Close to home

Take your pick from our edit of fabulous flight-free English breaks

- FEATURE ELLEN FINCH, PIP RICH, GILDA BRUNO

Louma, Dorset

It's rare that a hotel feels like it's truly perfect in every single way, but there is a real sense of magic at Louma. Perched on top of a hill in Dorset, its vineyards stretching down to the coast, this is where to come if you want to sip the hotel's own wine, eat lunch and feel like you're in France.

But who needs France when this family- and dog-friendly hotel has it all: pools indoor and out, a spa, wellness workshops, horses, pigs, and most food grown on site. This is Soho Farmhouse on a smaller, more intimate scale, made for those who have tired of going where everyone else goes and are seeking a bucolic boutique experience instead.

Design notes

Unbelievably, the in-house design team had never worked on a hotel before, having only done the owner's private properties, but their clever matching of fabrics from Christopher Farr Cloth and Jane Churchill with pieces from Soho Home and George Smith has created an assured style. Rooms come with their own kitchen facilities (though the food at the restaurants is so good you're unlikely to need them) and each one feels secluded and special. Louma is a place you go to feel looked after – the very best of British. loumafarmandretreat.co.uk

The July, London

You rarely get better connected than a hotel being a three-minute walk from London's Victoria station (and one minute from the musical