Where to get b&b recommendations?
 

I grew up in the UK, and came to the US about 6 or 7 years ago. I recently met a young American lady, to whom I am now engaged.

I'm going to take her on a 2 week vacation to see England, mainly for her to decide if she/we might want to move back there one day.

The first week will be spent visiting the places I grew up, went to university, etc. The second week we're spending in a cottage by the sea.

For the first week, I'd like to get some recommendations for upscale b&bs we could stay in, throughout the country. Is there a site out there with this info?

Thanks!

I always enjoy Alistair Sawday's site for individual hotels and B&Bs.

Otherwise, the AA (Automobile Association, not the 12-step people) website has an incredibly comprehensive search for B&Bs in the UK, together with the rosette system - a 5-rosette property has to reach incredibly high standards.

Good old tripadvisor has a good number of well-known B&Bs on it now, usual caveats apply.

Otherwise, have a search on some of the national newspapers' travel sites - I've found a number of gems from the Guardian Travel supplement recently.

Two personal recent favourites were Chequers at Wickham Market, in Suffolk - good base for the best of the county (Lavenham, Orford, Woodbridge, Aldeburgh, Thorpeness, Bury, Southwold...) and Incleborough House in Runton, North Norfolk, which again is a wonderful base to explore one of the best bits of the English coastline.

Didn't get to stay here as it was booked out, but I really liked the look of the Cley Mill further round the North Norfolk coast.

Remember that 90% of British B&B's are very, very poor. There is a good reason why the budget hotel chains (Travelodge, Premier Inn, Ibis, Holiday Inn Express) have been growing at phenomenal rates in the last 4-5 years - they are finally providing a sensibly priced alternative.

Don't be confused by B&B's in the US, which are generally very expensive and very upmarket and in many case preferable to hotels. In general - with a few honourable exceptions - you only stay in a B&B in the UK if you are too poor to afford a hotel.

www.tripadvisor.com has been useful to us.

Also, using maps.google.com and searching in towns on our route for the following keywords has yielded a wealth of information:
bed
breakfast
inn
lodging

I specifically looked at Stratford-upon-Avon for a theater stayover, and can send you some information about my findings in that location if that's on your route. (PM me)

The Visit Britain (UK Tourist Board) website might also be a place to go looking.

http://www.visitbritain.us/accommoda...accommodation/

Not quite B&Bs, but "The Good Hotel Guide 2008 Great Britain & Ireland" has independent reviews of small hotels and guesthouses - many of which are barely larger than a B&B. The Guide does not accept advertising.

Additionally, some of the listed properties have agreed to accept a voucher cut out of the guide for 25% off one night's stay. I took advantage of this on a trip to Dublin last month and saved 34 Euros on the first night at one of the more up-scale listings (Aberdeen Lodge). The Guide is somewhat sparse in that it only lists properties for which it has received enough recent reviews from its correspondents for its editors to feel confident that the information is both accurate and current - some areas have no properties listed.

I've no connection with the Guide except as a satisfied customer.

http://www.goodhotelguide.com/

Sawday is a 'pay for inclusion' guide, like Johansons .... wouldn't trust it an inch.

I'd never trust any guide in exclusivity... All I'd say is that I've found some interesting properties in Sawday's, but I'd always back up such a find with a search for independent reviews.