THE SOUTH
The Soho Hotel (020 7559 3000, www.firmdale.com) offers a flamboyant take on the country-house hotel, in the heart of London’s naughtiest district (think pink leather, cowhide and well-stocked honesty bars). Its three-night package, starting on Christmas Eve, costs £562.50pp, B&B, based on a family of four sharing an apartment or interconnecting rooms, including four tickets for the ice rink at Somerset House and a slap-up Christmas Day lunch, with goose, turkey and Dover sole on the menu.
Christmas is, of course, a time for family, but if yours is best viewed through a high-powered telescope, the singles specialist Friendship Travel (028 9446 2211, www.friendshiptravel.com) suggests a stay at the Donnington Valley Hotel, near Newbury, Berkshire, which has a spa and a golf course to while away the hours. Its three-night package, from December 24, starts at £399pp, full-board, including seasonal entertainment.
No need to bin the leftovers during a stay at Penhaven Country House Hotel (01237 451711, www.penhaven.co.uk) — its other residents (several badgers) put in an appearance most evenings for a suppertime feed. The hotel, set in 10 acres just outside Barnstaple, in Devon, is also within easy reach of the dramatic South West Coast Path, so you can burn off those extra calories. Three nights, from Christmas Eve, cost £475pp, half-board.
For supreme indulgence, the Du Maurier Riverside Hideaway, carved into the hillside overlooking the River Fowey, is about as lavish as it gets, with swanky contemporary decor and a private beach. It comes with a team of staff, including a chef, a house manager (definitely not in the Danvers mode) and even a skipper for the motor yacht. It costs £2,500 per day for up to 16 people, all-inclusive, with Unique Home Stays (01637 881942, www.uniquehomestays.com), which offers a range of luxurious properties across the UK.
MIDLANDS AND WALES
If you’re after exercise rather than excess, Ragdale Hall Health Hydro (01664 433000, www.ragdalehall.co.uk), near Melton Mowbray, is a nonstop temple to pumping and primping. Two nights, from December 24, start at £292pp, full-board, including two treatments.
Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, is the sort of town where apple-cheeked carol singers look perfectly at home, and nowhere more so than at the Bear Hotel (0870 400 8202, www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk). It’s a fine 13th-century coaching inn and, though its main claim to fame may be a tad dated (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton spent several weekends here), it still conjures up an enviable sense of glamour. Festivities begin on Christmas Eve with a traditional Cotswold tea, then tick all the yuletide boxes, from midnight Mass and mulled wine to a trip to see Mother Goose. A three-night break starts at £450pp, full-board.
Described by resident Dylan Thomas as the strangest town in Wales, Laugharne is also a rather beautiful one in winter, when silvery mists hang over the marshlands.
Add the glamour of chic boutique Hurst House (01994 427417, www.hurst-house.co.uk), owned by the television star Neil Morrissey and basking in a recent £5m revamp that added a spa, and you should be in for a cosy Christmas. Three nights, from Christmas Eve, start at £700pp, full-board, including a complimentary glass of mulled wine at Brown’s pub, where Mr Thomas was practically part of the furniture.
It’s snowed every Christmas since 2000 at Lake Vyrnwy Hotel (01691 870692, www.lakevyrnwy.com), in Powys, making this forested lakeside property the place for would-be Bing Crosby impersonators. The hotel upholds traditional values, so expect plenty of crackling log fires and country pursuits, including a sheepdog demonstration, clay-pigeon shooting and moorland walks. Prices start at £550pp, full-board, for three nights from December 24.
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