2 Best Hotels in Shrewsbury, Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England

This delightful, elegant townhouse in the popular Wyle Cop area of Shrewsbury is stylish and modern where it counts—in the chic bar area and adjoining restaurant—but nevertheless has plenty of character in its wonky floors and oak beams. The bright, light-hued rooms come with crisp linens, wrought-iron bedsteads, and pocket-sprung mattresses, and have decent bathrooms. The town's main attractions are within walking distance, as long as you can manage some hills.

Lovely gardens surround this moated Tudor manor house, originally the home of the Hussey family, which dates back to 1524; black-and-white half-timbering combines with a later redbrick-and-stone extension. Beams, oak paneling, four-poster beds, and antiques enhance rooms in the original building, for which you should book well ahead (though they may be too old-fashioned for some); those in the extension are plainer. The hotel is a few miles north of Shrewsbury on the A528.