Best Staycations
20 February 2026
Let us be honest: the way a hotel looks matters. Not in a shallow, surface-level way, but in the sense that beautiful surroundings genuinely enhance the experience of being somewhere. The best hotels understand this. They create environments that feel special from the moment you walk through the door, spaces where every corner has been considered, every view framed with intention.
We are not talking about hotels that have been designed purely for social media. The places on this list are photogenic because they are genuinely beautiful, not because they have installed a neon sign that reads "Good Vibes Only" above the reception desk. These are hotels where the architecture, the landscape, and the interior design come together to create something worth photographing, and more importantly, worth experiencing.
What Makes a Hotel Truly Photogenic
The most Instagrammable hotels share certain qualities. First, they tend to have a strong sense of place. They look like they belong exactly where they are, whether that is perched on a Pembrokeshire clifftop or nestled in a Devon woodland. Second, they have distinctive architecture, something that sets them apart from the generic. Third, they pay attention to detail: the breakfast table, the bathroom, the view from the bed.
But the truly photogenic hotels go beyond aesthetics. They create an atmosphere that makes you want to capture the moment, not for your followers, but for yourself. That is the difference between a hotel that looks good on screen and one that feels extraordinary in person.
The Hotels
Nymetwood Treehouses, Devon
Nymetwood is the kind of place that makes you question why you ever stay anywhere else. These Scandinavian-inspired treehouses sit in ancient Devon woodland, elevated among the canopy on slender stilts. The design is immaculate: clean lines, floor-to-ceiling glass, pale timber, and copper fixtures. Each treehouse has a private hot tub on its deck, and the views through the trees are magical at every hour, but particularly at dawn when mist threads through the branches below. The interiors are minimal but warm, with sheepskin throws, handmade ceramics, and a wood-burning stove that fills the space with the scent of applewood. Photography barely does it justice, but people try.
Roch Castle Hotel, Pembrokeshire
We have mentioned Roch in our castle guide, but it deserves a place here too. The combination of twelfth-century stone walls and contemporary interiors, with those extraordinary floor-to-ceiling windows framing the Pembrokeshire coast, creates images that are genuinely arresting. The light in Pembrokeshire is exceptional, particularly in the golden hour before sunset when the castle seems to glow against the darkening sky.
100 Princes Street, Edinburgh
A Georgian townhouse on Edinburgh's most famous street, 100 Princes Street is a masterclass in elegant interiors. The rooms are decorated with a confidence and flair that reflects Edinburgh's creative scene, with bold art, rich textiles, and views across Princes Street Gardens to the castle that are arguably the finest in the city. The rooftop terrace, available to all guests, offers a panorama that encompasses Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill, and the castle simultaneously.
Chewton Glen Treehouses, New Forest
Chewton Glen is a legendary country house hotel, but it is the treehouses that have captured the public imagination. Set in the hotel's grounds, these luxury suites are perched among the treetops and connected to the forest floor by a suspended walkway. The interiors are lavish: marble bathrooms, king-size beds, and a hot tub on a private deck overlooking the canopy. The contrast between the rustic exterior and the luxurious interior is precisely what makes them so compelling to photograph.
Foxhill Manor, Cotswolds
Foxhill Manor operates on a house-party model: you book the entire property or individual suites, but the atmosphere is always that of a private country house rather than a hotel. The interiors are decorated with an effortless style that mixes antiques with contemporary art, deep sofas with Persian rugs, and everywhere you look there is something worth pausing over. The kitchen garden, the croquet lawn, the views across the Cotswolds from the terrace: Foxhill is photogenic in the way that beautiful homes are, rather than in the way that designed-for-Instagram spaces tend to be.
Treeopia, Midlands
A newcomer to the treehouse scene, Treeopia has quickly established itself as one of the most visually striking places to stay in Britain. The treehouses are bold and architectural, with geometric forms that contrast dramatically with the organic shapes of the surrounding woodland. Floor-to-ceiling glazing brings the forest inside, and the interiors blend industrial materials with natural textures to create spaces that feel both modern and rooted in their landscape.
Haven Hall Hotel, Isle of Wight
A Victorian villa perched on the cliffs above Shanklin, Haven Hall Hotel has the kind of setting that film location scouts dream about. The gardens tumble down towards the sea, and the views from the upper rooms stretch across the Solent to the mainland. The interiors are elegant and restrained, with a colour palette that draws from the coastal landscape. But it is the grounds that steal the show: terraced gardens filled with subtropical plants, stone steps leading down to hidden viewpoints, and that ever-present backdrop of the English Channel.
Foreland Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, Devon
There are very few places in Britain where you can sleep in a lighthouse keeper's cottage, and Foreland is the finest of them. The cottage sits at the most northerly point of Devon, where the Bristol Channel meets the Atlantic, and the views in every direction are nothing but sea and sky. The cottage has been simply but beautifully restored, with whitewashed walls, nautical details, and windows that frame the most extraordinary sunsets. At night, the beam of the lighthouse sweeps overhead. It is, quite simply, unforgettable.
The Granary at Coes Vineyard, Sussex
A converted granary set among the vines of a working Sussex vineyard, this property offers something genuinely different. The building has been renovated with real sensitivity, retaining the original timber frame and brick floors while adding contemporary comforts. The view from the terrace, across rows of vines to the South Downs beyond, is quintessentially English and thoroughly photogenic. In autumn, when the leaves turn gold and the harvest is underway, it is particularly beautiful.
Lanrick Treehouses, Trossachs
Set in ancient woodland in the Trossachs, Lanrick offers eco-treehouses that are designed to tread lightly on the landscape. The structures are built from sustainable timber and sit among mature oaks and birches, with views across the forest to the hills beyond. The design is simple but considered, with woodburning stoves, outdoor bathtubs, and private decks that extend into the canopy. Scotland's light, which shifts from silver to gold throughout the day, makes this an exceptionally rewarding place to photograph.
Photography Tips for Hotel Stays
The best hotel photographs are taken in the first and last hours of daylight, when the light is warm and directional. Arrive early enough to explore the grounds before sunset, and set an alarm for dawn at least one morning. The effort is always worthwhile.
Use the architecture to frame your shots. Doorways, windows, and corridors create natural frames that draw the eye into the image. Look for reflections in glass, water, and polished surfaces. Pay attention to details: a breakfast table set for two, steam rising from a hot tub, the texture of old stone.
Above all, put the phone down occasionally and simply look. The most photogenic hotels reward those who take the time to be present in them. The photograph is a memento of the experience, not a substitute for it.
