England’s newest accommodation offering? ‘Bonsai country-house hotels’

A new breed of classy rural hostelry is changing the way of weekend stays, combining the best virtues of ye olde English coaching inn – cozy fires and bars, fat breakfasts, friendly service – with the classiest trimmings of a 21st century hotel.

Think of them as bonsai country-house hotels, with a suitably diminutive price tag - most have rooms for little more (and sometimes quite a bit less) than £100 a night.

Here are few good examples: The Inn on the Tay (www.theinnonthetay.co.uk), The Sun Inn in the Lake District (www.sun-inn.info) and The Black Swan in Yorkshire, an historic inn turned boutique hotel (www.blackswan-helmsley.co.uk).

In London, longer term stays or families may want to consider serviced luxury apartments instead of a hotel. Cheval Group (www.chevalgroup.com) is one outfit that specializes in these rentals.

Lime Wood is a new luxury hotel in the New Forest in the south of England. The original building of the hotel is a Regency country manor house on the site of a 13th century hunting lodge. The hotel has 29 bedrooms, suites and family rooms. The hotel also has brought on board Michelin-starred chef Alex Aitken as Director of Cuisine (www.limewoodhotel.co.uk).

Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh is the latest designer brand to open in the Scottish capital (www.hotelmissoni.com).