UK's best B&Bs for 2025 named in AA awards
The 29th iteration of the annual ranking by the AA aims to celebrate excellence in British hospitality.
Award categories include AA Inn of the Year, AA Restaurant with Rooms of the Year and AA Bed and Breakfast of the Year with winners selected from across England, Scotland and Wales.
Located a 10-minute walk from Torre Abbey Sands, boutique property 25 Boutique B&B in Torquay, Devon, won the B&B of the Year for England.
Judges described it as being 'top of its game', thanks to 'an engaging fusion of comfort, quality and hospitality, all of which combine to ensure a rewarding and fulfilling guest experience'.
The Townhouse, a traditional, Georgian terraced property in the heart of Perth, was Scotland's winner, with several rooms benefiting from 'great views over the picturesque South Inch Park.
'Luxurious beds and antique furniture sit alongside contemporary design,' noted the AA.
And multi-award-winning Ramsey House in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, took the top spot for Wales.
Elsewhere, The George Inn, a historic 14th-century Grade I-listed Tudor inn located in North St Philip near Bath in Somerset, scooped the prize for AA Inn of the Year.
Judges described it as home to 'a wonderfully warm and engaging atmosphere'.
In Scotland, The Colintraive Hotel on the Isle of Bute took top spot.
As well as securing an AA rosette for the past three years, judges remarked on the 'comfortable well-appointed bedrooms' and 'fantastic food… using the best from both land and sea'.
And in Wales, the Grade II-listed Nags Head in Montgomery, Powys, secured the win.
England's Restaurant with Rooms of the Year was named as Restaurant Interlude in Lower Beeding in West Sussex, while the Dipping Lugger overlooking Loch Broom in Ullapool scooped the win in Scotland.
And in Wales, Plas Dinas Country House, a Grade II-listed building nestled between the Snowdonia mountains and the Irish Sea, won the award.
Simon Numphud, managing director at AA Hotel & Hospitality Services, said: 'These awards shine a light on the brilliant people and places that make Britain's B&B scene truly world class.
'Whether it's a warm welcome in Scotland, a design-led retreat in England, or a culinary gem in Wales, this year's winners represent everything that's special about independent UK hospitality.'
The winners of the AA B&B Awards 2025
AA Inn of the Year
ENGLAND
The George Inn, Norton St Philip, Somerset
SCOTLAND
The Colintraive, Isle of Bute, Argyll & Bute
WALES
The Nags Head Inn, Montgomery, Powys
AA Restaurant with Rooms of the Year
ENGLAND
Restaurant Interlude, Lower Beeding, West Sussex
SCOTLAND
The Dipping Lugger, Ullapool, Highland
WALES
Plas Dinas Country House, Bontnewydd, Caernarfon
AA Bed and Breakfast of the Year
ENGLAND
The 25 Boutique B&B, Torquay, Devon
SCOTLAND
The Townhouse, Perth, Perth & Kinross
WALES
Ramsey House, St Davids, Pembrokeshire
AA Best Breakfast of the Year
Roskhill House, Dunvegan, Highland
AA Sustainable Champion of the Year
The Riverside at Aymestrey, Aymestrey, Herefordshire
AA Friendliest B&B of the Year
Broad Bay House, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
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Telegraph
2 hours ago
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The English county with the best pubs, according to our expert
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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How a seaside gem once loved by holidaymakers is packed with derelict ghost hotels... but locals say 'it's still better than Skegness'
With its pristine sandy beaches and bustling seafront its easy to see why Great Yarmouth was beloved by millions of day trippers for decades. In recent years the council has splashed cash to brighten up the ageing Britannia Pier and promenade in an effort to recapture some of the town's past glory. But while crowds of summer holidaymakers still enjoy strolling past its arcades, fish and chip shops and walking on the sand – a few roads over it is a very different story. Like a lot of Britain's faded seaside gems, Yarmouth has a big hotel problem. Victorian guest houses and converted homes once packed to the rafters with excited visitors are now left empty, boarded-up and derelict after years of decline. Neglected back streets are now becoming used by fly-tipping yobs to dump rubbish and old furniture. Even the town's Winter Gardens, a grand grade-II listed glass hall, is boarded-off while it awaits a much needed spruce-up thanks to £10m in lottery funding. But residents want funding spread evenly to tidy up the streets packed with eyesore buildings. One local told the Daily Mail: 'The same investment hasn't gone into other buildings. 