A hotel in Kent has been named the world’s best country retreat, fighting off competition from rivals in Majorca and France.

Boys Hall in Willesborough, Ashford, was awarded the accolade by the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Hotel Awards 2023 and has also picked up national recognition “despite its uninspiring location”.

After scouring the planet to find the best new and improved hotels, judges picked the venue in the historic manor house as the winner for its “thoughtful interior” and “homely air”.

Boys Hall opened in September last year after new owners Kristie and Bradley Lomas took over the Grade II-listed building in 2019.

The husband-and-wife duo saw potential in the historic building and combined their knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry to restore it while promising guests an “indulgent Kentish escape”.

They spent two years restoring and redecorating the manor which has nine luxury rooms, a pub and a fine-dining restaurant.

Announcing the winner, National Geographic’s website says: “The timbered Wealden hall house was built by aristocrat Thomas Boys in 1616, and has supposedly seen the likes of Charles I grace its delightfully wonky interiors.

“After years of transformation from a private home by owners Kristie and Brad Lomas, it’s now one of Britain’s most stunning country house hotels.

“Currently with just nine bedrooms (though more are planned), its intimate scale and thoughtful interior design — medieval enough to fit the structure, modern enough to feel stylish — lend a personable, homely air.

“Likewise the restaurant, set under a vaulted barn-like ceiling, lacks the stuffiness you’ll encounter at many other countryside manors, and serves up delights such as sticky brawn crumpet with kohlrabi.”

Rooms at Boys Hall start from £180 a night.

Runners-up for the category include The Lodge in Majorca which has a sprawling estate against the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range where rooms start from £380 per night.

Also a runner-up was La Nauve Cognac in France, which National Geographic says exudes a “modern Marie Antoinette-style grandeur”.

Rooms there start from £344 per night.

Boys Hall has also been named the best hotel in the south of England in The Good Hotel Guide which described it as “head and shoulders above your average restaurant with rooms”.

It added: “Despite the uninspiring location just five minutes from Ashford International, our inspectors were wowed by this gabled 17th-century manor which stands in ‘a secret garden oasis’.

“Bedrooms surpass the standards of many in top-quality country-house hotels, blending the glories of ages past with contemporary comforts.”

In August, the restaurant at Boys Hall also won the approval of notorious food critics and was added to the Michelin Guide.

Dishes on offer include whole grilled seabream, pork T-bone and crispy polenta.

The three-acre plot also has a rose garden, space for games on the front lawn, and a restaurant garden with produce planted by the Lomas family.

They hope to create further outdoor accommodation, re-open the Victorian walled garden, and introduce 'Boys Hall experiences' in the future.

In its history of more than 400 years, the building has been a home as well as being used to host weddings and conferences, and offering luxurious bed and breakfast accommodation.