on jacket and tie at dinner?”

“Yes, that traditional place on a beautiful beach,” I replied, defiantly, “full of warmth and kindness and run by people who are experts at looking after multi-generational families.”

Ask yourself what you want most from your winter break, whether it’s a roaring log fire or interiors that cosset you, pampering face and body treatments or bracing walks along a deserted beach. Perhaps your main requirement is for the children to be taken care of; dressing up to the nines and sashaying into a glamorous candlelit dining room; a dog-friendly place that will pamper your pooch as much as you; an eyrie in the trees… Whatever it is, you will find a warm refuge from the winter that is just right for you.

Cold comfort, warm welcome: as the nights draw in and our spirits need a lift, a stay at a cosy hotel will help