Luxury Travel Guide

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    5 Luxury Hotels To Indulge In This Christmas

    26 November, 2018

    Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, so it’s only fair if you want to spend your festive period relaxing with your friends and loved ones. The UK is full of fantastically festive things to do, so treating yourself to a little luxury is only deserved at this time of year. It’s a great way to unwind and de-stress ready for the new year.


    Whether you are wanting to spend your Christmas day wrapped up in a luxury waffle robe in a fabulous bed or prefer to indulge in a festive pre-Christmas weekend break with your partner, there are plenty of hotels in the UK which come alive during the Christmas period.


    Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa, The Cotswolds


    If you’re looking for the perfect place to spend Christmas with your loved one, then Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa is the destination for you. Known as one of England’s best country house hotels, you’ll be enchanted by the estate of which the hotel is set on.


    The hotel sits in a 500-acre estate, full of meadows, woodland and paddocks, with a mile-long drive of beech and lime trees upon your arrival. Father Christmas is known to drive a horse-drawn carriage around the estate in the run-up to Christmas, making it all that more special if you’re looking for the ultimate festive getaway. There are also treasure hunts and black-tie dinners to get involved in, or you can enjoy a meal and the Michelin-starred Hywel Jones restaurant. If you’re more traditional, then enjoy mulled wine and mince pies in the library after midnight mass.


    With 42 rooms spread across the hotel and outhouses, there are plenty of different size options to suit your getaway needs. With beautifully decorated bedrooms and bathrooms, you will feel truly luxurious whilst relaxing in a claw-footed bath or lounging on a cosy armchair.


    Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland


    Perhaps one of the most luxurious and prestigious hotels in the whole of the UK, the Gleneagles Hotel is one of Scotland’s most treasured destinations. Just an hours drive from both Edinburgh and Glasgow, this hotel is renowned for its beautiful location and championship golf courses, as well as having two Michelin-starred restaurants.


    Having recently undergone a huge refurbishment, the hotel now boasts an understated modern style. At Christmas, the hotel pulls out all of the bells and whistles by hosting an ice rink, complete with lessons from Olympic coaches, a Santa Claus grotto and even its own pantomime. The Gleneagles Hotel is the perfect place to spend a day or two in the run-up to Christmas, with carols to listen to and global delicacies to taste.


    Spend Christmas here, and on Boxing Day you can partake in a round of golf or some cocktail making. You could even take part in the annual clay-pigeon shooting contest or treasure hunt. There’s no shortage of festive activities to enjoy, and who knows, you may even get a sprinkling of snow.


    Forest Side, Lake District


    Set in the heart of the beautiful Lake District, The Forest Side is a hotel which puts food at its centre. A stunning mansion, built for a wealthy industrialist in 1853, The Forest Side hotel is close to Grasmere village, which Wordsworth once called "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found”.


    The mansion boasts 20 rooms, all varying in size from "cosy” to "master”. The hotel really comes alive at Christmas and puts some modern twists on old traditions. Guests can attend a Midnight Mass at St Oswald’s, where Wordsworth is buried, followed by some gourmet hot pot which is part of the festive menu from forager and native Kevin Tickle.


    Christmas here is a food and drink-focused affair. As well as a midnight mass, Kevin also provides local mead on arrival, a fantastic 6-course Christmas lunch with venison pastrami and wild boar and even a quiz. For those looking for a peaceful Christmas, the hotel has plenty of walks and countryside to explore, with 43 acres of woodlands and kitchen gardens to stroll around.


    King Street Townhouse, Manchester


    Just a stone’s throw away from one of the biggest and busiest Christmas markets in Europe, the King Street Townhouse in Manchester is the ultimate festive city-break location.


    Manchester is famed for its Christmas markets and other festive activities during the months of November and December, so having a base from which you can explore is ideal. Not only can you enjoy the best of what Manchester has to offer, but the King Street Townhouse also comes with plenty of amenities for you to truly relax. With an infinity spa pool and relaxation room for you to enjoy, as well as afternoon tea and even festive film screenings, complete with champagne and popcorn, you won’t be stuck for festive things to do!


    Thanks to the prime location, there are plenty of festive menus to try out if you are looking for where to eat in Manchester, or if you want to try out one of the city’s cosmopolitan bars. Be sure to have a browse around one of the many Christmas markets for some last minute gifts, or head to a museum for a fun, free day out.


    Hotel Tresanton, Cornwall


    For the ultimate romantic Christmas getaway, then a stay at the Hotel Tresanton is what you are searching for. The hotel was created and built within the buildings of an old 1940s yachting club, so there are plenty of views across the bay to St Anthony’s lighthouse. With rolling hills, river walks and sweeping, sandy beaches to explore, you can experience a lot of the Cornish countryside from the Hotel Tresanton.


    Effortlessly stylish, the 30 rooms are spread across the cottages and annexe which make up the hotel and each is subtly different. Whilst celebrating Christmas in a nautical themed room might not float your boat, perhaps the wood-burning stoves or sea-view terrace might.


    On Christmas Eve, head to Midnight Mass at St Just - a 13th-century church set in tropical gardens which have previously been described as the "most beautiful churchyard on earth”, then enjoy carol singing and a hot chocolate on your return. Wake up to see whether Santa has left you a little gift, and enjoy the Queen’s Speech on a big screen in the cinema room on Christmas Day, along with a table full of cheeses, mince pies and panettone. On Boxing day, talk a walk along the Carrick Roads, by way of the castle which was built by Henry VIII.

     
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