10 UK hotels with beautiful gardens to book this spring

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As the countryside bursts into bloom, hotels across the UK are perfectly placed to make the most of it, whether they are grand estates set in rolling hills or boutique retreats with the prettiest of kitchen gardens to explore.

For more UK hotel inspiration, check out our picks of the best country house hotels and the best spa hotels in the UK.

10 UK hotels with beautiful gardens to book this spring

The Bath Priory, Bath

In a leafy part of Bath sits this impressive Georgian house, offering old-fashioned hospitality with wide appeal. Behind the ivy-clad building is a vast, not-so-secret garden, featuring a spectacular Lebanon cedar tree, croquet lawn, sunken pool and kitchen garden growing herbs, edible flowers, fruit and veg destined for the dining room. Spring is when the wisteria-covered terrace shines, the perfect spot for taking afternoon tea. You can also order a picnic hamper to enjoy in the gardens, with a bottle of English sparkling wine.

You'll have views of the garden at dinner too. Chef Jauca Catalin’s imaginative menu celebrates seasonal, local produce with some surprising Asian touches: a crab starter is teamed with lime confit, mooli and chilli peanut caramel; wild turbot is a complex dish of scallop mousse, caviar and miso and kombu tea. At breakfast there is a traditional approach, with eggs royale, benedict and florentine, alongside the full English and a fluffy omelette Arnold Bennett.

Bedrooms are designed for comfort and relaxation, with period furniture, florals and tartan adding warmth to neutral décor.

Rooms start at £275 per night including breakfast, based on two sharing. Check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

The Samling, Lake District

The Samling is a luxurious country house hotel (think al fresco hot tubs, fine dining and ornamental water gardens) set in nearly 70 acres of woodland, gardens and fields, perfect for exploring at this time of year. It sits right on the banks of Lake Windermere.

Most of the rooms overlook the lake (two have woodland and garden views instead), and all are decorated in plush neutrals, with sash windows, marble bathrooms and goose down pillows and duvets. For an extravagant stay, pick the Windermere suite: it’s at the very top of the estate and benefits from a private patio (with astonishing views) and a copper-clad freestanding bath.

You're spoilt for choice with gardens to explore here, from the pretty cascading ornamental water gardens woven with paths and bridges to walking trails through the woodland carpeted with wildflowers in spring. The kitchen garden, surrounded by apple and nut orchards, is also well worth exploring. Cucamelons and microgreens grow in the central greenhouse, and meadows buzz with bees (their honey is used to sweeten desserts and cocktails).

At the restaurant, with stunning lake views, executive head chef Robby Jenks is in charge of a modern menu that includes the likes of shellfish raviolo with citrus bisque, turbot with mussels and samphire, and rhubarb with vanilla, ginger and lemon. The breakfast menu is short, but includes kedgeree, homemade granola with yogurt, and fresh fruit.

Doubles from £290 per night, check availability at booking.com

The Pig in the Cotswolds, Cotswolds

The Pig in the Cotswolds embodies everything you’d want in a spring countryside escape. Set in a stunning 17th-century Grade II listed manor, the hotel is surrounded by gardens designed by Rosemary Verey, providing a serene and picturesque setting and unexpected sights to discover, such as a Tuscan temple that makes the perfect sunny spot to pause. The kitchen garden is the heart of each Pig – wander to explore for yourself, or join a daily guided tour.

From the moment you step inside, you’re welcomed by a cosy and luxurious atmosphere, with each room meticulously restored to retain its historical charm while offering modern comforts. In the bedrooms you’ll find plush bedding, standalone baths, Nespresso machines and The Pig's signature rustic-chic décor. The hotel’s Fieldhouse Spa complete with garden terrace takes relaxation to another level, with soothing treatments, a sauna, steam room and hydrotherapy plunge pool for unwinding amid nature and views over the countryside.

The Pig's renowned '25-mile' menu is worth the visit alone. Standout dinner dishes include the Barnsley lamb chop, accompanied by produce straight from the garden, and the fillet of plaice with garden fennel and white wine sauce. Breakfast is equally delightful, with options ranging from smashed peas and poached eggs on sourdough toast to smoked trout royale. You’ll also find beautifully baked pastries, homemade granola and freshly squeezed juice.

Prices per night start from £195. Check availability on mrandmrssmith.com

Glenapp Castle, Ayrshire

As well as ivy-clad turrets and excellent food, there’s one thing Glenapp Castle has plenty of: fresh air. It sits in 36 acres of grounds, detailed for guests in a beautifully illustrated map. You'll find plenty of woodland, plus herb, fruit and flower gardens, a 150 foot Victorian glasshouse and a croquet lawn, all surrounded by more open Scottish countryside to explore. You can also book onto more adventurous outdoor experiences such as foraging, mountain biking or canoeing on the loch.

