Where to stay

Types of accommodation in Britain

Hostels, B&Bs, inns, hotels, cottages, campsites, farms and historic houses: what each is like, what to check, and where our guides list examples.

Facts last checked Nov 1, 2026. Britlens is independent: see our editorial policy.

Honey-coloured stone front of the Lygon Arms on the high street in Broadway — The Lygon Arms, Broadway, CotswoldsPhoto: Jeff Buck, CC BY-SA 2.0

Row of old stone cottages at Arlington Row, Bibury, in the Cotswolds — Cottages at Arlington Row, BiburyPhoto: Saffron Blaze, CC BY-SA 3.0

Loch Morlich with the snow-flecked Cairngorm mountains behind — Loch Morlich, CairngormsPhoto: dave conner, CC BY 2.0

VisitBritain describes the range: hotels from country estates to city towers, B&Bs, pubs with rooms, hostels, camping and caravans, self-catering and unusual stays such as castles and shepherds’ huts. It says booking off-peak is likely to be cheapest.^[1] Our examples come from the stays listed in our region area guides (OpenStreetMap or the property’s own site).^[2]

Accommodation types and how many examples our guides list
Type	In short	Examples in our guides
Hostels and bunkhouses	Shared dorms or private rooms, usually with a guest kitchen.	72
B&Bs and guest houses	Rooms in a smaller, often family-run house, with breakfast.	293
Inns and pubs with rooms	Rooms above or beside a pub, often in an old coaching inn.	118
Hotels	From budget chains to grand country-house hotels.	833
Self-catering: cottages and apartments	Your own kitchen, from a city flat to a country cottage.	76
Camping, caravans and glamping	Campsites, static caravans, pods, huts and other outdoor stays.	34
Farm stays	B&B, self-catering or glamping on a working farm.	5
Country houses, castles and historic stays	Rooms or whole buildings in historic houses, inns and castles.	28

More help choosing

Where to stay, region by region: which area suits whom
Busy dates for booking rooms
Travelling with pets and accessible travel

Sources

Read on the dates shown. Rules, dates and services change: check the source before you rely on it. Pages marked “not read” refused automated access, so we state nothing from them beyond their existence.

Accommodation options (opens in new tab), VisitBritain, read Nov 1, 2026
Copyright and licence (opens in new tab), OpenStreetMap, read Nov 1, 2026