The Best Places to Stay in the UK
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The Coolest Places - Direct!
We don't do ordinary. We don't like bland. Instead we love cool places – in short the best places to stay that Britain has to offer. The most romantic country cottages and the best boutique hotels in the UK are all featured here on Cool Places – along with high-end country houses, glamping sites and a mouth-watering collection of fabulous places to eat and drink. We also list activities and great things to do all over the country. And you can book direct with everywhere we list, often at discount prices. So get out there and enjoy the coast and countryside of this green and pleasant land.
This is your guide.
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Featured Places See All
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The Original Hut Company
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Crug Glâs Country House
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The Warrens
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The Quiet Site
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Tune Hotel
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Secret Cottage Tours
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Shieling Holidays
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Tune Hotel
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Cool Places Seaside
We love to be beside the seaside at Cool Places and as a result we’ve got all our favourite UK coastal destinations covered – everywhere from old-style resorts like Whitby to foodie Padstow and cool and slightly arty seaside hangouts like Whitstable, St Ives and Fowey. We think we’ve got the UK seaside pretty well covered, but there must be loads of places we don’t know about that you love – so share them with other Cool Places users so they can love them too!
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Bournemouth & Poole
More trendy than you might think, and the beaches are great.
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Croyde & North Devon
Beaches to die for, and any number of cool places to eat, drink and be merry.
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Falmouth
Dripping with maritime heritage, yet this is also south Cornwall's premier cultural hotspot.
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Fowey
A great little town, and close to the best that south Cornwall has to offer.
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Lulworth and East Dorset
A dramatic coastline, great beaches and picturesque villages – what more could you want?
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Newquay
Laid back charm, chilled-out cafés and stylish bars at this sunny surfer town.
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North Norfolk Coast
Idyllic countryside caressed by pristine coastline. Hikers, campers and beach-lovers take heed!
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Padstow
Small fishing port, massive location – known for great seafood and an epic nearby coastline.
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Rye
A slice of a parallel England: is Rye a medieval port town, or plugging a hole in space time??
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South Hams
South Devon's masterpiece: rural village charm and coastal excellence.
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St Davids
Raggedly wild and beautiful, the UK's smallest city promises scenery and activities in spades.
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St Ives
Pearly bays, beachfront dining and chic British seaside tradition.
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Suffolk Coast
One of the country's most beautiful and underrated stretches of coastline.
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Whitby and the North Yorkshire Coast
The jewel of Yorkshire's coastal crown, with Georgian character and a bustling harbourside.
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Whitstable
Unspoilt, incandescent Kentish shores, renowned dining and a lively fish market.
Cool Places Countryside
Cool Places is all about celebrating the great British countryside, and we like to get out there with our walking boots or cycle clips on and experience it for ourselves – preferably with a fab country pub at the end in which to put our feet up and have a pint and a good meal. We’ve got loads of places on the site that are great for all those things – but as always if you find somewhere you like, share it so that all Cool Places readers can enjoy it.
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Best of Scotland
Castles, clans and tartan; over 800 islands and some of Europe's most epic scenery
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Best of Wales
The best places to see, stay, eat, drink and shop in Wales.
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Cornwall
White-sand beaches, craggy cliffs and foodie gems.
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The Cotswolds
Gorgeous villages, stunning walks, great eateries, fantastic shops and many a spot to sleep
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Country House Hotels
The best country house hotels and period places to stay in the UK.
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Derbyshire and the Peak District
The soaring heartland of central Britain.
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Devon
Home to two national parks, glorious beaches – and superb food.
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Dorset
The first taste of the West Country for holiday-hungry Londoners
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East Yorkshire
From the rolling Wolds to towering sea-cliffs, East Yorkshire springs a cultured surprise
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Hampshire
From the wilds of the New Forest to Winchester's multiple charms, it's got the lot.
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Hebden Bridge
Cool mill town in West Yorkshire
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Isle of Wight
Truly a world apart from the mainland, as increasing numbers of people are discovering.
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Isles of Scilly
Part of Britain, yet so different. On a warm day, you could be in the Caribbean.
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Kent
A fabulous choice of day-trip destinations and holiday hotspots.
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The Lake District
A unique region of lakes and mountains, hideaway pubs and rustic B&Bs.
