Book a larger room than standard — or opt for a top suite — and you could bag a bargain British break, despite all the current mayhem.
Discounts of as much as 50 per cent are around, and if you ask, you might even get more. A stay in a big, airy room, with room service ordered to avoid dining rooms, provides the chance to live it up a bit amid all the gloom.
One night away could be enough to add a bit of much-needed cheer and Britain’s beleaguered hoteliers will be more than happy to see you — even if you maintain social distancing! Here’s our guide to some of the best offers around.
FREE UPGRADE IN CORNWALL
The Nare Hotel in Cornwall could hardly be nearer a first-class beach
The hospitality at The Nare, a family-run country house hotel on the Roseland peninsula with panoramic views of Carne beach and world-famous gardens nearby, is infinitely warmer than founder Bettye Gray’s book ‘Oh — Get on!’ would suggest. Book a Sea View room for £541 and be upgraded to a vast suite for free.
You’ll enjoy breakfast in bed, cream tea and dinner in your room. And a bottle of champagne will magically arrive before dinner. (thenare.co.uk, 01872 501111).
HALF PRICE CHILTERNS
Cliveden means ‘valley among cliffs’ and this magnificent Italianate country house hotel, the setting for the Profumo Affair, sits on a ridge of the Chiltern Hills in Berkshire in 376 acres of National Trust grounds. Suites are currently on offer at a 50 per cent discount, with prices from £432.50 up to £767.50 for the Lady Astor Suite (She once said: ‘I married beneath me, all women do.’)
No house tours, but the spectacular water garden and Lord Astor’s maze, and tennis courts await you. (clivedenhouse.co.uk, 01628 607107).
£100 OFF IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Pictured is one of the bathrooms at Tudor Famhouse Hotel in Gloucestershire
Tudor Famhouse Hotel is a on a former working farm in Gloucestershire set in 14 acres. Stay in style in a spectacular suite, which are now £100 off a night: £189 with breakfast, or £265 including dinner. All meals are available on room service (and children currently go free).
If you can’t make it, you can change dates with no charge and prices honoured. If you can, then do enjoy a long bracing walk along the Offa’s Dyke path, just outside. (tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk, 01594 833046).
FIVE-STAR FOR LESS
Seaham Hall was the first five-star hotel in the North-East and it was also where Lord Byron was married in 1815. The hotel is set in 37 acres with views of the North Sea from its clifftop location. Mountain bikes are available, as are trips to Hadrian’s Wall. Current deals include junior suites with breakfast and champagne on arrival from £195, which is down from £224. (seaham-hall.co.uk, 0191 516 1400).
NEW DEALS IN THE NEW FOREST
Only the finest: Chewton Glen in the New Forest sits in 130 acres with easy access to the beach
Order room service to your bedroom and work your way through a 1,900-bottle wine cellar
Captain Frederick Marryat stayed at Chewton Glen in the 1840s and was inspired to write his enduring novel, The Children Of The New Forest. This Hampshire hotel sits in 130 acres, with easy access to the beach and New Forest. Suites are half price, from £328, with room service and a 1,900-bottle wine cellar to work through.
If you prefer solitude, the tree houses are also discounted. They’re nothing like those rickety wooden planks from childhood. Expect hot tubs, breakfast hampers and underfloor heating. (chewtonglen.com, 01425 282212).
20pc OFF ON THE SCOTTISH COAST
Located near the Solway Coast in the heart of Dumfries and Galloway, Cavens is a cosy country house hotel in 20 acres of landscaped gardens. The Scottish bard Robbie Burns once visited and wrote a poem about his hosts (it’s still on display there, and it is not very flattering).
Special deals include paying a £100 deposit and securing a 20 per cent discount on a spacious bedroom (£264 instead of £330). This includes breakfast and a three-course dinner for two with wine from the 18th-century cellar. (cavens.com, 01387 880234).
SALES IN WALES
Romantic: Pictured is one of the ten rooms at Plas Bodegroes in north-west Wales
Plas Bodegroes (the name means ‘rose-hip hall’) is a romantic Georgian hotel with ten rooms on the wild Llyn peninsula, near Abersoch in north-west Wales. Much of the food served is grown on the hotel’s own land, and 85 per cent of all ingredients come from a 20-mile radius.
The hotel’s current special offer is for three nights in a superior room with breakfast and dinner for £440 instead of £660 (with an upgrade, if available, to a suite). If you need to cancel, you can reschedule and the offer will be honoured. (bodegroes.co.uk, 01758 612363).
DISCOUNTS IN KENT
On a lovely secluded stretch of Kent coast, Romney Bay House Hotel has ten rooms and on a clear day you can see France (binoculars available), the white cliffs of Dover and Dungeness. Two nights in a superior room, breakfast and a four-course set menu are from £375 for two (£100 off). Ask for the room with the four-poster bed! (romneybayhousehotel.co.uk, 01797 364747).
BUBBLY IN THE COTSWOLDS
Current deals at Lords of the Manor in the Costwolds include a 25 per cent discount on stays
Lords of the Manor is a classically British 17th-century hotel in the village of Upper Slaughter in the Cotswolds with eight acres of gardens. Current deals include a 25 per cent discount on stays, which include a glass of bubbly, a three-course dinner and full English breakfast from £199 a night. Room service available. (lordsofthemanor.com, 01451 820243).
CHEAP IN BATH
The Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath is in a Grade 1-listed Georgian townhouse with an acre of secluded gardens. There are 45 grand rooms and the hotel is currently offering a 50 per cent discount off all rooms with breakfast when you use the code RCHDMAIL until the end of April. Prices normally vary from £445 for a deluxe room, to £1,595 for a master suite. (royalcrescent.co.uk, 01225 823333).
BOLTHOLE BARGAIN
On the edge of 554 square miles of the beguiling North Yorkshire Moors, the White Swan is a 16th-century bolthole in the market town of Pickering with two luxury suites and a two-bedroom cottage, each for £940pp (usually £1,250pp) for seven days. This is for ‘half board plus’ (dinner with a light lunch or lunch with a light dinner). Meals are offered in-room. (white-swan.co.uk, 01751 472288).