A DEVON hotel has been named the UK’s number one hotel for romance in this year’s 2015 Travellers’ Choice awards for hotels, TripAdvisor has revealed today.

The Old Rectory in Martinhoe topped the UK and Europe’s most romantic hotels category. Located within the beautiful scenery of Exmoor National Park, the hotel also bagged second and third place respectively in the Small hotels UK and Europe lists and was named sixth in the UK and eighth in Europe for Best Service.

Huw Rees, owner of The Old Rectory, Martinhoe said, "We are absolutely thrilled to, again, have won this award and to have improved from number one hotel for Romance in the UK last year, to number one in Europe in 2015.

"It is hugely rewarding for the whole team here to get such consistently excellent reviews from our valued Guests. A big thank you to everybody who took the time to review their stay."

A TripAdvisor traveller reviewing their recent stay at The Old Rectory Hotel said, “Fabulous stay, from the moment we arrived to the time we left. Exceptional service and food, and an excellent wine cellar.”

Now in their 13th year, the awards honour the world’s most outstanding properties in the categories of Top Hotels, Bargain, B&Bs and Inns, Family, Luxury, Romance, and Small Hotels. Travellers’ Choice® award winners were determined based on the millions of reviews and opinions collected in a single year from TripAdvisor travellers worldwide.

“These awards recognise the finest hotels across the globe, according to those that really matter - the guests themselves.

"This year is particularly good news for the UK hotel industry, with the UK home to more of the world’s best rated properties than any other country,” commented James Kay, TripAdvisor spokesperson, “And with the ability to research, compare prices and book all on TripAdvisor, travellers looking to stay at a Travellers’ Choice winner can still grab a great deal.”

Other Devon winners include Gidleigh Park which scooped awards across four categories.

The Chagford hotel is named eighth in the UK for Romance, tenth for Luxury, 18th best-rated Small hotel and 23rd in the UK for Best Service.

Torquay’s Haytor Hotel bagged 12th place in the UK for Romance, nineteenth for Best Service and 22nd in the Small hotels category.

Britain still does the B&B best The UK has proved once again this year that it can’t be beaten when it comes to offering the best B&Bs in the world. Home to the best and second best B&B in the world, the UK also boasts ten of world’s top 25 – more than any other destination.

First place goes to Millgate Bed & Breakfast, located in Masham, North Yorkshire, where rooms can be booked through TripAdvisor from £38 per person, per night. Shola Coach House in Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, placed number two on the world list.

The UK’s top performer The UK winner of the Top Hotels category is the Haymarket Hotel, located in the heart of London’s theatre district, which also celebrates seventh in Europe and 20th in the world.

“The good news for all our winners is that they stand to gain more than just the prestige of an award title - a recent TripAdvisor survey showed that 83% of Brits say awards like this influence their decision to book a hotel,” commented James Kay, TripAdvisor spokesperson.

Luxury Maldives resort takes world title Gili Lankanfushi Maldives on the North Malé Atoll of the Maldives - where the average nightly rate is £1,144 - takes the title of world’s Top hotel for 2015 in this year’s awards.

If that is out of your budget, the good news is that there are plenty of great deals to be found among the world’s Top hotels.

For example, Shinta Mani Club Siem Reap in Cambodia, which ranks in at number three in this year’s awards, offers rooms at an average nightly rate of just £163.

Travellers’ Choice awards take into account the quality and quantity of traveller reviews and opinions and traveller ratings specific to each award category.

The hallmarks of Travellers’ Choice winners are remarkable service, quality and value.

For the complete list of 2015 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice® awards for hotels winners, go to http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravellersChoice. [please note this link will be live with the 2015 results on Wednesday 21st January].

Travellers can also follow the conversation on Twitter at #travellerschoice.