Luxury family holidays in the UK
Children do find wonder in the little things, but luxury family holidays in the UK have a lot more to offer than muddy puddles and rock pools. Think cinema snugs, games rooms, garden parties, and tennis courts.
Little ones see everything through rainbow-tinted spectacles, making travelling with children and babies an eye-opening experience. What was once mundane becomes a shiny sparkle, the smallest puddles can become a tumultuous ocean voyage, and those gnarled and twisted trees on the wilderness walk are now tall, turreted towers that must be scaled. While there's nothing like the magic of exploring a new place through the little ones' eyes, luxury family holidays in the UK happen when there's just as much enchantment to be found inside as out.
Outside, there's secret gardens and topiary mazes. Inside, there's fairytale four poster beds and movie projectors. Head out with sunhats on, pointing in awe at clouds shaped like giraffes, then return to pizza and playgrounds. All the better enjoyed with grandparents in tow, multi-generational group gatherings allow parents to sneak off for moonlit dips in heated swimming pools, or pop open a bottle of bubbles in the hot tub under Cornwall's starry skies. Time spent together is time well spent, after all, and memories are made of this.
Elissa
Cirencester, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Surrounded by miles of undulating countryside, this luxury self-catering home is all about life’s simple pleasures; drawn-out pub lunches, rural rambles and evenings in the hot tub.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests (2 adults and 2 children)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,695 per week, £1,295 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub
Under the Yew Tree
Syde, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Enter a modernised Cotswolds homestead of Anglo-Saxon parentage; with sacrosanct paintings and limewashed walls, Under the Yew Tree is the early medieval darling of Cheltenham.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,950 per week, £1,450 per short break
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome
The Walled Garden
Dyrham, Bath, The Cotswolds, UK
Perhaps the most ornate vegetable store in the whole of England, The Walled Garden began life as a potato house for Dyrham Park. This romantic retreat sits on the western edge of the Cotswolds, not far from Bath and all its gleaming treasures.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,895 per week, £1,395 per short break
Pets: One small well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Fire pit, use of the owners´ tennis court
The Flower Press
Bibury, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Emerald green in spring and fire red in autumn, creeper-clad cottage The Flower Press is a restful self-catering retreat nestled in the welcoming arms of quintessential Bibury. Snow-white walls, candelabras, chandeliers and vibrant gardens brimming with anemones bring a feel of modern-day Provence to this gorgeous old Cotswold manse.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,595 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs over the age of 12 months are welcome
The Ruby Barn
Sandford St Martin, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, The Cotswolds, UK
Bringing a touch of Californian chicness to the Oxfordshire countryside, this luxury Cotswold stone barn conversion has been fashioned with soul.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £2,350 per week, £1,795 per short break
Pets: Two well behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Children´s play area with slide
Margot´s Townhouse
Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, The Cotswolds, UK
A greenery-infused internal courtyard brings a burst of botany to this luxury self-catering home in Bradford-on-Avon, in which storied libraries and earthen marble add an opulent timbre to an eighteenth-century weaver’s townhouse near Bath.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 & Up to 2 guests
From: £2,250 per week, £1,695 per short break
Pets: One small well-behaved dog is welcome
Atticus
Burford, Oxfordshire, The Cotswolds, UK
Treacle-toned Cotswold stone, iron gates and heavy antique doors hint at this striking home’s colourful past. Once a court house and a later jail, Atticus can be found jostling amongst a row of fine period buildings at the end of Burfords' golden high street.
Sleeps: Up to 8 guests
From: £3,395 per week, £2,550 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Baby Grand Piano and fire pit
Evania
Bentham, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Inspired by the colours and countryside of the Mediterranean, this Gloucestershire home with heated outdoor swimming pool and hot tub, is the perfect family retreat.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 & Up to 4 guests
From: £4,750 per week, £3,750 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Outdoor heated swimming pool (May - September), hot tub, outdoor kitchen area with built-in gas barbecue, games room with table football, pool table, table tennis and television
The Find
Cranham, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Dynamic pairing of luxury architect-designed properties in a beautifully secluded valley location in the Cotswolds.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 & Up to 4 guests
From: £6,250 per week, £5,000 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Trampoline, rowing boat, hot tub hire is available (please enquire for details)
The Palladian
Ampney Crucis, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Georgian in style and grand in nature, this self-catering Cotswold manor offers a true countryside escape perfect for multi-generational groups.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests (6 adults and 6 children)
From: £4,550 per week, £3,295 per short break
Pets: Sorry, no pets
Features: Outdoor heated swimming pool and hot tub (both May - September), gym, tennis court, trampoline and small football pitch
The Aviary
Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Traditional Cotswold stone provides the golden foundations for some striking modern flourishes at this luxury farmhouse retreat.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests (10 adults and 2 children)
From: £5,995 per week, £4,495 per short break
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Outdoor heated swimming pool and hot tub (May - September), tennis court, cinema room and playing fields with football goals
Anthology Farm
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
With a 300-year-old history, an indoor pool that could have been lifted from a members-only health club, and surrounding acreage to thrill the young'uns, Anthology Farm is a sought-after estate made for large family gatherings.
Sleeps: Up to 18 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 10 guests
From: £9,450 per week, £7,350 per short break
Pets: Pets are considered on prior agreement
Features: Heated indoor swimming pool, cinema room, tennis court, table tennis, gym equipment, purpose built yoga studio and electric car charging point
Gulliver´s Hall
Bisley, Stroud, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Blending ancestral tales with elegant maximalism, Gulliver's Hall brings spa facilities to the soulful countryside; characterful, luxurious, and daring all in one sweep, this is a playful family estate in the beating heart of the Cotswolds.
Sleeps: Up to 21 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 15 & Up to 6 guests
From: £7,795 per week, £5,895 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Outdoor heated swimming pool (April-October), sunken spa bath, sauna, steam room, outdoor shower, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, paella burner, games and cinema room, tennis court, croquet lawn
The Marlings
Standish, Stroud, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
A stone’s throw from the limestone grassland and fruit markets of the Cotswolds, this luxury self-catering farmhouse that’s set across five dwellings in Standish has a heated pool, hot tub, playground, and tennis court to rival any private family resort.
Sleeps: Up to 25 guests (20 adults and 5 children)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 12 guests
From: £7,795 per week, £5,895 per short break
Pets: Three well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Heated outdoor pool (available April to October) with pool house, hot tub, tennis court, wooden playpark