The 8 most romantic hotels in Bath, from elegant Georgian townhouses to cosy b&bs

The loveliest street in Bath, running between Pulteney Bridge and the Holburne Museum, is home to this well appointed and imaginatively designed boutique hotel set in a Georgian Grade I-listed building. The owners have blended the original fittings and features with some quirky, idiosyncratic and creative touches, from the artworks by students at Bath Spa University to hand-blown glass lights, chandeliers made out of earrings and collections of kaleidoscopes, musical instruments, army uniforms, cartes de visite and other odd curios. A basement spa adds four treatment rooms cedar wood hot tub, sauna, steam room and post massage ‘retreat room’ to the mix.

This luxury hotel encompasses two townhouses in Bath’s showpiece Georgian crescent. An elegant tone is set by curvaceous staircases overseen by classical busts, lounges with chandeliers and oil paintings, and extravagant suites with elaborate stuccoed ceilings. Hidden behind lies the hotel’s lovely acre of pristine garden, with mature trees and shrubs, striking modern statuary and wooden tables and chairs on lawns much used for eating and drinking in fine weather. Four further Georgian buildings at the back of the garden house the spa, a contemporary-styled bar and the pretty Dower House Restaurant.

The Queensberry – its first owner was the eighth Marquess of Queensberry – is less traditional than most of Bath’s other luxury hotels. Despite its 18th-century surroundings, it has a rather modern look – for example in the form of big canvasses of contemporary art over the stairs. The drawing room, in Farrow & Ball tones of grey, has an enticing air of relaxed informality, while a likeable jauntiness to the enterprise is in evidence in the slick-looking Old Q Bar, where the hotel’s own fun Queensberry Rules are on display. (No3: “It’s Bath, OK? With the A pronounced like the A in Arm, not the A in bat”.)

This 1830s, creeper-covered Bath stone mansion backs on to nearly four acres of beautifully maintained gardens that include expansive lawns (one laid out for croquet in the warmer months), a magnificent cedar of Lebanon, ponds, topiary and a kitchen garden. The large terrace overlooking the garden is much used for eating and drinking in fine weather. Setting the country-house tone inside are plush lounges with squishy sofas, ticking clocks, real fires in winter and a large and enjoyably diverse array of art – everything from militaristic and sporting paintings to eye-catching prints of Bath.

Eight is so named because there are eight bedrooms and eight main dishes on the dinner menu, in an engagingly quirky setup. The building dates back to the 1400s; in medieval times, the flagstoned basement was a refectory, hence the massive stone fireplaces either end. It’s now a natty bar with deep blue walls and bare wood tables. The reception, which is enlivened with blossom-patterned wallpaper, and the dinky, intimate restaurant look onto the lane through curvaceous bay windows. Rooms are decorated in a quite understated way, with muted colours, mostly modern furnishings (perhaps Anglepoise bedside lamps, a transparent desk chair), but also the odd gilt-framed mirror and Victorian portrait.

This very superior b&b boasts levels of style, comfort and service – and breakfasts – to match some of Bath’s better hotels. The characterful Georgian house backs on to half an acre of award-winning gardens, while inside, the drawing room sets the restful tone, with views over the garden and city through the floor-to-ceiling windows, modern paintings of Bath and a selection of daily newspapers. There are 12 individual en-suite bedrooms, decorated with bold colours (particularly bed headboards) and kitted out with high-quality amenities. One of the best rooms is Number Five, which has a bay window with a panoramic view over the city and a large bathroom with free-standing roll-top bath.

A substantial late-Georgian house, built in 1830 as a country home for the Duke of Wellington, Apsley House is probably Bath’s classiest b&b. The lounge, with its grand piano, gilt mirror, ruched curtains and leather armchairs, sets the refined tone. It opens through to an equally elegant breakfast room, laid out with a sense of occasion with white tablecloths; through its big bay windows are expansive views over the outskirts of Bath and the countryside beyond. The 12 bedrooms are individually furnished. However, common to all are antiques, graceful extras (hand mirrors and brushes on dressing tables), high-quality mod-cons and smart, modern beige marble bathrooms with Molton Brown toiletries.

This b&b occupies two Grade I-listed 18th-century townhouses. Once private homes, they were knocked together to form a hotel in 1919. The façade on Edward Street, with its double-bow frontage and pretty fanlight over the front door, is particularly striking. Inside, long sash windows and creaky floors abound, and furnishings are largely in keeping with the Georgian era. There are 17 attractive rooms which vary in style – some have coordinated, floral-patterned curtains and wallpaper; others oriental prints. Rooms on the lower floors typically have high ceilings and long sash windows, while those on the top floor are cosier.