Boutique hotels can provide an intimate alternative to bigger mainstream hotels, with fewer rooms, fewer gadgets, but more chic. Read on to discover converted warehouses, revamped car parks and even a transformed prison...
Perfect 10 UK boutique hotels
The Hotel & Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay, Newquay
Befitting a seafront location in England's surf capital, equipment and expert tutorage are on tap at the Watergate Bay. Bedrooms are bright, modern and spacious. Make sure your one overlooks the sea. And reserve a table at Jamie Oliver's restaurant, Fifteen – just a two minute walk along the beach. More Information: The Hotel & Extreme Academy
Woolley Grange, Somerset
This Jacobean Manor House near Bradford-upon-Avon is rated as much as for its children's facilities, as for its 26 quirky rooms, 14 acres of gardens and traditional British cooking using home-grown ingredients. Prices begin at around £130. More Information: Woolley Grange
Hotel Du Vin, Bristol
A converted 17th century warehouse on Bristol's revamped waterfront with stunning double-height loft suites, bistro serving Euro cuisine and billiard room with adjoining library. Prices begin at around £145 for a standard room. More Information:Hotel Du Vin
The Grove, Pembrokeshire
An 18th Century country house nestled into the Welsh countryside with an idyllic location between the Pembrokeshire national park and the glorious Welsh coastline. All rooms, including the 17th Coach house quarters, are impeccably decorated and the hotel restaurant offers quality food from local suppliers and its' own kitchen garden. The relaxing ambience can be enjoyed at no extra charge. Prices start at £130. More Information: The Grove, Pembrokeshire
Malmaison, Oxford
The most unusual of Malmaison's nine hotels around the country is this one in Oxford, a converted Victorian jail where prison cells are now luxury bedrooms. You might think they'd do away with features such as steel cell doors and bars. You'd be wrong. Prices begin at around £165 for a double room. More information: Malmaison, Oxford
Soho Hotel
It used to be a multi-storey car park. Now, according to Tatler magazine, it's 'the most glamorous hotel in the world' with ninety-one impossibly stylish bedrooms, a slinky restaurant and enough contemporary art to fill a room in the Tate Modern. Prices start at £280. More Information: Soho Hotel
Quebecs, Leeds
The Victorian décor lavished with oak furnishings and wooden panelling, the intricate stained glass windows and the Grade-II listed building itself are so appealing that Conde Nast Traveller magazine has included this city centre stay-over among its top 80 hotels in the world. More Information: The Eton Collection
Augill Castle, Cumbria
It may be set in a castle, but this Lake District hotel has just eleven bedrooms, guaranteeing the kind of cosy intimacy which, allied with stunning scenery and unique details as turrets for wardrobes and pianos in bathrooms, won Augill the prize for Boutique Hotel of the Year at the British Travel Awards in 2009. More Information: Stay in a Castle
The Glasshouse, Edinburgh
Behind its Victorian church façade this central Edinburgh hotel boasts a lavender-scented rooftop garden and contemporary, chic, light-flooded bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows. More Information: The Glasshouse
The Hempel, London
A haven of Zen tranquillity in the capital of chaos, this townhouse offers a minimalist design with soothing shades and seductive lines created by renowned designer Anouska Hempel. If you book in advance, prices start at around £127 per night at this prestigious Bayswater address. More information: The Hempel