A boutique hotel country house set deep in a beautiful forest has been named the best in the country.
Lime Wood truly has jumped 18 places to top the list of the finest boutique hotels in the country, according to Taylors of Harrogate.
Based in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, the New Forest hotel offers both a little luxury and adventure, as well as excellent walks through wildlife filled woodland.
"We’re seeing meadows, grasslands, gnarly trees and pure unadulterated nature, which is what you’d expect from any trip to the New Forest," Taylors reviewer wrote of Lime Wood.
"Each of the hotel’s rooms are relaxing and plush, with calming and comfortable interiors just waiting for you to enjoy.
"Most of the rooms offer views of the dramatic landscapes surrounding Lime Wood Hotel, while they all have quirky surprises waiting to titillate and entertain their guests, be it a freestanding bath in a bay window or a comforting wood-burning stove in the bedroom. There’s plenty to make even the keenest hotel-goer gobsmacked."
Second on the list is The Newt in Bruton, Somerset, which has built a reputation for itself for offering luxury lodgings on a working estate.
The Newt is surrounded by resplendent gardens, enchanting woodland and traditional cider orchards, which are the perfect place to sit and relax with a gin and tonic on a summer's evening.
The limestone building is an alluring burnt honey colour and has been the seat of the Hobhouse family for more than two centuries.
In third place is Heckfield Place in Hook, Hampshire, a Georgian manor which sits in the middle of an estate made up of ancient heather, woodlands and meadows.
"The grandeur of the house will quickly give way to become an intimate and familiar friend to all who stay; its rooms and spaces reimagined to be contemporary, but also sympathetic to Heckfield’s deep history," the reviewer writes.
Here is the full top 50 list:
1. Lime Wood Hotel, Lyndhurst, Hampshire
2. The Newt in Somerset, Bruton, Somerset
3. Heckfield Place, Hook, Hampshire
4. The Pig - at Bridge Place, Canterbury, Kent
5. Lympstone Manor, Exmouth, Devon
6. Grantley Hall, Ripon, Yorkshire
7. Artist Residence London, Pimlico, London
8. The Idle Rocks, St Mawes, Cornwall
9. Thyme, Southrop, Cotswolds
10. Padstow Townhouse, Padstow, Cornwall
11. Yorebridge House, Bainbridge, North Yorkshire
12. Hambleton Hall, Oakham, Rutland
13. Beaverbrook, Leatherhead, Surrey
14. Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, Windermere, Cumbria
15. The Fife Arms, Braemar, Scotland
16. The Queensberry Hotel, Bath, Somerset
17. Foyers Lodge, Loch Ness, Scotland
18. Another Place, Penrith, Cumbria
19. The Mandrake, London
20. Moor Hall, Ormskirk, West Lancashire
21. Scarlet Hotel, Newquay, Cornwall
22. Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes, Cornwall
23. Titchwell Manor Hotel, Brancaster, Norfolk
24. Watergate Bay, Watergate Bay, Cornwall
25. Wild Thyme & Honey, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
26. L’oscar London, London
27. Middleton Lodge, Richmond, North Yorkshire
28. Rothay Manor Hotel, Ambleside, Cumbria
29. The Gallivant, Rye, East Sussex
30. The Tawny, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
31. The Wild Rabbit, Kingham, Oxfordshire
32. Calcot Manor Hotel, Tetbury, Gloucestershire
33. Grays Court Hotel & Restaurant, York, Yorkshire
34. Number One Bruton, Bruton, Somerset
35. Hampton Manor, Solihull, Warwickshire
36. The Rectory Hotel, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
37. The Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell, Clerkenwell, London
38. Hipping Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire
39. Cliveden House, Maidenhead, Berkshire
40. Links House at Royal Dornoch, Dornoch, Sutherland
41. Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey
42. Dormy House, Broadway, Worcestershire
43. Henrietta Hotel, Covent Garden. London
44. Gravetye Manor, West Hoathly, Sussex
45. House of Gods, Edinburgh, Scotland
46. The Samling, Windermere, Cumbria
47. Seaham Hall, Seaham, Durham
48. Linthwaite House, Windermere, Cumbria
49. Grove of Narberth, Narberth, Pembrookshire
50. Number 38 Clifton, Bristol, Somerset