Despite the grand exterior (it was originally built in 1870 as an imposing family residence for James Hunter, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire), there’s no intimidating reception hall at the castle, just a welcoming parlour with neat piles of wellies for guests to borrow, panelled wash rooms and chesterfield sofas. Up a carpeted staircase is the drawing room, with stone fireplace and ceiling-high windows that frame a spectacular view of Ailsa Craig (you’ll find granite curling stones from the island propping doors open around the castle).

Guest rooms, especially the master suites, are spectacular, with chandeliers, four-poster beds, huge windows framed by thick drapes and, in one case, a curved corner door that leads to a private spiral staircase... follow it down to reach a wooden hatch that opens onto the castle’s forecourt (imagine the trysts!). So big are the suites that guests also enjoy their own walk-in wardrobes, and there’s enough seating for at least a dozen people.

Doubles from £395, check availability at booking.com or glenappcastle.com

A view of Ailsa Criag from Glenapp Castle, Scotland

The Victoria, Norfolk

Countryside meets coast at The Victoria, perched on the edge of the grand Holkham Estate and a short stroll from the vast beauty of Holkham beach. You can explore the grounds on bike or foot, meet the resident deer, row a boat on the lake or take a guided tour of the hall. The Holkham Stories experience explains the estate’s history, current sustainable practices and its plans to be carbon neutral.

The magnificent walled garden grows everything from grapes – which go to make wine at Burn Valley Vineyard – to herbs, fruit and veg, which are featured in dishes at the hotel. Here, the menu references its support for suppliers throughout the region, from Arthur Howell butchers, Billy Ward’s lobster and Malt Coast Brewery in Wells-next-the-Sea to Fakenham’s Krusty Loaf bakery and Brancaster Bay shellfish. The dining room, with its forest-themed wallpaper, is a fitting setting for hearty dishes like Holkham venison curry and roasted pigeon with parmentier potatoes.

Rooms are traditionally decorated, with classic striped fabrics, wooden dressing tables and chests of drawers, and Norfolk Natural Living toiletries.

Doubles from £200. Check availability at booking.com or holkham.co.uk

Grace & Savour, Birmingham

Be fully immersed in a spring garden at Grace & Savour, a restaurant with rooms built into the walled garden within the grounds of contemporary hotel Hampton Manor.

The sustainability-first operation has its own kitchen garden, with a tour offered on arrival. The handful of rooms have a pared-back Scandi sensibility and enticing views of chefs prepping dinner in the restaurant’s open kitchen. The industrial-style steel-framed panelled windows, and corrugated tables and headboards are softened by muted tones of clay and earth to give each bedroom a soothing feel. A huge bathtub and a generous bowl of bath salts demands to be used, and walk-in showers feature Birmingham-based Harvest Skincare.

Dinner is a tasting menu of up to 14 well-balanced courses that reflect chef-director David Taylor’s commitment to seasonality, regenerative farming and animal welfare, all as beautiful as they are delicious. Chatting with the chefs from your counter seat or when they deliver dishes to the table is part of the fun, as is the wine pairing which focuses on lesser-known wines, many made in small batches.

In the morning, breakfast overlooking the garden is three relaxed courses with juices and coffee: charcuterie, cheese and apples; yogurt and honey; sausage, spinach cooked in chicken fat and mustard, and a wonderful cinnamon bun.

From £350 for dinner, bed and breakfast; hamptonmanor.com/grace-savour

A large cosy hotel room with orange walls, low chairs and industrial-style steel-framed panelled windows

The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath

Few visitors to Bath see beyond the façade of the magnificent Royal Crescent, the city’s most impressive landmark. Fewer guess that No 16 extends into beautiful hotel gardens with a lavender path, a haven for birds and butterflies where afternoon tea, cocktails and light lunches are taken.

Chef Martin Blake balances simplicity with on-trend touches. The evening tasting menu at restaurant Montagu’s Mews starts with tiny canapés of Bath Blue cheese and avocado mousse with cucumber and borage. Then shokupan, a soft Japanese-style milk bread, with Ivy's Reserve butter from Somerset and smoked roe studded with salmon ikura. Hollandaise for beef tartare is spiked with Bath Ale and IP8 beer vinegar. A forced rhubarb dessert is softened with olive oil and vanilla. The comprehensive wine list includes confident choices such as a barrel-aged assyrtiko.

The hotel’s five-star spa includes a heated pool with sauna and steam room, tranquil treatment rooms and another small garden where you can relax after a swim, still in your robe if you like. Rooms are built for comfort and luxury, some with terraces and views on to the gardens or over the sweeping lawns of the crescent. Fireplaces in bedrooms may be filled with decorative pinecones, modern art sits alongside vintage portraits and busts, and everywhere the outside is brought in with plants and floral displays.

