Best British Lifetime Achievement Award

Chewton Glen is a luxury country house hotel that's been in private hands since 1966. That it’s still doing the business now, almost half a century on is impressive; that it’s still striving for new things to delight its guests with – with 12 new tree house suites set to open this year – isn’t just impressive, it’s remarkable.

Read our review of Chewton Glen.

Best British Newcomer

A tough category in what was something of a bumper year for new hotels in Britain. And the nominees are… The Zetter Townhouse, W Leicester Square and Corinthia Hotel London. But on balance the winner has got to be the St Pancras Renaissance. Why? Because it’s not every day that a classic is reborn.

Read our review of St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

Or see our pick of 2011's best new London hotels.

Best British Spa Hotel

It’s fair to say that the spa at Blythswood Square in Glasgow is a little bit special. Take the 'thermal experience' space, for instance: consisting of a hydro pool, a crystal steam room, sauna, vitality pool (where hydrotherapy jets soothe sore muscles), a laconium, a saunarium and a tepidarium (where there are heated, ergonomic loungers made of stone for napping on). Spa aside, it also doubles up as perhaps the best hotel in Scotland this year. A worthy winner.

Read our full review of Blythswood Square.

Or see our pick of the best day spa breaks.

Best Budget British Hotel

It’s not every year that we’re as blessed with so many new cheap places to stay in London. The Z Hotel Soho tops the pile, though, for its Soho setting and its stylish (if squeeze-y) rooms with their frosted glass wet rooms and Thierry Mugler smellies. Oh, and for rates that start at around £90 a night. Not bad, at all.

Read our full review of Z Hotel Soho.

Or see our pick of the best chic and cheap places to stay in London.

Best Small British Hotel

Perhaps our favourite category. And a couple of places stood out this yeart: 40 Winks in London, Randy Pike in the Lake District (each of which has only two rooms), 94DR up in Edinburgh and Westcroft Guesthouse down in Cornwall. But when all’s said and done, it had to be A Corner of Eden up in Cumbria, for its beautiful rooms, its complimentary nibbles and its romantic, if wild and woolly, setting. Gorgeous.

Read our review of A Corner of Eden.

Like our pick of the best British hotels? Check out all our places to stay in the UK.