Finding the perfect hotel in Europe should be so easy. It’s not as if we’re asking for the earth: we want somewhere small, friendly (probably family-run) and reasonably priced, with double helpings of charm and character. Not such a tall order, is it?

Oh yes it is — because the best little bolt holes don’t necessarily have the budget to advertise, even if they wanted to. They can’t launch a high-profile campaign like the flashy five-stars. And anyone, travel writers included, lucky enough to stumble on one is hardly going to tell everyone else. They go all Gollum-like and overprotective.

Until now. Because we’ve shamelessly bullied our team into handing over their most cherished secret places, the little spots of holiday heaven they escape to when they’re not on assignment for us. Some are trendy, others traditional; some by the sea, others tucked away in obscure corners of countryside; some verging on posh, others as cheap as chips. But all 20 feel like that most precious travel rarity — a real discovery.

1 AUBERGE DE LA QUATR’HEURIE

Beze, France

The classic village auberge? A roaring fire, beams, hanging hams, a host with muttonchops? This Burgundian spot has the lot, and a glint of wry humour. Corridors weave and creak; stairs show up where you least expect them, leading to one room, the Roméo & Juliette, that has a double bed, a double bath and an innovative double toilet — the idea of the owner, Michel Feuchot. (He also keeps donkeys.) Other rooms have four-posters, nooks, crannies and great-granny’s country clutter.

Downstairs, meat comes from the roasting spit to thick wooden tables, and the kids can play in a recreated classroom in the old barn. Outside, Beze is one of the loveliest villages in Burgundy, and Dijon is half an hour — but half a world — away.

00 33 3 80 75 30 13, www.quatrheurie.com; doubles from £46, room-only. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to Lyons, 150 miles away

2 CHATEAU DE LA BARRE

Conflans-sur-Anille, France

It’s intimidating, of course, rolling up to a 15th-century chateau where the count and countess are the 20th generation to call this pile their home. But relax. In his forties, Guy de Vanssay is an ebullient enthusiast for pretty much everything. The Anglo-American countess has brought charm, beauty and intelligence to the French aristocracy. (Okay, I’m smitten.)

Between them, they’ve breathed warmth and colour — yellows, blues, reds — into the venerable place, brightening the antique, ancestral integrity. Dinner is lively, the grounds await strollers and, beyond, the Perche region undulates away south to the Loire. It’s France’s best château chambres d’hôtes by a stretch.

00 33 2 43 35 00 17, www.chateaudelabarre.com; doubles from £122, B&B. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Tours, 45 miles away

3 LES TOURELLES

Le Crotoy, France

The Somme estuary is as big as a small sea, and seriously beautiful. Perched on its rim, Les Tourelles has apparently escaped from a medieval theme park, and is seriously red. All over, including the damsel-in-distress towers. Inside, comfortable coastal chic takes over, all planks, plants and artful clutter. It’s like staying at the seaside with the looser sort of aunt and uncle.

The bar doubles as a lounge, full of games and stuff for kids, who dart in and out with sand on their feet. Bedrooms are stripped-down simple — little need for decor when the bay’s beyond the window. The relaxed restaurant is smart, with fish. Along the way run huge beaches and the Marquenterre bird park. And it’s but 70 minutes from Calais.

00 33 3 22 27 16 33, www.lestourelles.com; doubles from £44, room-only. P&O (www.poferries.com) sails from Dover to Calais

4 ABBAYE DE VALLOIRES

Argoules, France

While everyone else gets out of the Eurotunnel and floors it until they reach the Loire or the Dordogne, the few people who dare to meander their way only as far as the environs of Montreuil, a smidgen more than an hour south of Calais, will be in for a treat. Not only are the D roads just as pretty and meandering, but up one of the windiest of them is the Abbaye et Jardins de Valloires. This is the quintessential 18th-century chateau. If they had any sense, they would have stuffed the rooms with roll-top baths, pretentious shampoo and Egyptian-cotton pillow cases, then charged £300 per night for the pleasure. Luckily, they forgot to do that. The furnishings are perfectly decent, and if you book one of the suites (which you must), the views are life-affirming. All for as little as £61 per night, room-only. Madness.

