Sophy Roberts, the FT’s hotel columnist, is also editor-at-large of the US edition of Departures magazine. She travels frequently on behalf of both publications.

This session will focus on UK hotels, from London B&Bs to the big five-stars, from family-friendly hotels on the Cornish coast to Norfolk boltholes.

Britain’s countryside inns

Hotel Insider: Sophy Roberts recommends Britain’s most stylish countryside restaurants with rooms

Where are the best deals? What is overhyped? What is new and under the radar? Where to go for a long weekend, a week, or a 10-day tour of the Cotswolds? And how can we benefit from the industry’s current low occupancies?

Sophy answers your questions.

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Could you recommend any B&Bs in the Cotswolds?
Jeremy Lemer, London

I’m hearing good things about The Horse & Groom in Bourton-on-the-Hill not far from Moreton-in-Marsh in the northern Cotswolds. It’s a posh pub, really, but seems to offer good B&B deals. And the food is meant to be excellent.

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Which are the best online resources to use when booking hotels in the UK?
Richard

I always book direct with hotels because I think you can get better deals by talking to the ‘man on the ground’. I like to know exactly what room I’m getting – basic things like if there is a bath, not a shower – which I think can be compromised when you book online and go through a ‘sorting house’.

In the current climate, I also think that by going direct you can bargain harder: ask for breakfast to be included, or request for an upgrade. So I’m afraid I can’t speak with experience on the best online resources for booking.

For researching hotels, however, I’m a big fan of TripAdvisor. I know hoteliers can’t bear it because often disgruntled clients post vicious appraisals online for all to see. In response, they get their friends and colleagues to post over-the-top recommendations to balance out the criticism. But it’s not so difficult to navigate between these two extremes and get a basic sense of expectation. And it beats the press, of which I’m a guilty member, which is all too often filled with glowing reviews in return for a free room.

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My partner and I are often looking for child-friendly hotels - we have a two-year-old and a baby. Are there any good hotels in the UK that run activities for younger children as well as school age? Preferably with a little bit of luxury for the parents as well...
Rob, London

It all depends on what you want to spend. And how far you want to travel. I see you’re based in London. I think the two best ones that are close to the city - within an hour’s drive - are the Four Seasons Hampshire and The Grove. They’re both brilliant with children of any age, and have professionally run kids’ clubs. They also have good spas, good restaurants, and the children are made to feel welcome when they’re running about at your heels (I have children of similar ages and have road-tested both; the price tags are the only issue).

A place I keep being recommended, though haven’t tried myself, is called Moonfleet Manor in Dorset. This is better priced and is entirely geared to cope with families. The joy is that you can turn up with just a change of clothes and they provide all the paraphernalia - nappies, baby monitors, toys for the older children. For me, that takes the edge off trying to organise a weekend with family. (If you do go to Moonfleet, be sure to book a lunch or dinner at the Crab House Cafe a short drive away on the road over to Portland; it’s one of the best, and simplest, seafood restaurants I’ve come across).

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What is the UK’s best spa hotel in your opinion?
Dan, UK

I’m not a huge fan of British spa hotels, because I find them to be generally highly repetitive – the same products, the same formulas, the same hard-to-stomach prices (as soon as it tips over the £1-a-minute rate for a massage, I question what I’m paying for). So I tend to prefer those spa hotels that offer more than just the same-old treatment list. Spas that have genuine specialists – a reflexologist, a shiatsu masseuse. I also like spas that have good general facilities – a pool, steam rooms, etc – which are free to overnight guests. And spas that have all the other elements in place to make for a good stay – so rooms, a decent restaurant, accurate service.

Chewton Glen in Hampshire I think still holds strong – it ticks all these boxes even if the slightly suburban location isn’t quite my thing. Likewise Sequoia at The Grove in Hertfordshire. Although not strictly ‘spa hotels’, it’s worth considering Cowshed at Babington House in Somerset, and c-side at Cowley Manor in the Cotswolds – both good spas in young, fresh hotels where the treatments are of a high standard. What I don’t like, though I haven’t been for a long while, are the British ‘health farms’. I’m not very good at wandering around in a dressing gown for a whole weekend, thinking about calories. I think it’s out-of-synch with what wellness is all about these days – a more ‘holistic’ approach, and one which the Asian spa hotels do better than any of our British attempts.

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Any recommendations for a hotel in Oxford? I’d like to go somewhere special with my husband for our wedding anniversary weekend.
Kerry de Lanoy, London

In Oxford, I like the Old Bank Hotel. It’s got a good location on the High Street, right opposite the Radcliffe Camera, and a short walk, therefore to the Oxford Botanic Garden and Christ Church Meadow, both of which are great this time of year. The best room is the double-windowed suite (room 32) , which costs £350 a night at weekends . It has a smallish bathroom but the bedroom makes up for it with warm taupes and lots of natural light.

