Best honeymoon hotels for garden lovers

Your honeymoon is going to be the holiday to beat all holidays - so in choosing where you spend it, take time to have fun fantasising... then be practical. What (apart from total indulgence) will make the days delightful? We are assuming that, as you have asked to be given plants as presents, you may also enjoy visiting some of England's most celebrated gardens and with that in mind we have selected some stunning hotels to tempt you. We have personally visited them all and can vouch for their standard of excellence.

Gravetye Manor - The Sussex home of William Robinson, one of the great gardeners of all time is now well established as one of the best hotels in the country. You will be warm and comfortable and will receive more than excellent service and, if you can drag yourselves away from its own beautiful grounds you are within a few miles of Wakehurst Place: Kew Gardens country home where all aspects of gardening excel. Furthermore Vita Sackville West's romantic house and garden at Sissinghurst is not so far, and other National Trust treasures such as Standen, Nymans, Sheffield Park are all just round the corner.
www.gravetyemanor.co.uk

Whatley Manor - Set in the beautiful Cotswolds this new hotel is quite an experience. No expense has been spared to create a stylish, sophisticated and discretely luxurious environment. Its own original 1920 gardens have been meticulously restored and will delight you. Also, you will be within a few miles of the well know Westonbirt Arboretum which, apart from its 18,000 trees set in 600 acres, is recently famous for its cutting-edge garden exhibitions.
www.whatleymanor.com

Summer Lodge - Visiting this newly refurbished hotel is quite a sensual experience. The food sumptuous, the setting definitively English and the décor breathtakingly exotic. In every room colours and fabrics engulf one, it is fun and satisfying and quite a treat. Local gardens abound, including our favourite Stourhead.
www.summerlodgehotel.com

Chewton Glen - Consider this spa and country club if you desire the complete works. Set in acres of its own grounds you will be overwhelmed with wonderful things to do: boating, walking, riding, fishing, shooting, playing a round of golf or a game of croquet, visiting some of the nearby gardens (Kingston Lacy, Mottisfont, Exbury and Athelhapton) or perhaps you will want to spend the entirety of your honeymoon floating between their award winning spa and your five star room.
www.chewtonglen.com

Mallory Court - This breathtakingly beautiful country house hotel and award winning restaurant is surrounded by ten acres of landscaped gardens, located within the picturesque countryside on the doorstep to Warwick Castle, Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon and a wealth of National Trust properties.
www.mallory.co.uk

Tresanton - Succumb to heaven by the sea at Olga Polizzi's sensuously romantic retreat. Take your honeymoon on Cornwall's Riviera on the edge of the little village of St. Mawes and we guarantee that, intoxicated and refreshed by the mild climate and sea air, you will have begun a lifelong love affair with the Roseland peninsula . All rooms have stunning sea views in this small exclusive hotel and the food is delicious.
www.tresanton.com

Quite apart from our vote many of the above have the 'Relais et Chateau' stamp of approval.

If smart hotels are not quite your style you will be guaranteed to find somewhere lovely to stay if you search Alistair Sawday’s Special Places to Stay. Look out for ‘Bed and Breakfast for Garden Lovers’ guide book which list an irresistible collection of nearly 200 very special houses in Britain - and some in France - with gardens to match. www.specialplacestostay.com

If, however, all the above are out of the question on account of having spent every penny you had saved on the 'day', how about, tentongreekbeach.com! Cost: £0.00 It will be just as memorable, indeed you may not want to come home - until you remember that the garden needs watering...