00 33 3 22 29 62 33, www.abbaye-valloires.com. P&O (www.poferries.com) sails from Dover to Calais

5 EL JUNCAL

Ronda, Spain

There’s a peculiarly British country-house feel to El Juncal. It’s definitely Spanish — the hotel is in a converted bodega, and the beautiful, olive-skinned staff are Andalusian to the core — but the outdoor pool is cut into an immaculate lawn, fit for croquet, and cocktails are served on the shaded veranda with a reverential promptness that pooh-poohs siesta. On the inside, things are turned on their head again. The nine rooms are like gallery spaces, with completely white decor; in the communal areas, the minimalist look is disturbed only by a lone lime-green armchair or a tangerine Perspex coffee table. El Juncal’s contradictions must be born of its location, just outside medieval Ronda — an ancient town with a thumping young heart.

00 34 952 161170, www.eljuncal.com; doubles from £86, room-only. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Malaga, 67 miles away

6 HOSTAL DEL SOL

Roses, Spain

If you’ve come to the refined Costa Brava resort of Roses to dine at El Bulli, you probably need to scrimp a bit on the sleeping arrangements. Hostal del Sol is the spot: with no pool, no lifts and no pretensions, this family-run favourite is crammed full of local art (don’t sniff — Dali and Picasso lived up the road), and, as long as you book a room at the back, overlooking the beach, you’ll be sitting on your terrace under an almond tree, grinning like someone who got something for nothing.

00 34 972 256037; doubles from £34, B&B. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Gerona, 43 miles away

7 FINCA BUENVINO

Aracena, Spain

Sam and Jeannie Chesterton have created something unexpected here — a congenial, Woosterish country-house party in the forested mountains of western Andalusia. Their faded candyfloss palacio has a pool terrace for soaking up silence and a communal lounge ideal for taking on liberal quantities of sherry and swapping tales with fellow guests. But this is no little England. The Chestertons were recently adopted as members of their nearest village; Jeannie shares her knowledge of Andalusian cuisine on regular courses; and Sam’s the man for guidance on the Sierra de Aracena’s finest resource — its walking trails. Pack stiff boots and expect stiff gins.

00 34 959 124034, www.fincabuenvino.com; doubles from £95, B&B. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Seville, 60 miles away

8 PORTIXOL

Palma, Mallorca

It’s a rare combination of ingredients that makes this Swedish-owned, Scandic-chic seafront hotel so special. One, location: it’s just that little bit adrift from mainstream Palma, in a small harbour village 20 minutes’ walk to the east. Two, the unlikeliness of having to share your escape with other Brits. Three, the place itself. It has a light, spacious, boaty feel, a good restaurant (top seafood), a lively bar, a gym, a large pool and 24 rooms of muted colours, wood floors and big beds with crisp white linens. All in all, a bit of a find.

00 34 971 271800, www.portixol.com; doubles from £143, B&B. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Palma, 3 miles away

9 CASAMAR

Llafranc, Spain

On paper, a modest two-star place with 18 rooms on a much-maligned stretch of coast wouldn’t warrant a second thought, let alone a booking. But Casamar is a treat, and the Costa Brava setting is spot-on. Turn left on the coastal footpath and it’s two minutes to the wide, sandy beach at Llafranc; turn right and a pine-shaded 20-minute stroll above a stretch of knobbly granite shore will bring you to the could-be-Andalusian fishing village of Calella. But it’s hard to prise yourself away from the lazy lunches and romantic dinners on the Casamar’s terrace. The family do everything right, from stylish cooking to contemporary fixtures — and it’s yours for a ridiculous price (assuming you can beat the Spanish regulars).

00 34 972 300104; doubles from £59, room-only. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Gerona, 37 miles away

10 LA CORTE DE LUGAS

Lugas, Spain

Up, up and up from Villaviciosa into the Asturian hills, and finally you reach the open-faced farming hamlet of Lugas. La Corte is baronial of aspect, all wood, stone, beams, grand fireplace and portraits of Asturian kings round the hall. Rooms are as the rural monarchs would want them if they returned today and learnt 21st-century hygiene habits. Views are outstanding, as is the family welcome: the Union flag flies for British visitors. Brother and sister look after that, while Mum cooks the best fabada(pork and bean stew) around — fuel for tackling the Picos de Europa or the craggy Asturian coast.