'It's cosmetic on the seafront but there's fly tipping on the back streets. An overhead view of the derelict Victory Hotel in Great Yarmouth. The abandoned hotel went up in flames in 2023 in a suspected arson attack and has been left in its damaged condition Pictured: The Victory Hotel. Great Yarmouth, like many other resorts in the UK, was once a seaside gem, but is now packed with boarded up hotels The seaside resort's Winter Gardens attraction was the last surviving Victorian glasshouse but has sat derelict for years. A restoration project is due to begin, and could be reopened by 2027 The roof of the Victory Hotel after firefighters fought to put out a blaze in 2023. Eight weeks before the fire, the empty hotel was found to have been used as a cannabis farm While parts of the hotel have been boarded up, the upper windows remain smashed in, with shards of broken glass around the edges 'The two years after lock down were alright because people hadn't been anywhere. 'Then after that the decline started and you had foreign men put into hotels with no outlook or work at all.' While the council are keen to suggest that all seaside towns have a problem with empty buildings - Yarmouth's are hard to ignore. An eerie building just one street back from the seafront is the former home of The Victory Hotel. The hotel has remained derelict for years and in 2023 its roof was damaged by a fire caused by a suspected arson attack. Just eight weeks before the fire broke out, police discovered a cannabis farm growing inside the dilapidated building. Just a few minutes away, a blue plaque on the front of the Royal Hotel on the seafront, proudly tells visitors Charles Dickens had stayed there from 1848 to 1849 while he was writing David Copperfield. But now the once-grand hotel is closed with weeds growing up around the edges and a sign saying it was guarded by 24/7 security. Further along the front, Trafalgar House, a large Victorian building once home to a restaurant, is boarded up with a sign saying it is for let. The Show Boat amusement arcade is also closed for business, with its windows whited-out. While a Victorian sailors' refuge, dating from 1861, called The Sailors Home is also boarded-up. The building had been a museum between 1967 and 2003 but now a sign says 'renovation plans' are being 'finalised'. Further up on the North Quay, the derelict Star Hotel just about remains intact. The grade-II listed building has been standing since the 1600s but has become riddled with crime after its closure in 2020. 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The Star Hotel, which occupies a grade-II listed building, was abandoned in 2020 but in 2023 also suffered a suspected arson attack When the Daily Mail visited Great Yarmouth this week, while the back streets laid derelict with abandoned buildings and barely any activity, the main pier was still attracting holidaymakers The Royal Hotel, where Charles Dickens is said to have stayed between 1848 and 1849 while writing David Copperfield, is yet another one of many shuttered hotels in the seaside resort An overhead view of the Winter Gardens, which is currently closed, but is due to undergo restoration works over the next few years Shops and arcades on the main pier, though not as busy as in its heyday, was still bustling with families visiting the area during the summer holidays Tracy Crowther, 56, was visiting the seaside town with her father Malcolm Crowther. 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'I would not want to see the bills for this place because these machines have to be left on all night [slush and ice cream machines]. The overheads have gone sky high. 'People will walk around the arcades and won't spend a penny and come and see the firework shows on Wednesday evenings.' Nick Robson, 56, runs a gift shop. He said: 'I think the investment in the town has changed it considerably. It looks a lot cleaner on the seafront but other areas have suffered because of it. The same investment hasn't gone into other buildings. 'It's cosmetic on the seafront but there's fly tipping on the back streets. 