Hotels in England

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005, 2006

The top-scoring property in Europe, this thirteenth-century manor is in the Cotswolds countryside on ten acres of gardens with streams, waterfalls, and "peace everywhere." Perfect-scoring rooms have a mix of vaulted ceilings, silk curtains, embroidered cushions, and views of gardens or a medieval church. Perfect-scoring service ensures "hospitality at its finest, no matter who you are." Meals that are "nirvana on a plate" include roasted Cornish monkfish tail or tarragon-accented corn-fed chicken. Croquet on the lawn is "a quintessential English experience, even if you have no idea how to play."

14 rooms

Amenities: Tennis

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005, 2006

This seven-story Mayfair landmark was a refuge for European royalty during World War II. Rooms are either Art Deco, with muted grays, or traditional Victorian. Chandeliers with apricot shades cast a soft light upon diners at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant; guests at the Chef's Table pony up $1,300 for six courses. "The service is consistently good."

203 rooms

Amenities: Spa

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005

The contemporary interiors behind the Cotswold stone and Regency facade give this property "a wonderful English country ambience with a sophisticated modern flair." Guests can choose their bedding from a menu and can specify their minibar preferences; rooms in the year-old Montrose House have high-speed Internet access, and some have limestone baths. Juliana's serves modern British cuisine.

30 rooms

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005, 2006

"The staff are very helpful and willing to do everything for you" at this 1970 tower near Hyde Park. Rooms and public areas mimic an English mansion, with wood paneling, marble, and floral arrangements. The Lounge's afternoon tea includes sandwiches such as smoked salmon, tuna and red onion, and chicken with mango chutney.

219 rooms

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2006

A mock-Tudor hotel, it calls Dartmoor National Park home and reopened in December 2006 after a complete refurbishment. Some of the Arts and Crafts-style rooms have private garden terraces with views of "the wonderful grounds." At the restaurant, perfect-scoring service is "unobtrusive yet doting," and the perfect-scoring regional food is "as good as it gets."

24 rooms

Amenities: Tennis

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005, 2006

"The service is superb and the surroundings elegant" at this Greek Revival hotel that re-creates the opulence of an eighteenth-century private residence. The Regency-style rooms contain handcrafted period furnishings and Carrara marble baths. Personal butlers are on call around the clock. The glass-roofed Conservatory serves cuisine with Mediterranean and Pacific Rim influences.

95 rooms

Amenities: Spa

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005, 2006

In the morning, "you can watch people horseback riding in Hyde Park from your window" at this redbrick and Portland-stone hotel in posh Knightsbridge. Once a Victorian gentlemen's club, it now draws the British aristocracy,Baroness Thatcher's eightieth birthday party was held in the grand ballroom. Interiors combine brass, mahogany, and stained glass embellishments. Rooms have Irish linens, splashes of silk, and fresh orchids. Order the langoustine mulligatawny at the Adam Tihany-designed Foliage.

200 rooms

Amenities: Spa

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005, 2006

This "incredibly chic" former newspaper headquarters is "a great base if you are interested in the theater but a bit far from shopping." The stately exterior's Norwegian granite, copper dome, and mansard roof contrast with the "lively lobby, especially at night," where a steel mesh wall sparkles with fiber-optic lighting. Rooms in sage, lavender, and honey have chestnut-colored terrazzo bathrooms and artwork.

105 rooms

Amenities: Pool, Spa

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005

General Eisenhower planned the Normandy invasion from his suite at this hotel near Hyde Park. "Country house-style rooms" have four-poster beds and Italian marble bathrooms; the Penthouse Suite evokes the sets of the ballet Sleeping Beauty. At the refurbished Grill Room, order fillet of turbot with braised snails, pearl barley, and parsley sauce; the Promenade Bar, with its tinted mirrors, lacquered wood, and 37 different vodkas, is "the place to see and be seen."

249 rooms

Amenities: Spa

New to the Gold List

This former stage coach inn is "as historic as they come," dating from the sixteenth century and situated in the heart of Shakespeare country,hence the perfect Location score. An arched entryway leads into the inner cobblestone courtyard where guests dine during the summer; rooms have exposed brick walls, wood ceiling beams, and DVD players.

12 rooms

Also featured on the Gold List in: 2005, 2006

Inside this French chateau near Green Park, you'll find high ceilings, gold leaf, and restored chandeliers in Louis XVI style. With fireplaces, silk drapes, and fresh flowers, rooms are "elegant but not extravagant." Art Deco-velvet armchairs and polished veneer walls-is the theme at the Rivoli Bar, where patrons order caviar, foie gras, and cocktails.

133 rooms