SCOTLAND
Brisbane House Hotel, Largs, Ayrshire
This new hotel features 24 rooms and sits against a backdrop of the Highlands, is on the sea on the west coast and only 35 minutes from Glasgow. The contemporary rooms are done in muted greys and earthy tones, with slick en suites. Most rooms offer a view of the coast and islands of Arran, Cumbrae and Bute, and there's a bar/ restaurant with a paved terrace.
• Doubles from £95, or £399 for three nights' dinner, B&B for two. 01475 687200, brisbanehousehotel.com
The Inns Over-by, Isle of Islay, Argyll
Stay in style in the Inner Hebrides at this four-bedroom B&B in Bowmore, one of the original settlement buildings in the village, with views of Loch Indaal. Blue, sand and coral is the colour scheme in the rooms, with jolly artwork, stripy rugs and a vast lounge with picture windows. A great bolthole for a birdwatching (01496 850010, islaybirding.co.uk), hiking or whisky-tasting break. Breakfast is in the nearby Harbour Inn.
• Doubles from £96 B&B, or rent the whole place for £950 a week, self-catering. 01496 810330, theinnsoverby.co.uk. Harbour Inn harbour-inn.com
WALES
Bay View, Penclawdd, Gower Peninsula
A pair of Edwardian semi-detached houses in the north Gower village of Penclawdd have been joined into one boutique-style B&B. The rooms are done in white and cream, with pretty dressing tables, vintage Welsh blankets and modern en suites. The house overlooks the salt marshes of the Loughor estuary, with their birdlife and free-roaming ponies, and there are bays and beaches nearby.
• Rooms from £59 per night B&B, minimum stay two nights. 01792 851616, bayviewgower.co.uk
Y Garth, Dinas Cross, Pembrokeshire
A bolthole in the village of Dinas Cross, halfway between Fishguard and Newport, with statement walls featuring gold flocked and big bloom wallpaper, chandeliers and rich fabrics. The nearby headland is spectacular, and there's lots to enjoy in this stretch of the Pembrokeshire Coast national park. The 12th-century cathedral at St Davids is only 20 miles away, Castell Henylls iron age fort is just outside Newport, and there are plenty of sandy beaches nearby.
• Doubles from £80 B&B. 01348 811 777, bedandbreakfast-pembrokeshire.co.uk
Space Boutique, Llandudno, Gwynedd
From the name, you might expect an Ibizan vibe at Space Boutique, but at this 11-room B&B the foreign touches are all Indian. Fabrics lend a luxurious touch to the simple bedrooms, and the restaurant, Jaya, promises the "only authentic home-cooked Indian food in north Wales", leading one magazine wag to dub the place "Bollydudno". Even some of the wines come from India.
• Rooms from £85 per night B&B. 01492 818198, spaceboutique.co.uk
ENGLAND
Pier Hotel, Harwich, Essex
You couldn't get a better picture of marine loveliness than the white and blue facade of this quayside hotel, built in the 1850s. The main building houses two seafood restaurants, with seven rooms upstairs, most overlooking the estuary. There are seven more rooms in the next-door building, which dates back to the 1700s.
• Singles from £85, doubles from £110 B&B. 01255 241212, milsomhotels.com/thepier
Flying Boat Club, Tresco, Scilly Isles, Cornwall
The site of the former Royal Naval Air Station now features a collection of 12 new wooden beach front houses, decorated luxuriously in "New England" style, with oak floors and gadgets. Self-catering guests can use the indoor pool, tennis courts, gym and Jacuzzi in the holiday club. The tropical Abbey Gardens are a stroll away.
• 01720 422849, tresco.co.uk/stay/flying-boat-club. From £1,375 per week, sleeping 6-10
