Book It: Eight elegant country house hotels to make your Downton Abbey dreams come true
Downton fever has well and truly hit. So check in to one of these grand piles or statelys, and channel your inner Lady Mary…
Hartwell House, Vale of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Best for... Brideshead vibes
It might be the signs declaring ‘no sightseers’ as you approach, but a stay at this National Trust-owned manor, with a Downton-like great hall, is like stepping beyond the velvet rope. Inside there’s a carved staircase, oil paintings and plenty of antiques, yet it feels like home. King Louis XVIII certainly thought so when he pitched up in 1809, exiled from France, and stayed for five years. Today there are tennis courts and croquet lawns on which to while away the days, an excellent spa and a beautiful wood-panelled bar and dining room, which serves locally sourced dishes from delicate seabass to sticky pork cheek. Walk off supper with a turn around the grounds, dotted with stone statues.
Stella loves: The 90 acres of beautiful grounds. As Lord Byron wrote of Louis’s departure, "Why wouldst thou leave Hartwell’s green abode?" Quite.
Out and about: It feels beautifully remote but it’s just three miles from Aylesbury and 20 miles from Oxford. If you want to upgrade your wardrobe to match your new digs, Bicester Village is 18 miles away, or for another National Trust gem, head to Waddesdon Manor (nine miles away).
Rooms from £250 a night, b&b; hartwell-house.com
Read the full expert review: Hartwell House
• The best hotels in Buckinghamshire
Bodysgallen Hall and Spa, Llandudno, Conwy
Best for... glorious gardens
Set in 200 acres of parkland overlooking Snowdonia, Bodysgallen Hall manages to be both cosy and majestic. Restored by Historic House Hotels and donated to the National Trust, the 17th-century house has 15 bedrooms as well as 16 cottages discreetly dotted around the grounds, which contain follies and a rose garden. Its other attractions include a sophisticated spa and sizeable indoor pool, and thoughtfully prepared British food with a kitchen-garden feel. Wood panelling, mullioned windows, fireplaces and a traditional bar serving delicious local gin all make for a splendid weekend.
Stella loves: The garden, with its tangle of little paths and unexpected benches.
Out and about: There are several other National Trust properties in the region, including Bodnant Garden (15-minute drive) and Plas Newydd (35-minute drive). Local pub The Queen’s Head serves very good food. For adrenalin junkies, Velocity 2 is the longest zipwire in Europe and the fastest in the world.
Rooms from £190 a night, b&b; bodysgallen.com
Read the full expert review: Bodysgallen Hall
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The Rectory Hotel, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
Best for… Instagrammable interiors
One of the signs of a good country house hotel is when you get the urge to ask the staff about the paint colours. For the record, The Rectory Hotel is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke and Inchyra Blue, with velvet sofas and cavernous club chairs from Sofa.com – perfect for curling up on with a newspaper. In fact, every detail has been thought of: beds are soft, showers are big, the food is faultless. There’s also an honesty bar on the landing for cheeky nightcaps. And if you need the hair of the dog the next morning, the generous buffet breakfast comes with serve-yourself prosecco.
Stella loves: The divine fig and sesame cake for afternoon tea – homemade at the hotel.
Out and about: This is muddy-boots-country Cotswolds territory, so great for walking. For a Sunday roast, head to The Potting Shed, a stone’s throw from the hotel. And there are heaps of tea rooms in neighbouring Malmesbury, a quaint Cotswold-stone-clad town.
Rooms from £130 a night, b&b; call 01666 577194, or visit therectoryhotel.com
Read the full expert review: The Rectory Hotel
• The best hotels in Wiltshire
Culloden Estate and Spa, Belfast
Best for… a dash of history
Perched on the slopes of the Holywood Hills, overlooking Belfast Lough and surrounded by 12 acres of secluded gardens and woodland, this majestic Gothic estate is rich with history. Built in 1876, it served as an official palace for the Bishops of Down long before it was converted into a five-star hotel. For a real aristo-experience, book into the Palace Suite, with views of the gardens and lough. Head to the spa for a full-body massage with personalised essential oils before supper at the hotel’s Gothic-grand fine-dining restaurant, Vespers.
Stella loves: Cosying up by the log fire with a pint, in the hotel’s proper Irish pub, the Cultra Inn.
Out and about: If you haven’t had your fill of historic houses, pre-book a tour of the beautiful Clandeboye Estate, a 10-minute drive away, which is currently home to the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava. Don’t leave without sampling the fine Clandeboye yogurt, produced by the estate and stocked in Fortnum & Mason.