Malmaison Oxford is probably too business-y for an anniversary, although their new Sunday night ’Prison for a Pound’ deal makes it tempting; it costs £1 night for a double (this is a converted prison) if you spend £75 in the hotel bistro.

Money-no-object, and I’d go for Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. This is in Great Milton, about a 20-minute drive from Oxford, and is home to chef Raymond Blanc. All the rooms are all different; my favourites are Lemongrass or Provence.

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Any ideas for a good value hotel in London. I am always being asked by friends who are staying
Mark Sanders, London

All depends on the neighbourhood. In the east, I like The Rookery, which is tucked away in Clerkenwell, occupying a row of higgeldy-piggeldy eighteenth-century houses. It’s got a Dickensian feel with wainscoting and antiques and stone-flag floors. It’s not that cheap, with doubles coming in at around £200 a night; however, in the current market, I expect you can get rooms for less at weekends so ask about their current promotions and packages.

In West London, The Main House is a great little B&B just off Westbourne Grove in the heart of Notting Hill. Frustratingly The Main House doesn’t do one-night stays, and the rooms can get booked up very far in advance. But with prices starting at £55 per person per night, it’s worth persevering, especially for those who like the neighbourhood. It’s like staying with a friend (ie. you need to be self-sufficient to not feel stranded by the lack of hotel services).

I’d also recommend Number Sixteen in South Kensington. It’s summer-y and fresh, reflecting the well-practised, popular ’modern English’ style of hoteliers Tim and Kit Kemp (they also own The Covent Garden and Haymarket Hotels). The relatively good room rates for London have much to do with the fact there’s no main restaurant.

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What will be the major trends in the hotel industry transformation in the UK in 2009?
Viktor O. Ledenyov, Ukraine

The major trend has to be the price war, which is beginning to happen at London hotels in order to deal with a tough winter of low occupancies. They’re achieving this with discounted packages – two nights for the price of three, meals and spa treatments thrown in, etc – and often on the basis that the booking is 100 per cent non-refundable.

Guests can also strike a harder bargain – ask for room upgrades, etc, which is a trend we’ll see more and more of, I suspect, in the months to come. And rightly so. Guests should barter for a better deal when so many rooms are lying empty.

Outside London, however, I suspect it might be a different story so long as hotels keep their prices sensible. That’s because we should see more Brits holidaying at home now the pound is having such a rough ride in Europe. This will probably show itself most in coastal areas: Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Norfolk, Suffolk, Brighton, etc. I expect we’ll also see a return of Americans now that the dollar-pound rate is playing to their advantage – for the first time in a long time. However, forward bookings aren’t that promising – yet. This is because many of us now book later and later – a general industry trend that has gained more momentum in the last few months when jobs have been feeling insecure.

I also think that throughout the UK, there’ll be an editing back of bad hotels that have posed as something fashionable and ‘boutique-y’ in the good times; in the current climate, service matters more than anything, so the ‘knock-offs’ who failed to understand the essence of hospitality – and that’s service – will find it very tough indeed to keep going. I think that mid-market, well-priced hotels – the Malmaison chain, for instance, or Hotel du Vin – will continue to do well as they will pick up the business from the top clients who can no longer quite manage the five-star prices of old.

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Do you have any recommendations for Norfolk? A good hotel or even a house to rent. Something that might suit families, if possible.
John, London

I haven’t stayed for a while but The Victoria at Holkham on the North Norfolk coast has always been excellent for the right type of person: a family with young-ish children who want an easy holiday with good, unpretentious bistro-style food and close to the beach. You just have to walk over the road and within 10 minutes, walking through pine trees, you’re on the sands of Holkham. The style of the hotel is country English mixed in with a few Indian-style fabrics and pieces of furniture. It’s nothing that fancy but that’s why it works so well with children. As to private houses to rent, the Holkham Estate, which owns the Victoria, has a few self-catering options (the best one is The Triumphal Arch, but unfortunately it’s only one-bedroom and with lethal stairs for kids).

Cliff Barns is fun – more modern, occupying an oak and stone ground-floor barn conversion close to Narborough. There are six doubles and one family suite. It’s got an impressive finish – underfloor heating, flatscreen TVs etc – and a quirky aesthetic with Seventies wallpapers, tartan and antiques. The house is staffed, and there’s a safe interior garden for children, along with a hot tub and sauna.

Depending on the party’s size, you could also try Voewood owned by the London rare bookseller Simon Finch. This vast Arts and Crafts pile near High Kelling, a short drive from the coast, sleeps 32, a headcount which will help justify the cost. The interiors are exquisite – a colourful, considered mix of new and old. I love Voewood; it has a completely unique spirit.