Hotels can make or break a holiday. A good hotel will offer a reliable base to explore the surrounding area. But a great hotel will make you never, ever want to leave. The good news is, we’re spoiled for choice here the UK. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all teeming with a wide variety of really special hotels, and the Sunday Times’ new list of the 100 best hotels in the country right now proves it.
Each year the paper’s expert reviewers set out on a mission to let its readers know about the UK’s finest places to stay. As ever, they were looking out for value for money, impressive design and facilities and, in particular this year, outstanding food and service. They then chose winners for each region and one hotel that stood out above all the rest.
So, for 2025, the Sunday Times’ hotel of the year is The Cavendish Hotel in Derbyshire. Sitting on the edge of Chatsworth country estate, the paper commended the hotel’s fresh refurb by designer Nicola Harding that has given it a new ‘impressive sparkle’. It also shouted out the ‘cosy bar’, ‘elegant dining room’ and the ‘epic views of the Peak District available through almost every window’.
You can find out more about The Cavendish (and book a stay) on Booking.com here.
For the rest of the UK, The Torridon in the Highlands was crowned the best Scottish hotel, Harbourmaster in Ceredigion was named Wales’ best and The Cuan in County Down earned top spot for Northern Ireland.
As well as winners for each region, there were also categories for things like the best beach hotel, family-friendly hotel, pub stay, foodie hotel, affordable hotel and one to watch
The Bull in Oxfordshire earned the award for the UK’s best romantic hotel. The Sunday Times’ travel writers wrote: ‘Bull has become a star of the Cotswolds scene, with two standout restaurants, a swanky cocktail bar, world-class art, 18 ultra-modern rooms and plenty of good old-fashioned hospitality, including complimentary cocktails and a help-yourself pantry.’
And for 2025, the best foodie hotel, according to the Times is the Angel Hotel in Monmouthshire. It said: ‘The Angel’s superpower is its gourmet offering: guests can take their pick of superb seasonal dishes in the Oak Room, which doubles as an art gallery, or at its nearby Michelin-starred sister restaurant, the Walnut Tree.’
All the winners in the Sunday Times’ best places to stay in the UK for 2025
Regional winners
• The Cavendish Hotel, Derbyshire — Hotel of the year and Central England hotel of the year
• The Torridon, Highland — Scotland hotel of the year
• Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, Cumbria — Northwest England hotel of the year
• The Newt, Somerset — Southwest England hotel of the year
• Harbourmaster, Ceredigion — Wales hotel of the year
• The Swan Inn, West Sussex — Southeast England hotel of the year
• The Angel at Hetton, North Yorkshire — North and northeast England hotel of the year
• Meadowsweet, Norfolk — East England hotel of the year
• The Cuan, Co Down — Northern Ireland hotel of the year
• The Goring, London — London hotel of the year
Category winners
• Saltmoore, North Yorkshire — Best beach hotel
• New Park Manor, Hampshire — Best family-friendly hotel
• Beaverbrook, Surrey — Best blow-the-budget hotel
• The Rose, Kent — Best boutique hotel
• The Angel Hotel, Monmouthshire — Best foodie hotel
• Gleneagles, Perth and Kinross — Best hotel for sports
• 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh — Best city hotel
• SeaSpace, Cornwall — Best affordable hotel
• Bull, Oxfordshire — Best romantic hotel
• The Pig in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire — Best countryside hotel
• The Kirkstyle Inn, Northumberland — Best pub stay
• Broadwick Soho, London — Disruptor of the year
• The Beaumont Mayfair, London — The one to watch
ICYMI: The UK’s 13 best new hotels opening in 2025.
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