WELCOME to the 12th best B&B in the world!

The Suenos Guest House, in Eastern Esplanade, Southend, has been recognised by travel bible TripAdvisor after receiving a string of glowing reviews.

Teresa and Neil Jones, both 42, only opened the guest house 18 months ago, but that hasn’t stopped them racking up the plaudits.

Last year, the Suenos became the first in Southend to be given a five star rating by the Quality in Tourism board and was later given a Breakfast Award by the same organisation because of the high quality of its locally-sourced and home-cooked fare.

The couple were on holiday in Mexico when they heard about their latest accolade.

Mrs Jones said: “A friend texted me saying she’d heard about it. We are overwhelmed, but it’s only thanks to the people who took the time to write a review.

“January is the only time of year we can get away. We close down as we wouldn’t want anyone else to run the guest house for us. We opened on Monday and we’re already filling up. It’s great and I think we are going to have a very busy summer as we’re already taking loads of bookings The couple bought the former Arosa guest house and renovated it for the “top end of the market”

making it an adults-only experience, ideal for those wanting a break to Southend without the kids.

As well as being named 12th best in the world in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards, Suenos came 10th in Europe and sixth in the UK.

Lawton Court Hotel, in Llandudno, topped the world’s best bargain hotel category, while Millgate B&B, in Masham, was named the world’s number one B&B in the awards, which are in their 13th year.

TripAdvisor uses reviews to rank the world’s most outstanding properties in the categories of top hotels, bargain, B&Bs and inns, family, luxury, romance, and small hotels.

James Kay, TripAdvisor spokesman said: “What makes our award different is it is not a judging panel, but thousands of reviews over the year. There were well over 800,000 last year, so to be in the top 25 is an incredible achievement.”