Hotels in Windsor

Windsor is small enough that no hotel in the town is genuinely inconvenient, so the decision is less about distance and more about what you want your evenings to feel like. The High Street and Castle Hill are the premium address: from a room here you look at floodlit castle walls, you can be at the guard change in three minutes, and every restaurant in the centre is within a short walk. The trade-off is noise and price: the High Street carries coach traffic all day, and castle-facing rates are the highest in the county.

Dropping down towards Thames Street and the river changes the character. Buildings here are older and lower, several of the hotels have river or bridge views, and both railway stations are a couple of minutes away, which matters if you are commuting into London or arriving from Heathrow. It is also the natural base for anyone planning boat trips or towpath walks.

Over the bridge, Eton offers the same access at a calmer pitch. The High Street's inns and small hotels are Georgian, the rooms are more individual, and once the day visitors have gone the street belongs to residents and college staff. Windsor Castle is still only a seven-minute walk.

The best value sits in the Victorian streets north and west of the centre - Alma Road, Clarence Road, Oxford Road - where a run of family-run guest houses and B&Bs charge a fraction of the castle-view rates for a ten-minute walk. Many have their own parking, which is worth more in Windsor than it sounds given how expensive and how full the town car parks become.

Finally, the ring of country-house hotels and riverside inns around Water Oakley, Bray and Old Windsor works well for drivers, for families heading to Legoland, and for anyone who would rather have grounds and quiet than a castle view. Whichever you choose, book early for June and July, and expect rates to climb sharply around Royal Ascot week and any royal event at the castle.