These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey. Our writers visited these hotels pre-pandemic.
Couples heading to Somerset might want to get away from it all in the quintessentially English countryside or soak up the splendour of Georgian Bath. Romantic accommodation options include some of the nation’s best country house hotels, which have luxurious spas and beautiful grounds attached, along with arty townhouses and cosy, traditional inns, found in pretty villages or close to wild moors and shingle beaches. Two of the following hotels have Michelin-starred restaurants, so do set aside a night for intimate fine dining. Here’s our pick of the most romantic hotels in Somerset, including the best for rooms with freestanding tubs, cosy bars, beautiful gardens, walks, private cinemas and hot tubs.
The Newt in Somerset
Castle Cary, Somerset, England
The Newt is one of Britain’s most exceptional country house hotels, occupying Palladian-fronted, red-gold limestone Hadspen House, and sat within expansive gardens. The interiors are unfussy, featuring a juxtaposition of modern and old style curated by the former editor of Elle Decoration South Africa, Karen Roos (Garden Rooms are the loveliest). Couples can wander the famous grounds, explore, should they fancy it, the wild swimming ponds, and indulge in the spa which has a beautiful pool leading to a heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool. There are two restaurants: the elevated, glass-walled Garden Café overlooking the walled Parabola and countryside, and the Botanical Rooms in the hotel, with its fabulous, homely open kitchen.
From
£
383
per night
Rates provided by
Mr & Mrs Smith
• The best hotels in Somerset
Babington House
Somerset, England
The original country outpost of Soho House remains alluring to those seeking serenity in the countryside amid the style and facilities for which the members’ club has become renowned. The honey-hued Georgian house and extensions are smugly swathed in pristine parkland, where ancient trees frame a bijou chapel and guests loll on ludicrously oversized loungers overlooking a reed-fringed lake. Inside, expect velvet sofas, shabby-chic vintage finds, modern art and an unusual attention to detail. There are 10 adults-only rooms in the main house (think antique four-poster beds, roll-top baths, open fires), while The Playroom has a bar, and bathtub for two. Facilities include two pools plus a Cowshed Spa, a cinema, tennis courts and bikes to borrow.
From
£
220
per night
At the Chapel
Somerset, England
In the heart of arty Bruton, this former 12th-century chapel has been stylishly repurposed as an eight-bedroom hotel complete with a wine shop, bakery, pizzeria and restaurant. Edgy, ecclesiastical interiors feature double-height arched windows, modern artworks loaned from the nearby Hauser & Wirth gallery, and moss-green Sergio Rodriguez dining chairs. The style continues to the bedrooms which, though different, all come with cowhide rugs, leather butterfly chairs and Egyptian cotton-dressed beds. All but two have a freestanding oval-shaped bath for two. In the mornings guests are delivered chubby, still-warm croissants to their door, and check-out is a leisurely 12pm.
From
£
125
per night
The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa
Bath, Somerset, England
The luxurious Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa encompasses two townhouses in Bath’s showpiece Georgian crescent. The elegant tone is at once set by curvaceous staircases overseen by classical busts, lounges with chandeliers and oil paintings, and extravagant suites with elaborate stuccoed ceilings. Hidden behind the hotel lies an acre of pristine garden, with mature trees and shrubs for couples to peruse. The food is first-rate and there is an enticing spa too, with a Mediterranean-styled walled garden. Rooms range from palatial to cosy; if you’re staying in summer and want to push the boat out, consider asking for the Nelson Suite with its large first-floor terrace overlooking the garden.
From
£
248
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Number One Bruton
Bruton, Somerset, England
Medieval elegance meets boutique panache at this former 12th-century forge, townhouse and row of cottages, which have been beautifully renovated as a 12-bedroom hotel with an outstanding farm-to-table restaurant headed up by Michelin-starred chef Merlin Labron-Johnson. He’s committed to local organic, biodynamic vegetables and low waste, and his menu pays homage to the produce of the county (think wild duck and partridge pie paired with colourful purple cauliflower). Interiors exude a moderately traditional look built on cosiness and cossetting comfort with a 21st-century touch. The romantic rhubarb-pink sitting room for instance, with its open fire, is lined with black-and-white photographs and books by local authors.
From
£
130
per night
• The best hotels in Bath
The Queensberry Hotel
Bath, Somerset, England
In an upmarket but convenient part of town, this collection of four Georgian townhouses impresses with contemporary styling and a slightly raffish tone. Named after its first owner, the 8th Marquess of Queensberry, the property is now run by owners who have been here for two decades and have a clear vision of what makes a hotel stand out. The Old Q Bar, for instance, jauntily displays the hotel’s fun version of the “Queensberry Rules”, while big canvasses of contemporary art juxtapose the house’s 18th-century features. All 29 bedrooms are individually decorated, but for a treat consider Room 4 for its vast bathroom with double showers and a freestanding bath. The Olive Tree restaurant holds Bath’s only Michelin star.
From
£
121
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The Pig near Bath
Pensford, Somerset, England
Dining and drinking is the heart and soul of the Pig hotels and this is no exception. The Grade II-listed country house (with its own deer park) was a family home until the 1970s and brass chandeliers, some of which were left by the previous owners, have been kept and rusted up, while portraits of the hotel’s “adopted” family adorn the walls. There are three lounge areas next to fireplaces and a rustic bar room that is flanked with shelves of coloured glass. Eating here is about enjoying a fun, buzzy evening tasting dishes made with super-fresh ingredients before rolling into one of the rooms with their freestanding bathtubs, deer park views or little gardens. A lovely bolthole for couples.
From
£
179
per night
Rates provided by
Mr & Mrs Smith
• The best hotels in England
Cross Lane House
Allerford, Somerset, England
Everything at this snug, boutique hotel 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. Facilities include an outdoor terrace, a small, tempting interiors shop in an old barn, and a garden bordering the River Aller.
From
£
137
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Homewood
Somerset, England
At first glance, this gabled mansion and its 10 acres of well-kept grounds looks like a conventional country-house hotel. But survey the lawns closely and you’ll spot a life-size giraffe and outsize teddy bear covered in fake grass, while inside you’ll find Art Deco rooms, carriage clocks in reception, and shiny copper pots, dog figurines and framed Picture Post magazine covers in the lounges. Most striking of all is the restaurant, with its cluster of frilly chandeliers and arresting photographic portraits of locally based musician Peter Gabriel, taken in Bath in the 1970s. The appealing spa has a heated outdoor pool – perfect for couples.
From
£
200
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Lydia Bell, Jade Conroy, Fiona Duncan, Hattie Garlick & Fred Mawer