For most of the year, Cleifiog Uchaf operates as a small hotel with two separate cottages in its 30-acre grounds. But, if you're planning a holiday with more than a couple of friends in tow, you can rent the whole thing, to sleep 16. A 16th-century Welsh longhouse, with rambling roses fringing the veranda and a drawing room complete with open fire, squishy sofas and floor-to-ceiling windows, it offers plenty of period atmosphere despite a modern renovation... Photograph: PR/Menai Holiday Cottages
Step outside, beyond the walled garden, and you're a short stroll from the Inland Sea, and handy for the 200km Anglesey Coastal Path.
• 01248 430258, menaiholidays.co.uk, from £1,810 a week (£113pp)
Pet-friendly, wheelchair access Photograph: PR/Menai Holiday Cottages
One of a clutch of former fishermen's cottages beside the Cary Arms hotel in quaint Babbacombe, Pebble Cottage sleeps four and comes with open fires, a terrace overlooking the sea and a theatrical slipper bath... Photograph: PR
But as pretty as it and the foodie neighbouring inn are, a stay here is really all about the location. Right on the coast, this is the place for a timeless English seaside holiday, complete with buckets and spades, cliff railway rides and tooth-cracking rock.
• 01803 327110, caryarms.co.uk, from £950 a week
Pet-friendly Photograph: PR
Set in the grounds of the fabulously eccentric Pool House Hotel which owns it but doesn't manage it - this cottage is as unique as you might expect. Sleeping two, Stardust is a contemporary boathouse, with a vintage-style kitchen diner in an adjacent shepherd's hut and barbecue cabin in the garden... Photograph: Tony Timmington/Unique Home Stays
Outside, you can paddle by kayak around the shore of Loch Ewe, and Osgood Mackenzie's magical Inverewe Gardens are right on the doorstep. After dark, just sit in the hot tub and watch the night sky.
• 01637 881183, uniquehomestays.com, from £1,250 a week •
Pet-friendly, no kids Photograph: Tony Timmington/Unique Home Stays
Most hotel cottages operate like ultra-private suites, and are priced accordingly. This former harbourmaster's home at the Master Builder's Hotel, on the Beaulieu Estate in the New Forest, may not be the cheapest cottage, but it bucks that trend. Specifically designed to be a base for self-caterers, it sleeps eight and is great for family holidays or group gatherings, with two double bedrooms and a bunkroom, bike storage and a barbecue terrace … Photograph: PR/themasterbuilders.co.uk
The sitting room has great views and a woodburner, and there's a long wooden table in the separate dining room. But if cooking starts to feel like a chore, the hotel bar and restaurant are only a few steps away.
• 01590 616253, themasterbuilders.co.uk, from £1,150 a week (£144pp)
Pet-friendly Photograph: PR/themasterbuilders.co.uk
Three of the National Trust's properties operate as hotels. A stay at the wisteria-clad Old Rectory, one of the charity's holiday cottages, offers the best of both worlds. Enjoy afternoon tea, a two AA rosette dinner, or an Aromatherapy Associates massage in the Georgian "big house", now www.hartwell-house.com hotel, during your stay … Photograph: PR/National Trust
On the outskirts of Aylesbury, the Old Rectory sleeps seven in traditional country house style: in one bedroom the chintz is so wrap-around that you're almost in danger of waking up with hay fever. It also has a lovely outdoor pool.
• 0844 335 1287, nationaltrustcottages.co.uk, from £2,150 a week (£307pp) Photograph: PR /National Trust