'The two years after lock down were alright because people hadn't been anywhere. Then after that the decline started and you had foreign men put into hotels with no outlook or work at all.' Councillors from Great Yarmouth Borough Council blamed the cost of cheaper holidays in Spain for the lack economic downturn - but said the town's future is bright. Pictured: A former HMO on Nelson Road South. It was gutted by a fire in 2023 The entire roof can be seen burnt through in aerial images. The building has since been left in a derelict state by its owner A sign outside the Royal Hotel reads: 'Charles Dickens stayed at the Royal Hotel in 1848-49 whilst engaged in writing the novel "David Copperfield" The now boarded up Maritime House once housed the Maritime Museum, but was closed in 2004 when the Time and Tide Museum opened. It was then used as a tourist information centre by the council but has stood empty and vandalised since it closed due to Covid Fire damage and graffiti can be seen on the exterior of the Star Hotel. The grade-II listed building has been riddled with crime since its closure in 2020 Despite looking 'run down' and 'tired' with many abandoned hotels and buildings, the seaside resort is still bringing in visitors. Whilst the pier itself was busy, the back streets and the stretch of beach itself remained empty John Quinn, 78, and Rita Smith, also 78, said 'We've been to a few English resorts, Blackpool, Morecambe, Scarborough and Skegness, and this is the nicest', though they said 'some of the back streets are a bit run-down' Cllr Malcolm Bird said: 'I do not think any seaside town is like it was in the Fifties or Sixties. I think there has been a decline. People's holidays have changed. 'There's a lot of positives but hotels need to invest in the future and offer people nothing less than what they've got at home. You have to invest. 'But a lot of these hotels are owned by middle-aged hoteliers and guest-house operators who do not want to throw that money into the business and instead rent them out as houses in multiple occupation which brings them revenue but does not do the town that great.' He added: 'We've had problems [with refuse collection] but from the first of April we have had a complete change of operators and they're investing in new sweepers and are trying to eradicate the dumping of furniture. It has improved. 'There are parts of Yarmouth, the back of the seafront, where there's a lot of property which is in need of major refurbishment and unfortunately we are not in such a bright economic period we used to be in. 'You can always go anywhere and find the bad parts. 'People say they think Great Yarmouth will be like Skegness or Canvey Island but I say 'No, we have a third river crossing and all the amusement arcades that my kids and their kids love are there and looking nice.' 'It's part of an English summer holiday.' Amanda Organ, 52, with son Thomas, four, said the issue was that people could not afford to visit Great Yarmouth anymore because it was too expensive An aerial view looking at the back streets behind the seafront. The tops of broken and burnt down roofs can be seen Pictured: The former Trinity Arms pub on Southgates Road in Great Yarmouth has been shut for more than half a century The Barking Smack pub, off which parts of the sign has fallen off, lays derelict on the seafront The fire damage to the grade-II listed Star Hotel can be spotted from above, with parts of the roof collapsing The hotel, on Hall Quay, sits along the River Yare. The building was cordoned off earlier this year after fears a crumbling section near the top was to fall through Despite the derelicts buildings littering the town centre, visitors said Yarmouth was nicer than other seaside favourites. Rita Smith, 78, on holiday with partner John Quinn, also 78, from Glasgow, said: 'We've been to a few English resorts, Blackpool, Morecambe, Scarborough and Skegness, and this is the nicest. But some of the back streets are a bit run-down.' Amanda Organ, 52, was with her son Thomas, aged four, said: 'I've known Great Yarmouth for a long time. 'It's a little bit more run down, but it always has been. 'What we find quite surprising is how expensive everything is. For holiday-makers, it's very expensive. 'For me, its best years were 30 years ago, when I was young, when the whole sea front was lined with shops selling candy floss, buckets and beach shoes and it's okay now but all the restaurants are closed. 'We have a lovely sandy beach there. Why is that not being heavily-promoted? It's because people cannot afford to come here. People have to spend a lot. 'We were going to go up to the model village but that's £11 so we didn't. 'I've only got one child but my friend has three children and for her to do crazy golf would cost £40.' Winter Gardens has received a £0.5m grant for its restoration. As initial works are set to begin, the venue is hosting a 'show and tell' event to share memories of the iconic site Despite the rainy weather when the Daily Mail visited on Thursday, visitors were still strolling down the pier Ms Organ told of how she has known Great Yarmouth for a long time and that while it has 'always been' run down, now it is a 'little bit more run down' The Showboat restaurant sits boarded up along the seafront Souvenir and candy shops remain open along the promenade as summer holidaymakers visit the famous Britannia Pier Tracy Crowther, 56, was staying in Great Yarmouth with her father, Malcolm, 86, for a five-day holiday. They came down on a coach trip from Leeds and were disappointed when they first saw the hotel they were staying at. Tracy, a teacher, said: 'I was disappointed when I first saw it. I didn't want to get off the coach. It looked tired from the outside and not very nice. But it's lovely on the inside. The food is lovely and it's nice. 