We’re The Hotel Guru, so we obviously enjoy a great hotel, but in some circumstances there’s nothing better than staying in a pub. The UK is littered with wonderful old pubs, inns and coaching houses, where you can expect to be fed, watered and given a good nights rest just the same way travellers have been for hundreds of years. There’s a warm friendly feeling to eating and drinking well and then rolling upstairs to bed, like a home from home, but where everyone has local knowledge they’re happy to pass on to you to make sure you get the most out of your visit to their locale. We’ve come across many a great UK pub with rooms on our collective travels, but this list of 20 Great UK Pubs with Rooms recommends a few of our favourites for walkers, for foodies, for families, for romance, and in a couple of popular pubs with rooms types of regions.
Some of our Great UK Pubs with Rooms by Location
Great Pubs with Rooms for Walkers
If you’re into hill walking you might already have heard of the Wasdale Head Inn, spectacularly located just below Scafell Pike. The views are stunning, and the hearty pub fare is good, but the offerings in the wood-panelled dining room are better. There are 12 simple, comfortable rooms starting from around £60 per night.
The Cott Inn in Dartington, right between Dartmoor and the South Devon coastline, is a picturesque building in a picturesque spot. It’s one of England’s oldest inns and the perfect country escape with a snug bar and an excellent restaurant.
The Gurnard’s Head Hotel in Zennor is a charming, Cornish inn surrounded by breathtaking countryside. There are seven traditional-feeling rooms and an informal gastro-pub to keep you sated. Simple, homely and full of character.
The Horse Guards Inn is a wonderfully homely inn on the outskirts of the 700 acre Petworth House Estate in the South Downs National Park. There are just three rooms and the atmosphere is cosy and welcoming.
Top Foodie Pubs with Rooms
The Waterside Inn in Bray is a fantastic choice for foodies, run by Michel and Alain Roux and with three Michelin stars, this is about as gourmet at the UK gets. The eleven rooms and suites are sumptuous and start from around £220 per night. It might seem a bit tenuous to include it in a list of the best pubs with rooms, but it would be churlish not to!
The Lamb at Hindon has been a great Wiltshire pub with rooms for 800 years! A few hundred miles south of Scotland, these days it’s the country outpost of Boisdale, the Scottish-themed Belgravia restaurant. Tartan is everywhere and rooms all have a bottle of whisky in them for a night cap in bed.
Most Romantic Pubs with Rooms
The Crown Inn in Chiddingford, Surrey, sits on the edge of the green of this picturesque English village. Inside the 14th century building there are plenty of beautiful original features, like exposed beams, flagstone floors, huge fireplaces and four-poster beds. The restaurant is AA rated.
The Trout at Tadpole Bridge is a fantastically welcoming country inn with its own section of river and a private mooring for guests. There are six rooms around a pretty courtyard and a AA rosette restaurant. You’re also close to Blenheim Palace and William Morris’ Kelmscott Manor.
Best Family Friendly Pubs with Rooms
Leased from Lord Bath's Longleat Estate, the rooms in The Bath Arms feature exotic throws, black marble bathrooms, enormous beds and quirky pieces of furniture. Indian inlaid furniture sits comfortably with hand-painted wallpaper depicting English eccentrics.
Northleach’s The Wheatsheaf Inn is an old inn recently converted and imaginatively decorated. There are 14 comfortable rooms, great food, a pretty, enclosed garden, a rustic treatment rooms and a cask ale bar. There's a fabulous family room which sleeps 2 adults and 2 kids and delicious mini menu for your little ones.
Great Getaway Pubs with Rooms
The Crab and Boar is a cosy and historic pub in a perfectly rural setting. There are just 14 rooms - and some of them have their own private hot tubs and terraces, and a good restaurant. The Crab and Boar is great if you love walking, chalk stream fishing, playing golf or Downton Abbey - the ‘real’ Downton, Highclere Castle, is very nearby.
The Queen’s Arms in Corton Denham is a quintessentially English, Georgian inn with eight comfortable and elegant rooms and well priced gourmet food. There are some great walking trails nearby, plus several notable National Trust properties.
Great Pubs with Rooms in the New Forest
The Master Builder’s is right on the Beaulieu River in the New Forest, and is where many of Nelson’s ships were built. As well as being an historic treasure, it’s also a great pub, with a choice of eating in an award-winning restaurant or having great pub food in the pub - and in summer there’s also an excellent BBQ. It’s great for families and there’s a good range of rooms, the most reasonable starting from under £100 per night.
Best Pubs with Rooms in Dorset
The Museum Inn is a picturesque country pub in the pretty village of Farnham, north Dorset, on the Cranborne Chase (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). There are eight individually designed rooms in the main house and converted stables building, plus a separate large cottage which sleeps up to 16. For dining you'll find a gastro pub and a restaurant.
Best Pubs with Rooms in the Cotswolds
The New Inn at Coln is a creeper-clad, 17th century coaching inn with 13 modern, individually decorated rooms and an award-winning, AA 2 Rosette rated restaurant and bar - complete with roaring fire and collection of Gloucestershire ales. Perfect for walkers and well positioned in a very pretty village.
The Swan Hotel is a beautiful, 17th century coaching inn on the River Coln in the popular village of Bibury. The 22 rooms have cracking fires in the winter, while in summer the gardens are spectacular. The decor features gingham, floral-upholstery and four-poster beds.
The Lamb Inn is a charming, 18th century Cotswolds inn with a beautiful rose-scented garden, large fireplaces which are roaring and lovely in the season, and 17 spacious rooms with antique furniture and original wood floors. There’s also an award-winning restaurant and great birdwatching opportunities.
Great Pubs with Rooms in Sussex
The Mermaid Inn is an historic, 13th century inn right in the centre of Rye. The whole place oozes period charm, from the black and white Tudor exterior to the carved four-poster beds, sloping, beamed ceilings and vast fireplaces. The food gets a 2 AA Rosette rating.
The White Horse Inn near Chichester is a cosy and charming inn offering 14 rustic, but elegant rooms and the option to have a private terrace with hot tub. The gardens boast panoramic views over the rolling Sussex countryside. The restaurant has a superb wine list, and the whole place is pet friendly.
Best Pubs with Rooms in the Lake District
For around £100 per night you can stay in the charming Drunken Duck Inn, in the pretty village of Ambleside, nestled in amongst the Southern Lowland Fells. Built in the 18th century, this is one of the Lake District’s best known gastro pubs. The rooms and gardens look like a spread from ‘Country Living’ and the guests have access to facilities at the nearby Langdale Club.
If you haven’t spotted your idea of the perfect country inn on our Guru’s list of 20 Great UK Pubs with Rooms you could:
Our Guru’s list of 20 Great UK Pubs with Rooms
