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Top 10: the most romantic hotels in Somerset

Babington House's extensive facilities keep couples busy, with sizeable indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sauna and steam room and a cinema showing films every evening.
Babington House's extensive facilities keep couples busy, with sizeable indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sauna and steam room and a cinema showing films every evening.

An expert guide to the most romantic hotels in Somserset, from lavish country piles to spa hotels and sumptuous boutiques, including the best for rooms with freestanding tubs, cosy bars, beautiful gardens, walks, private cinemas and hot tubs, in locations including Shepton Mallet, Pensford, Ston Easton and Bath.

Charlton House, Somerset
Charlton House, Somerset

Charlton House

Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England

7Telegraph expert rating

A romantic, rambling, Victorian country house hotel dating back to the 1500s, with a few modern additions. To the rear lies a large lawned garden, with a vast copper beech and orchard. Charlton House was once owned by Roger and Monty Saul, the founders of Mulberry, and the hotel's somewhat quirky, shabby-chic décor and furnishings mostly come from its Mulberry days. The lounges have ruched curtains, Persian rugs on boarded floors and well-worn, mismatched sofas. Meals are taken in a flouncy conservatory, with white drapes beneath the roof and velvety pink chairs. The sizeable Moroccan-themed spa includes five treatment rooms, a large hydrotherapy pool, an outdoor hot tub, and sauna, steam room and laconium. Read expert review From £105per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The most romantic hotels in the UK

The Pig, Bath, Somerset
The Pig, Bath, Somerset

The Pig near Bath

Pensford, Somerset, England

9Telegraph expert rating

Hunstrete House, a Grade-II listed country house dating from 1820, stands in the Chew Valley about eight miles from Bath, surrounded by its own deer park, and with a large kitchen garden. It is sister to the Pig at Brockenhurst and the interior style has translated extraordinarily well in the far grander proportions of this period country house. Inside, every object has been hunted down by the owners and, along with stripped floors, painted sawn timber clad walls, velvet curtains, chandeliers and cleverly mismatched rugs and fabrics, the result is grand yet informal, bursting with personality. Most of the rooms are in the main house, and there are four Garden rooms that have great charm, two enchanting Hideaway rooms in the kitchen garden, and the cosy and pretty Snug rooms. Read expert review From £219per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith

The best hotels in Somerset

Babington House, Somerset, UK
Babington House, Somerset, UK

Babington House

Somerset, England

8Telegraph expert rating

This is a country house hotel with a groovy twist. The honey-coloured Georgian house sits in expansive grounds that encompass a dinky chapel, lake and pristine walled kitchen garden. Babington House's extensive facilities keep couples busy, with sizeable indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sauna and steam room and a cinema showing films every evening (including regular pre-release screenings). Overlooking the kitchen garden is the substantial, rustic-chic Cowshed Spa, which offers a wide range of treatments using the company's own Cowshed products. Rooms are gorgeous and comfy, but for those who are looking for a romantic weekend away, the three tranquil and slightly more modern split-level Walled Garden Rooms have tub baths intended for two on their terraces. Read expert review From £220per night

The most romantic hotels in the UK

At the Chapel

Somerset, England

9Telegraph expert rating

This renovated 12th-century chapel is at the heart of Bruton, an arty, convivial village popular among weekending actors, artists and authors. It’s brimming with ecclesiastical elements such as double-height arched windows which bathe the main dining hall in natural light. Between them hangs an abstract sculpture of a nude woman, called Faith. And there’s an ironic nod to where the chapel’s altar once stood – it is now the bar. Bedrooms are the kind you want at home; cowhide rugs, leather butterfly chairs, mid-century seats, Egyptian cotton-dressed bespoke beds, more modern art and monastic-like bathrooms – all but two rooms have a freestanding oval-shaped bath for two. The heavy oak front door is always propped open, welcoming locals to the bakery, wine shop or downstairs clubroom, which often holds private screenings or readings. Read expert review From £125per night

The best boutique hotels in Somerset

Homewood Park Hotel and Spa, Bath, UK
Homewood Park Hotel and Spa, Bath, UK

Homewood Park Hotel and Spa

Somerset, England

7Telegraph expert rating

Imagine large expanses of lawns, topiaried hedges, ponds and mature trees forming 10 acres of award-winning grounds surrounding the Home Park Hotel & Spa, a classic country house hotel. An enticing spa includes two treatment rooms and a decent-sized outdoor pool, a small indoor hydrotherapy pool, and a sauna and steam room. Most of the bedrooms are decorated in an appealing English country-house style, with coordinated floral patterns. Suites have big, indulgent bathrooms with a roll-top bath. Splash out on a ground-floor Garden Suite close to the spa, with slate flooring, modern furnishings, stylish bathrooms and windows on three sides to semi-private gardens. Read expert review From £108per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The UK's most romantic hotels

The Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa, England
The Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa, England

The Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa

Somerset, England

8Telegraph expert rating

The mansion dates from the early 1800s, and boasts four acres of surrounding mature, lawned grounds and period charm within. Drinks are served in an elegant and comfy drawing room, with long sash windows, pillared fireplaces, and a grand piano in the corner, as well as out on the terrace overlooking the garden in the summer. There's a compact spa with a sauna, steam room and hydrotherapy pool, plus three treatment rooms. Bedrooms are eye-catching and most are spacious; the two Garden Deluxe rooms have a hot tub on their patio. Splash out on a suite and you might get a carved four-poster bed or a vast bathroom with a shower designed for two to share. Read expert review From £94per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best hotels in Somerset

Little Barwick House, Somerset
Little Barwick House, Somerset

Little Barwick House

Somerset, England

8Telegraph expert rating

This little restaurant with rooms is in a great location for exploring the beautiful surrounding countryside of Somerset and Dorset. In the grounds of adjacent Barwick House, four late-18th-century follies can be reached by public footpath. The building itself is a listed, early Georgian house with a Victorian addition. Inside, décor is country-chic, with plenty of fabrics and comfortable furnishings. On making a reservation, guests can choose from luxury white-cotton sheets and White Company wool blankets or a goose and duck down duvet, and the beds are deliciously comfortable. Tim Ford’s cooking is the heart and soul here. He and his wife Emma bought the house 10 years ago and their enjoyment in what they do, and the ease with which they do it, generates the calm, contented atmosphere. Read expert review From £110per night

The most romantic hotels in the world

Cross Lane House, Somerset
Cross Lane House, Somerset

Cross Lane House

Somerset, England

9Telegraph expert rating

Everything here has been thought of, from the bedroom features that make room so unique (think former wig cupboard, now kettle perch), to goody bags on departure – and wonderful linens on beds that make you want to dive straight into them. The atmospheric original features of the old house – walls made of oak, flagstone and tiled floors, old beams, stone fireplaces – have been carefully preserved, and mixed with stylish and comfortable furnishings, pretty fabrics, bold lamps and attractive art on the walls, creating a perfect mix of old and new. Facilities include an outdoor terrace, a small, tempting interiors shop in an old barn, and a garden bordering the River Aller. It’s a good destination for walkers and countryside buffs, with Exmoor National Park and the north Devon coast just waiting to be explored nearby. Read expert review From £165per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best boutique hotels in Somerset

Ston Easton Park, Somerset
Ston Easton Park, Somerset

Ston Easton Park

Ston Easton, Somerset, England

7Telegraph expert rating

Ston Easton Park is captivating. Pedimented doorways, marble fireplaces, elaborate cornicing, gilt mirrors, old oil paintings, fine porcelain and antiques fill the elegant public rooms such as the eye-popping Saloon (the main lounge) and the library, with its original mahogany bookcases. Guests are welcome to wander below stairs and peek at the preserved Edwardian kitchen. Then there's the beautiful and fascinating set of grounds. They encompass a cascading river overhung by willows and crossed by pretty bridges, and a giant Victorian kitchen garden. The 23 bedrooms are also immensely characterful. Most notable are the State Rooms, which are palatial and endowed with elaborate Chippendale four-posters. If staying in the summer, book the top-floor Terrace Room, which has a large, private terrace overlooking the gardens. Read expert review From £149per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The most romantic hotels in the UK

The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, UK
The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, UK

The Royal Crescent

Bath, Somerset, England

8Telegraph expert rating

The Royal Crescent, in its eponymous residential location, fronts a lovely hidden acre of garden with mature trees and shrubs. Inside, interiors are steeped in character, with curvaceous staircases overseen by classical busts, lounges with chandeliers and oil paintings, and extravagant suites with elaborate stuccoed ceilings, which set an elegant tone. Indulge in the swanky Spa & Bath House, with its indoor relaxation pool, vitality pool, sauna and steam room, treatment rooms and Mediterranean-styled walled garden. Bedrooms are all individual, but with common period-style features. They range from palatial suites with ornate ceilings and fireplaces, to elegant but much cosier rooms. Some of the suites have private terraces – ideal for the summer. Read expert review From £251per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com