'We came here because we used to come as kids.' Malcolm said: 'It's a bit run-down now. It's looking a little bit tired and that was a bit of a surprise. 'The back streets remind me a little bit of Blackpool. 'A couple of years ago me and my wife [Doreen] were here and stayed at that hotel [The Royal Hotel]. I'm not surprised it's closed down. 'We were very disappointed to say the least. It was very run-down and badly organised. They had no idea how to run the place.' Malcolm said: 'I'd still rather be here than Scarborough or Blackpool.'
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘Overheads have gone up': Britain's hospitality sector faces tough time this summer
On a sunny weekday in Norfolk, the lunchtime rush is getting under way at the White Horse in Brancaster Staithe. On the large terrace at the back of the pub overlooking the coast, families and groups of holidaymakers are tucking in to local lobsters, plates of crab and fish and chips. 'This is our Christmas,' says James Nye, the managing director of Anglian Country Inns, the hospitality business started by his father, Cliff, 30 years ago which owns the White Horse and nine other venues across Norfolk and Hertfordshire, stressing the importance of the key summer season. 'We've had a strong start to the year with three months of sunshine,' he says. 'But I think that has masked the challenges the sector is facing. When the rain comes you can see how overheads have gone up.' Nye reels off a list of soaring costs facing the White Horse that will resonate with pubs, cafes, restaurants and hotels across the UK, underlining additional pressures facing the sector this summer season. 'Since April we have had a lot of increase in overheads, pretty much across the board. We've got food price inflation, the big one is labour, with the NICs [employer national insurance contributions] and national minimum wage, and everything is getting more expensive,' he says. Nye says his business, like many others, has been unable to absorb all the extra costs and passed some on to customers. But he and others are aware they have to tread a fine line at a time when many households are watching their spending. Holidaymakers Brian and Ann Hart, visiting from neighbouring Suffolk, are enjoying a glass of prosecco while waiting to check in to their room at the White Horse. They have found accommodation and meals in North Norfolk 'definitely more expensive' than during their last visit, says Brian. 'We would still come away, but maybe only a couple of times a year now because of the cost,' adds Ann. Tax rises and extra employment costs announced in last October's budget came into force in April, raising employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and lowering the threshold at which contributions are due. The minimum wage was also raised by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour. These measures are ultimately expected to raise £25bn a year, which the government has said is needed to restore crumbling public services. However, the trade body UKHospitality, which represents thousands of restaurants, hotels, pubs, cafes and nightclubs, has warned the changes will cost the industry an extra £1bn, forcing some to cut jobs or slash investment, while others are struggling to stay afloat. 'This is the toughest trading environment I've ever experienced in 30 years in the sector,' says Kate Nicholls, the chair of UKHospitality, calling it even tougher than the pandemic. 