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Lancashire
Lancashire offers varied pleasures - from busy Blackpool to the peaceful Forest of Bowland
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Norfolk
Big Sky Country...
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The Norfolk Broads
A haunting wilderness of lake and river, reedbed and marsh, huge skies and distant horizons.
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Northumberland
England's northeastern border country is an evocative land of mighty castles and majestic coast
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North York Moors
North Yorkshire's dramatic heather-clad moorland hides remote valleys and old stone villages.
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North Yorkshire
God's Own County, from the glorious emptiness of the Moors to the pristine beauty of the Dales.
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Nottinghamshire
Heartland of the East Midlands, Nottinghamshire is the UK's most surprising county.
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Surrey
verdant hills, vibrant villages, cracking country pubs, beautiful B&Bs and historic houses
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Sussex
Just a short hop from the capital, yet far more than just day-trip territory.
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Thames Valley and the Chilterns
Idyllic walks, and you're never far from a decent pub. Frazzled Londoners apply here.
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West Dorset
Some of the best beaches in the country and swathes of bucolic, rolling countryside.
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The Yorkshire Dales
The north of England's go-to destination for a weekend away in the country
Cool Places Cities
British cities are unique, covering a huge range of experiences and attractions from quaint yet resurgent cathedral cities like Winchester, ancient university towns like Oxford, Cambridge and Durham, to grittier urban centres like Leeds, Bristol, and, er, London (heard of it?). We love them all, and have lots of fave places, but cities change fast – let us and the Cool Places community know if you find somewhere new that you like. We’d all like to try it!
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Bath
Is there a better English destination for a weekend break?
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Belfast
Cool Places guide to Belfast
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Bethnal Green & Spitalfields
Hugely historic, yet with an edgy youth culture and some great music venues and clubs
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Birmingham
From scabrous concrete jungle to vibrant cosmopolitan metropolis – in a decade
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Brighton
A unique mix of shabby chic and slick cool, London's favourite seaside resort has it all.
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Bristol
There’s loads to do in one of the UK’s most chilled-out cities
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Cambridge
Go and loaf about with the students for a weekend.
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Camden Town
It's weird, loud and mad as can be – in this part of London, anything goes.
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Canterbury
Southeast England's most historic small town, with a host of great attractions.
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Cardiff
Cardiff's extraordinary transformation now puts it among the UK's most inviting cities.
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City & Clerkenwell
Look sharp! London’s oldest districts are at the cutting-edge of business, fashion and food.
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Covent Garden
Kids – and tourists – adore Covent Garden, with its elegant piazza, living statues and buskers.
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Edinburgh
Surely most handsome city in the Union, there's no better city break experience in the UK.
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Glasgow
Scotland's most thrilling and creative city is on the crest of a wave.
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Greenwich & Blackheath
Slightly cut off from the rest of London – which is just how the locals like it.
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Hackney & Dalston
Multicultural and vibrant Hackney – great place to live, great place to go out.
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Hampstead
Hampstead is literally cool: high above the rest of London and with a cut-off feel locals love.
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Highgate & Crouch End
Proof that London is at heart a city of villages.
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Islington
Islington bustles day and night with shoppers, diners and culture vultures.
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Kensington & Chelsea
The so-called "royal borough" more than lives up to its stately name.
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Leeds
Yorkshire’s buzziest, brightest city is now a full-on tourist destination
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Norwich
Norwich's old cobbled centre holds great restaurants and the highest density of pubs in the UK.
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Notting Hill
Notting Hill remains a vibrant area, revealing the depth and breadth of London's culture
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Oxford
It's a city of two halves, a perfect blend of ancient and modern, with stacks to do and see.
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Salisbury & Stonehenge
Sticks, stones and undulating pastures in and around Wiltshire's unassuming county town.
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Shoreditch & Hoxton
Hip bars, cutting-edge clubs and designer shops.
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Soho
Soho has a boozy, bohemian vibe that’s hard to resist.
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Stratford-upon-Avon
Shhh, don't mention the S-word!
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Winchester
A cultural overload, crammed with backstreet bookshops, trad boozers and arty hangouts.
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Windsor
Home to the winding Thames, a millennium of British history, plus a certain castle...
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York
Riverside cafés, Britain's greatest medieval townscape and a thriving art scene.
