If the latter sounds all too familiar, maybe you should escape to a luxury hotel for a Christmas of romantic country walks, gourmet meals, champagne and spa treatments — and no cleaning up afterwards. You might imagine that such treats have all been snapped up, but dozens of hotels across the UK and Ireland still have availability over Christmas and New Year.
All prices are per person, based on two people sharing. Child prices are based on children sharing their parents’ room. All the properties listed below had availability at the time of going to press
ENGLAND
The Grove is a new contemporary-style country hotel and spa just 18 miles from London in Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire. It promises lavish New Year’s Eve celebrations, beginning with a children’s supper, which will be followed by fireworks, a dinner dance, more fireworks at midnight and snacks at 2am. One night starts at £300, B&B. Under-13s free.
01923 807807, www.thegrove.co.uk
Medieval Thornbury Castle, near Bristol, boasts suits of armour, stone floors, secret doors and tapestries hanging from panelled walls. A three-night Christmas house party, with a brass-band carol service, a black-tie champagne reception, a five-course dinner, Christmas lunch, a talk on the castle’s history, a treasure hunt and a Boxing Day trip to the pantomime in Bath, costs £870.
01454 281182, www.prideofbritainhotels.com
The Woolacombe Bay Hotel, on the coast of North Devon, is offering a three-night Christmas break for families, with a cocktail party, a visit by Santa and children’s suppers. Prices start at £465, half-board (under-14s £130). The hotel, which has a gym and a heated pool, also has four nights over New Year, including fireworks and a children’s fancy-dress party; from £525 (under- 14s £160).
01271 870388, www.woolacombe-bay-hotel.co.uk
Book a three-night Christmas package at Woodlands Park, set in 10 or so acres near Cobham, Surrey, and you’ll get a free overnight stay, with dinner and breakfast, that can be taken any time before the end of March. The price, £450, includes champagne reception, a candle- light Christmas Eve dinner, three meals on Christmas Day and a Boxing Day dance.
0845 458 0901, www.handpicked.co.uk
Cliveden House, a sumptuous hotel perched above the Thames near Henley, has a two-night package over New Year from £995, including wine tasting and dinner on December 30 and a trip to Windsor Castle or clay-pigeon shooting on New Year’s Eve, followed by a champagne reception and a six-course dinner with band and piper.
01628 668561, www.clivedenhouse.co.uk
An hour’s drive from London, Grayshott Hall is a 19th-century manor house and health retreat. Its three-night New Year break, which costs £660, includes a casino night, a theatre visit, fireworks and a swing band. Guests can join yoga and t’ai chi classes or book massages and hydrotherapy.
01428 602000, www.grayshott-hall.co.uk
Combe House Hotel, set in 3,500 acres of Devon countryside, has a two-night New Year package, with hot toddies, fireworks, champagne and a five-course gourmet dinner with band; from £455, full-board.
01404 540400, www.thishotel.com
Guests joining the festivities at Stapleford Park, rated among the finest country piles in England, will be treated as if they were staying “at a friend’s stately home”. The hotel has a Clarins spa and an 18-hole golf course, and as well as champagne receptions and gala dinners, it will host archery, shooting and falconry. Some friends! The three-day splurge, from December 24, costs £940 (children from £100, including a visit from Santa). Two- and three-night New Year’s packages, including a black-tie gala dinner and fireworks, start at £855 (children £195).
01572 787522, www.staplefordpark.com
For something different, take the kids to Alton Towers for Christmas. The Alton Towers Hotel and the Caribbean-themed Splash Landings Hotel both have two-night full-board packages, starting on Christmas Eve and including family entertainment and access to the all-weather waterpark, Cariba Creek; £265 (under-12s £155, under-4s free).
0870 500 1100, www.altontowers.com