'It is that perfect storm of soaring costs, a cost of living crisis happening at the same time, which means you can't pass all of those costs on to customers, and a really intense squeeze on margins. Coming on the back of closures and losses during Covid, businesses are really lacking in resilience.' Hospitality has shed 84,000 jobs since last October's budget, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), making it the worst affected sector. UKHospitality predicts this figure could hit 200,000 by the time the financial year ends in March 2026. Meanwhile, warnings from the sector now appear to be becoming reality. The Italian casual dining chain Gusto and the Thai restaurant chain Busaba both collapsed into administration in recent days. Seven of Gusto's 13 sites were bought in a pre-pack administration resulting in 200 job losses, while Busaba was also bought in a pre-pack deal, saving about 240 jobs at seven sites across London and Essex. Nye also knows several pub operators who have had to call last orders for the final time, amid industry warnings that one pub will close down every day this year across Britain. Anglian Country Inns employs about 100 people at the White Horse, a third of whom are seasonal staff, and a further 400 across the rest of the business. Nye says they have worked hard to retain staff by treating them well, but amid current pressures they are trying to make teams more efficient in a bid to cut costs. They have 5% fewer full-time staff than last year and have hired fewer seasonal workers than in the past. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion This reduction in seasonal hiring is being repeated across the sector, and job postings for temporary hospitality jobs are 25% lower than this time last year, according to figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). The knock-on effect is a cut in job opportunities for students or those looking for flexible work, who have traditionally relied on hospitality jobs to get their first taste of employment. It has resulted in a summer of disappointment and frustration for 19-year-old Jeremy Nunn from Hertfordshire, who planned to work in hospitality over the summer after finishing his first year studying history and French at the University of Leeds. Despite sending off about 100 applications for seasonal roles, he still hasn't found a job. 'It's a bit disheartening when you spend a lot of time on applications and then send them off online, it can feel like shouting into the void,' he says. 'On most of my applications I've received nothing back.' A few miles down the road from Brancaster in fashionable Burnham Market – nicknamed Chelsea-on-sea – the ice-cream van is doing a roaring trade and visitors are browsing in the town's boutique and homeware shops. The final customers are finishing their coffees and paying their bills after eating lunch at Socius, an award-winning restaurant known for its small plates featuring locally sourced produce, opened in 2018 by the husband and wife team of Dan and Natalie Lawrence. Dan Lawrence says challenging times are forcing kitchens to get creative. 'We have to be smarter, cleverer and try to make better profit to cover those costs,' he says, sitting next to the counter where his staff are preparing ingredients for the evening's dinner service. 'We change our menu every week, sometimes throughout the week, so we have close conversations with suppliers and they tell us what's good, what they've got plenty of, what's a good price or what not to go anywhere near.' Lawrence believes, like many others in hospitality, that the government could do more to help businesses struggling with high costs, such as the temporary reduction in value added tax (VAT) from 20% to 5% introduced by the then chancellor Rishi Sunak to kickstart hospitality after the first national Covid lockdown. For now, Labour ministers have announced plans to 'breathe new life into the high street' by overhauling planning and licensing rules, to make it easier for new hospitality venues to open in empty premises, as well making it easier for restaurants and pubs to get permission to allow customers to dine alfresco or enjoy a pint on the pavement. While many in the industry would welcome such a move, others found it 'galling' at a time of higher taxes and costs, says Jonathan Lawson, the chief executive of Butcombe Group, which runs 120 pubs and inns across the UK and Channel Islands, many of which are in rural locations. 'Most in the industry would say, because of the pain the government inflicted on the hospitality sector, why would new businesses choose to actually be starting up in some of those locations?' he asks. Lawson says Butcombe Group has grown well since the pandemic, partly through diversifying its business, including opening its pubs earlier for breakfast, while promoting its venues as places for couples to celebrate their weddings. 'In hospitality, our job is to provide what customers want,' he says. 'Hospitality is the third-highest employer in the UK, it can drive growth, it wants to invest. It's almost in spite of the government, rather than because of it.' Back in Norfolk, the sun is still shining, but Nye worries what will happen when the summer ends and the visitors leave. 'Our big fear is what happens when trade dies down, when the season gets a bit quieter. Carrying those extra overheads is going to really hurt us,' he says.
