Posh country retreats in the UK


If city life is dragging you down and you're in need of a few creature comforts, a luxury countryside retreat will help you recharge your batteries in the style of a real 'lady of the manor'. Find some of the best across the UK here.





The Ickworth Hotel (pictured)
Horringer
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
Tel: 01284 735 350
www.ickworthhotel.com

The scene: Home from (stately) home becomes family-friendly contemporary hotel
Ideal for: Margot from The Good Life and sundry duchesses manquées

The east wing of the Marquess of Bristol's 18th-century home is a welcoming 27-bedroom hotel, with 11 adjoining self-contained apartments plus indoor pool, stables and a spa. The Four Bear's Den offers a supervised haven for your little Lord Fauntleroys, and you can play master and servant in either the marquess's bedchamber or the butler's cosy retreat.

Hurst House
East Marsh
Laugharne
Carmarthenshire, South Wales
Tel: 01994 427 417
www.hurst-house.co.uk

The scene: Celeb-owned hotel set in isolated Welsh village
Ideal for: Moneyed slackers tired of urban existence

This four-room hotel is tucked away in the seaside village where Dylan Thomas wrote Under Milk Wood and is part-owned by Neil Morrissey and Billy Bragg. The restaurant is run by an ex-Orient Express head chef and the bar has a grand piano so you can tickle the ivories into the early hours.

Babington House
Near Frome
Somerset
Tel: 01373 812 266
www.babingtonhouse.co.uk

The scene: Kiddie-friendly Georgian mansion in the Somerset countryside
Ideal for: Well-oiled London bohos kicking back in their wellies

The country arm of London's trendy Soho House offers 28 rooms divided between the main house, coach house and the stable block, all of which sport leather sofas, DVD players, hi-fis and free-standing baths. Marmite and ketchup bottles on all the breakfast tables are aimed at kids and nostalgic adults, while the Cowshed houses a spa with indoor and outdoor pools. A bit like staying with friends in the country - if you have extremely high falutin' friends, that is.

The Waterside Inn
Ferry Road
Bray
Berkshire
Tel: 01628 620 691
www.relaischateaux.com/waterside

The scene: Picturesque 16th-century village - could be mistaken for France-on-Thames
Ideal for: Gastro-maniacs and illicit lovers

This inn is owned and run by Michel Roux - one half of the duo behind top London restaurant Le Gavroche. Waterside Inn nestles under a willow on the banks of the river, a stone's throw from Eton, Ascot and Windsor Castle. The nine-room hotel also has a private dining room in a separate cottage for the ultimate in intimacy. Leave room for Michel's legendary desserts before retiring to your boudoir.

Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Church Road
Great Milton, Oxford
Tel: 01844 277 201
www.manoir.com

The scene: Gallic cool in the middle of the commuter belt
Ideal for: Gourmet-loving Francophiles

A 15th-century manor houses this immaculate 32-room hotel and its 2-Michelin-starred restaurant presided over by big cheese Raymond Blanc, who also runs an Ecole de Cuisine on the premises. Most of the herbs and vegetables come from Blanc's own kitchen garden. Understated, chic and decidedly French, much like the handsome chef himself.

Bailiffscourt Hotel
Climping
West Sussex
Tel: 01903 723511
www.hshotels.co.uk/bailiffscourt-main.htm

The scene: Gothic architectural fantasy with olde worlde comfort
Ideal for: Would-be princesses and faux Medieval brides

With its mullioned windows and distressed oak beams, Bailiffscourt Hotel exudes the mystery of the Middle Ages, yet it was actually built in 1927. A spit from the sea and set in 30 acres of parkland and walled gardens where peacocks strut their stuff, the hotel has 31 luxurious bedrooms, most with four-poster beds and open log fires. The Music Room is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies so you can tie the knot on your weekend away. How romantic is that?

Lucknam Park Hotel
Colerne
Chippenham
Wiltshire
Tel: 01225 742 777
www.lucknampark.co.uk

The Scene: Erstwhile family manor house where antiques and chintz abound
Ideal for: Horsey types lording it up on their time off

This 41-room Palladian hotel near Bath sits in 500 acres of listed parkland and has been carefully restored to the style of the past era. Some might find the heavy furnishings a tad claustrophobic, but this place is a dream for horse lovers who can let off steam at the impressive on-site equestrian centre. Giddy up!

Whatley Manor
Easton Gray
Malmesbury
Wiltshire
Tel: 01666 822 888
www.whatleymanor.com

The scene: Ersatz social sophistication near Stonehenge
Ideal for: Keeping up with the Smytheson-Jones's and moguls cutting deals

This restored manor house sits in 12 acres of landscaped gardens and flowering meadows and has been converted into a 23-room hotel with two restaurants, a cinema and underground spa. It's original, bordering on the pretentious - but with the classic French cuisine, cinema and boardroom, it's the ideal place to cajole your film industry cronies into financing your latest movie project.

Hotel Tresanton
27 Lower Castle Road
St Mawes
Cornwall
Tel: 01326 270 055
www.tresanton.com

The scene: Classic Cornish seafaring plushness
Ideal for: Al fresco dining and pursuing rarefied relaxing diversions

This row of cottages overlooking the harbour of St Mawes has been turned into this 26-room hotel by Olga Polizzi, the sister of hotel impresario Sir Rocco Forte. If the tastefully muted decor with its nautical theme, delicious fresh fish and fine wines aren't enough, perhaps you can amuse yourself with the in-house cinema, sailing yacht with crew for hire, and courses in bridge, painting and yoga.

Mullardoch House Hotel
Glen Cannich, by Beauly
Inverness-shire, Scotland
Tel/Fax: 01456 415460
www.mullhouse1.demon.co.uk/

The Scene: Remote Highland retreat, staggering in any season
Ideal for: Would-be novelists needing peace to complete their masterpiece

Overlooking Loch Sealbhanach and with a view of the Affric Mountains, Mullardoch House was built in 1912 as a hunting lodge, and is located eight miles up a single track road at the head of the glen. Expect elegant, spacious rooms and blazing log fires, plus fresh venison, salmon, and shellfish from the West Coast. By day search for the Loch Ness Monster, or nip over to the Isle of Skye.

Posh country retreat address book

Contact information was correct at time of publication