6 Best Hotels in Manchester, Liverpool, and the Peak District, England

An intimate retreat within a hectic city, this boutique town-house B&B has a delightful setting on a cobbled lane in Liverpool’s charming Georgian Quarter. The focal point is the lounge, with its elegant gentleman’s club feel, but there's also a basement contemporary art gallery curated by a leading collector based in Berlin and Antwerp and open to guests by request. You're within easy walking distance to many of the city’s most exciting dining options, but stay here for the glorious in-house breakfasts of local produce, with a vast array of choices. The four stunning rooms have freestanding tubs—one in the sleeping area itself.

In a pretty village on the Chatsworth Estate just a 20-minute walk from Chatsworth House itself, this intimate hotel oozes history as well as a quintessentially English country-house style that stems partly from the use of original furniture and artwork from Chatsworth. Rooms are as cozy as can be, while the welcoming lounge has a real fire. The award-winning Gallery Restaurant serves upscale, innovative comfort food including a stupendous Sunday lunch, with many of the first-rate ingredients sourced from the estate or the Chatsworth Farm Shop. The estate also includes a collection of around 25 stunning "boltholes" (cottages) that also combine a country-house feel with coziness and are ideal for those spending some time walking in the area. They include a 16th-century Hunting Tower, built for Bess of Hardwick; the Russian Cottage, inspired by a model gifted to the 6th Duke of Devonshire by a czar's brother; and an old washhouse.

Right by Peveril Castle, this former coaching inn—also known as The Castle and reputed to be haunted—has rooms that blend modern convenience and slick bathrooms with original features such as old wooden beams and exposed stone walls. The cozy pub and restaurant serves seasonal local fare.

Now part of the same group as the Buxton Crescent Hotel, this property overlooking the ornate Buxton Opera House occupies a refurbished 16th-century building claiming to be England's oldest hotel and rumored to have once accommodated Mary, Queen of Scots. Rooms are individually decorated in a classic style; a couple have four-poster beds. The Cockerel Wine Bar is popular with theatergoers, who stoke up on its hearty dishes; there's also a more formal restaurant on-site.

Huge beds and luxury bedding demonstrate the hosts' commitment to guest comfort at this intimate B&B in a former gentleman's residence. There's also a lovely garden with views across the valley towards Riber Castle. The airy drawing room has daily newspapers, books, music, and DVDs, and there are full Derbyshire breakfasts plus the option of homemade afternoon tea.