Rooms from £300 per night, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Rudding Park, North Yorkshire

This 2,000-acre Georgian country estate just outside Harrogate is a lesson in country luxury with a contemporary edge. 300 acres of landscaped gardens and woodlands make relaxing walking routes (private guided tours are also available to book), with views over the golf course all the way to the Kilburn White Horse in the North Yorkshire Moors. The expansive kitchen garden grows over 500 different herbs, salad, fruit and flowers and is open from May for guests to explore.

As the first rooftop spa to open in the UK, the garden spa also makes the most of nature and its outdoor setting, being designed to evolve with the seasons. In spring you'll look out over magnolia in full bloom. Take a leisurely circuit, alternating between hot and cold experiences such as an outdoor hydrotherapy pool, steam rooms and a panoramic sauna.

Inside the hotel, stone fireplaces and staircases contrast with pops of colour including pink chandeliers, striking sculptures and modern art. This playful design extends to the 89 rooms, split between the original Ribston wing (eight rooms of which have terraces that back onto rhododendrons) and the newer Follifoot wing, its larger rooms boasting standalone baths in copper-tiled bathrooms.

Breakfast is taken in all-day restaurant Clocktower, with dishes such as harissa mushrooms on toast and the Full Yorkshire, as well as a modest cold buffet. We recommend finding a spot on the south-facing terrace or beside the 400-year-old olive tree in the conservatory. The hotel’s kitchen garden-led restaurant, Horto, offers sharing plates such as crisp tempura broccoli, honey roast fig and walnut flatbreads, toasted focaccia club sandwiches and tandoori monkfish kebabs.

Rooms from £249 per night. Check availability at ruddingpark.co.uk or booking.com

Cliveden House, Berkshire

Nothing says English garden quite like a National Trust property. There is plenty to explore over 80 acres at Cliveden, from the formal rose garden and water garden to the impressive maze and plenty of woodland perfect for sunny spring walks.

Inside the grand Cliveden House itself, you'll step back in time. Mahogany panelling is studded with oil paintings of former residents, including Frederick, Prince of Wales (mid-1700s) and socialite Nancy Astor (circa 1908). Cliveden was also the location of the chance meeting in 1961 between Secretary of State for War John Profumo and 19-year-old dancer Christine Keeler that began the Profumo affair. The ‘Profumo pool’ and hot tubs are cloistered by the old stables, which now house the indoor spa facilities (pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room) in neoclassical style, complete with wafting voile curtains.

We’re shown to the Prince of Wales suite, boasting three fireplaces and sweeping views of formal gardens and the Thames cleaving through forested hills. It comes with access to the Butler’s Pantry for complimentary drinks and snacks. Make time for afternoon tea and sit in the windows with impressive views over the rolling gardens down to the river.

After cocktails in the library, dinner echoes Cliveden’s initial use as a hunting lodge, with a silky venison tartare among the raw starters, then a surprisingly dainty slow-cooked guinea fowl. Desserts are generally rich with cream, but the lime macaron with lemon sorbet delivers a clean finish. Cooked breakfast is served in the same formal dining room but do venture next door, where the continental is beautifully presented in baroque surroundings.

Rooms from £445 per night including spa access. Check availability at clivedenhouse.co.uk or booking.com

Fowlescombe Farm, Devon

Tucked in the foothills of Dartmoor, Fowlescombe Farm is a quietly luxurious rural retreat where regenerative organic farming and contemporary comfort meet with a fork-to-table food ethos. A weekly calendar of activities can be dipped into that will help you make the most of the beautiful surroundings. Go on a guided garden walk or farm tour to immerse yourself in the rhythms of the estate. Guided yoga in the garden and sea swimming with a post-dip croissant and flask of tea left us grounded.

Daily menus are shaped by the land and seasons. The Refectory’s kitchen table seats 10 with a view of the chef at work. Expect dishes such as silky courgette and apple velouté, sirloin of shorthorn beef with tomato confit, and strawberry parfait with elderflower. Garden-to-glass gin and cocktail pairings add to the sense of place here.

Dating back to 1537, the estate’s original Victorian farmhouse and timeworn stone barns have been thoughtfully restored, with just 10 suites spread across four distinct buildings. The Meadow Suite is a standout room, offering uninterrupted views over wildflower fields and woodland from its living room and vast bathroom. At breakfast, graze on the elegant buffet of granola parfaits, pastries, smoked salmon and charcuterie before ordering a Full Fowlescombe: hash browns, sausages, black pudding, homemade smoky beans and eggs to your liking, alongside green juice of the day and excellent coffee.

Rooms from £375 per night, check availability at fowlescombe.com or mrandmrsssmith.com