00 34 985 890203, www.lacortedelugas.com; doubles from £73, B&B. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Asturias, 48 miles away

11 EISENHUT

Rothenburg, Germany

Rothenburg, “the best-preserved medieval town in Germany”, has its critics. Spruced up to Disney levels, they scoff. But who wants real historical squalor? Give me spruce every time. And the Eisenhut, on the main street, gets the balance right. Created from 16th-century town houses, it retains the past’s rich texture — wood, stone, tapestries, haphazard layout — but adds a modern gloss.

Rooms are bright (go for those over the River Tauber), the food is hearty and there are gardens out back. A fine base for the Tauber valley and nearby wine country.

00 49 9861 7050, www.eisenhut.com; doubles from £106, room-only. Air Berlin (www.airberlin.com) flies to Nuremberg, 76 miles away Emilia (15) has a private beach

12 HOTEL VILLA MICHELANGELO

Arcugnano, Italy

Tom Cruise knows nothing. If he wanted to nuptialise in Italy, it should have been here. Perhaps he tried, and perhaps (I hope) the family owners shooed him away. They run a noble ship. The stately 18th-century building is trimmed with columns, pools, terraces, trees and splendid gardens, from where — after a classy dinner, with grappa in hand — you may look down on the countryside and wonder how the peasantry’s getting on. Rooms are as elegant as you’d expect, and after breakfast on the terrace, Palladio’s city, Vicenza, awaits.

00 39 0444 550300, www.hotelvillamichelangelo.com; doubles from £119, B&B. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to Verona, 44 miles away

13 LA RIPOLINA

Buonconvento, Italy

Close your eyes, if you will, and picture Tuscany. Its endless ruffled hills, vineyards and woods are just a medieval caravan short of perfection. Behind you is an old stone village; before you, an isolated farmstead. This is La Ripolina, its farmhouse weather-beaten to exacting Tuscan standards. Inside, agriturismo simplicity has been subtly tweaked for the comfort-seeking classes. Breakfast is on the loggia, dinner in nearby villages, with the interim spent swimming, cycling or resting whichever part of you needs resting. Tuscany does this well, and La Ripolina is as Tuscan as you get.

00 39 0577 282280; doubles from £57, B&B. Meridiana (www.meridiana.it) flies to Florence, 68 miles away

14 VILLA BROCCHI COLONNA

Bassano del Grappa, Italy

The gardens are classily unkempt, and the manorial building is pink ochre from the outside. Inside, modern renovation work must have strained the world’s marble supplies. Mother and daughter welcome you with a smiling grace born of generations of good breeding. No doubt about it — you’re among the Bassano agristocracy, and jolly glad to be so. The family’s vines and olive trees climb up hills all around. Behind, Bassano nestles by its river in a fug of grappa liquor (or perhaps that was just me). The bedrooms have wonderful feminine style, and Italy’s leading collection of homemade jams and pastries is on offer for breakfast.

00 39 0424 501580, www.villabrocchicolonna.it; doubles from £68, B&B. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Treviso, 30 miles away

15 EMILIA

Portonovo, Italy

It sits all alone on top of a cliff in the middle of the Conero natural park, above one of the most attractive — and least developed — stretches of coast on the Med. How did the Emilia get planning permission?

Maybe it’s best not to ask. We’re glad it did, though: the ambience is laid-back yet sophisticated, the 27-bedroom building is crisp, white and contemporary (lots of abstract art) but the cooking is reassuringly traditional, with plenty of recipes from granny Emilia. There’s a huge pool, a tennis court and a free shuttle to the private beach.

00 39 071 801145, www.hotelemilia.com; doubles from £95, B&B; Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Ancona, 7 miles away

16 STARI GRAD

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Apart from the six-star Pucic Palace, this is the only hotel inside the romantic ramparts of old Dubrovnik — turn left and within seconds you’re on shimmery Stradun, the marbled main street. Stari Grad is ferreted away in a trademark Dubrovnian alleyway, so narrow that you could reach out of the window and shake hands with your neighbour opposite. The rooms (just a single and a double on each of four floors) are snug, spick and not without character — mahogany furniture, flagged floors. At the bottom of the stairs is a denlike lobby with assorted architectural oddities: a stone font, a water pump, fakey frescos. At the top is the Stari Grad’s star turn: a tiny breakfast terrace teetering right among the chimneytops, where you can have hot coffee and a heated debate about whether you’re looking at Europe’s loveliest roofscape.

