5 of the best hotels with incredible gardens

First comes the fanfare of camellias, then the magnolia, and finally the blowsy azalea in the wondrous gardens of Villa d’Este, Italy’s iconic historical hotel. Lording it over the sunniest corner of Lake Como, the vast acreage of lawn is punctuated by formal classical statuary and box hedging, while grand gravel pathways and fountains lead towards the focal point of the Renaissance mosaic nymphaeum, one of the most photographed landmarks in Italy. Look out for a hidden door, which leads into a secret two-bedroom apartment with sweeping views across the estate.

Studded with cypress trees and surrounded by 57 acres of vineyard, Provençal estate Bastide de Marie is home to shell-pink roses and the lavender fields this region is so famous for. Housed in an 18th-century farmhouse, the hotel is a lush paradise in summer when the restaurant spreads under the shade of the giant plane trees, and bees hover over the fountain that trickles into the former fishponds-turned-two-tiered swimming pool. The 14 rooms are simple and comfortable, sprinkled with local antiques, and there’s even a romantic gypsy caravan in the garden (perfect for two).

This vast 3,500-acre estate with an Elizabethan manor house at its heart delivers wholesome and organic menus almost uniquely from the produce grown in the kitchen garden or from within a 25-mile radius. Days at The Pig can be spent lounging in the garden folly, which has been semi-restored as an indoor/outdoor bar, with a dining area complete with wood-fired oven and oversized wooden trestle tables. In the Beatrix Potter-style vegetable garden, there are fruit cages draped with edible flowers, gooseberries and white Alpine strawberries, while the charming potting sheds have been transformed into treatment rooms for sensational massages.