From £125 per person, per night, b&b; call 028 9042 1066, or visit hastingshotels.com
Read the full expert review: Culloden Estate & Spa
De Vere Beaumont Estate, Old Windsor, Berkshire
Best for… a grand old English estate
This 18th-century mansion estate, located just outside Windsor Great Park, is an ideal base from which to explore the historic town centre and the majestic Windsor Castle, the Queen’s favourite weekend home (a 15-minute drive away). The house was originally built for Lord Weymouth but was later used as a public boys’ school. Today, the rooms – all leather chesterfields and solid oak – are named after old masters, plus there is a memorial in the grounds commemorating ex-pupils who lost their lives in the Great War.
Stella loves: The comfy and unpretentious 1705 Restaurant & Bar – great for a posh pub-style meals after a long day of royal sightseeing.
Out and about: There are 40 acres of parkland to explore. Plus Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world, is a no-brainer – but book tickets ahead as the queues at peak times can be crazy. In Windsor town centre, there are fudge shops and royal-souvenir shops aplenty, but for a hipster-level brew, visit Craft Coffee House and try the Ozone coffee and avocado bagel.
Rooms from £119 a night, b&b; call 01753 640 000, or visit devere.com/beaumont-estate
Middlethorpe Hall & Spa, York
Best for… a touch of romance
Once the home of a famous diarist, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who wrote, ‘Tis a very pritty place…’ (an understatement), Middlethorpe was built in 1698 by a prosperous master cutler in a bid to establish himself as a country gentleman. Today – after periods as a nightclub and boarding school – it’s a 29-room country house hotel, with antiques, fine paintings and four-poster beds, and a striking staircase. Take a turn around the wisteria-covered walled garden, book in for an Aromatherapy Associates signature treatment at the spa, or pop into York, two miles away. But be back in time for dinner (try the six-course tasting menu) in the romantic candlelit dining room.
Stella loves: Melting into the floral armchairs in the elegant drawing room, with a G&T in hand, watching the sun set over the lawn.
Out and about: In York centre, take in the pint-sized curiosity shops on the city’s most famous street, The Shambles (a narrow cobbled passage lined with beautifully preserved Elizabethan buildings). Those with a sweet tooth can discover how to taste chocolate like an expert at York’s Chocolate Story (adults £12.95).
Rooms from £219 a night, b&b; middlethorpe.com
Read the full expert review: Middlethorpe Hall & Spa
Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon
Best for... serious oenophiles
This majestic Tudor-style country house hotel in the wilds of Dartmoor National Park is rambler heaven. Bedrooms are named after local tors and come with antiques and crisp white linens, plus ours had a bath deep enough to swim in, as well as glorious views over the gardens. Foodies will delight in the exquisite seven-course tasting menu at the restaurant – but the icing on the cake is the wine offering: there are 13,000 bottles from around the world in the cellar, and the restaurant boasts one of the most impressive wine menus in the British Isles.
Stella loves: The hotel’s Pantry, filled with tea, coffee and home-made biscuits to help yourself to at any time of the day.
Out and about: Take in Dartmoor’s woodland, waterfalls, wildlife, historical ruins and riverside trails. Or visit nearby National Trust property Castle Drogo, the last castle to be built in England – a 20-minute drive or two-hour ramble away.
Rooms from £275 a night, b&b; gidleigh.co.uk
Read the full expert review: Gidleigh Park
Barnsley House, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Best for... fairytale Cotswolds charm
The former home of revered garden-designer-to-the-stars Rosemary Verey, this 17th-century manor house has been lovingly updated to create a spa hotel that strikes the country-chic balance perfectly. Stables have been converted into roomy suites with bathtubs opulently close to the beds, and the grounds honour Verey's eye for detail, with something for the horticulturally minded to admire in every season.
Stella loves: The spa's pool, discreetly nestled in a wooded glade away from the house – a magical place to start the day.
Out and about: Bibury, the heart-soaringly lovely village declared the prettiest in England by William Morris, is a 10-minute drive away. Cirencester's gastronomic delights are about 30 minutes in the other direction. Pop over the road from the hotel to enjoy the similarly excellent food at Barnsley House's sister establishment, The Village Pub.
Rooms from £224 a night, b&b; call 01285 740000, or visit barnsleyhouse.com
Read the full expert review: Barnsley House
Edited by: Laura Powell. Reviews by: Claire Cohen, Jessamy Calkin, Lucy Dunn, Anna Clarke, Victoria Moss, Emily Allen, Anna Murfet and Alice Vincent.