00 38 5 20 322 244, www.hotelstarigrad.com; doubles from £80, B&B. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to Dubrovnik

17 KALI ART INN

Koveskal, Hungary

The worn wooden floors of this 19th-century merchant’s mansion, hidden in a tiny village a few miles from Lake Balaton, echoed to the sound of riding boots during interminable Balkan wars, when it served as a mess for rowdy cavalry officers. Now more peaceful, but still stuffed with original knickknacks (old gramophones, fascinating early photography), it’s a retreat for Budapest’s creative set — hence the wonderfully light art studio in the eaves. The English is halting, but the welcome’s warm, the food’s fantastic (as long as you’re a carnivore) and the local Otello red, stored in the cellar, is a knockout — literally. The bigger rooms in the old barn at the back are best. Free bike hire, and a stable nearby, will help you to explore the lovely country round about.

00 36 87 706090, www.kali-art. com; doubles from £83, B&B. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com ) flies to Balaton, 25 miles away

18 MARCO POLO MANSION

Rhodes, Greece

Tucked away on a quiet lane in Rhodes’s old town, this 15th-century Ottoman house looks unremarkable — until you step inside. There are three charming garden rooms, but the four in the house steal the show: the harem, the domed hammam and the two antique rooms are all painted in rich, sun-softened pigments and adorned with superb furnishings, carpets and fabrics from India, Turkey and the Greek islands. In the evening, when the garden cafe opens to the public, Efi Dede prepares traditional Greek mezedes while her husband, Spiros, mixes the drinks. If it feels like a bunch of friends having a house party, that’s because it is — many guests return year after year.

00 30 22410 25562, www.geocities.com/marcopolomansion; open April to October; doubles from £61, B&B. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to Rhodes, 9 miles away

19 TAS OTEL

Alacati, Turkey

A fine two-storey merchant’s house, lovingly restored by Mrs Ozis, Tas has been reborn as a delightful six-room hotel, with whitewashed walls, pale-blue window frames, antique furniture, a small pool, a veranda to help with the summer sun, and an enticing log fire in the lounge to relieve winter chills. Staff are friendly, and so, despite his rather lugubrious looks, is Olom, the owner’s golden retriever. The Cesme peninsula is famous for its beaches, world-class windsurfing and old Greek windmills, but at night there’s no better place to be than the village’s mini main street, favoured by arty Izmiris and lined by good restaurants, craft shops and bars.

00 90 232 716 7772, www.tasotel.com; doubles from £59, B&B. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to Izmir, 45 miles away

20 BUDIR

Snaefellsnes, Iceland

That’s enough of the Mediterranean: let’s close with something completely different. If being humbled to silence by nature’s fearsome majesty is what you want from a holiday, look no further than this remote yet cosy subArctic bolt hole. The north Atlantic at its most untamed batters the pretty building’s treble-glazed windows, and the glacier-topped volcano that looms behind it was the departure point for Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Wrap up warm, hire a jolly little Icelandic horse and trot between the shipwrecks up an eight-mile swathe of unpeopled golden sand; wrap up warmer and lie down in the lava moss for a superlative view of the northern lights.

In between, fortify yourself in a restaurant hailed as the birthplace of modern Icelandic cuisine. With plenty of puffin on the menu’s left-hand column, and some eyewatering prices on the right, you can really go to town on those “preposterous bill” jokes.

00 354 435 6700, www.hotelbudir.is ; doubles from £114, B&B. Iceland Express (www.icelandexpress.com) flies to Keflavik, a two-hour drive away

Compiled by Stephen Bleach, Katie Bowman, Vincent Crump, Dana Facaros, Richard Green, Chris Haslam, Tim Moore, Anthony Peregrine, Matt Rudd, Brian Schofield and David Wickers

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