Some are storied family homes, lovingly transformed and future-proofed for modern hosting. Others are converted and beautifully repurposed. A few are unique, architecturally designed spaces with one foot in the past and the other firmly in the now. These venues often offer a lot more than you might expect: we’re talking boutique accommodation, destination-worthy restaurants, luxurious spas, and sweeping views you’ll want to wake up to again and again.
So if you’re planning a minimoon, anniversary stay, or just craving a change of scene with someone you like a lot, consider this your permission to revisit (or pre-visit) some of the UK’s dreamiest venues. From seaside cabins to countryside cottages, here’s our pick of the most romantic escapes that happen to do weddings very well – but aren’t limited to them.
If you dreamed of living in a treehouse as a child, the adult you is about to be very smug. Perched at the edge of a secluded woodland on the Cowdray Estate (home to two of our venues, Cowdray House and Cowdray Walled Garden), their treehouses are everything your inner eight-year-old imagined – just with better wine, fluffier robes, and a freestanding outdoor bath.
They’re beautifully designed hideaways, with floor-to-ceiling woodland views, wraparound balconies, king-size beds and kitchens perfect for lazy breakfasts. Soak in the tub beneath the trees, sink into the squishy sofa with a book, or sit out on the deck and pretend you’re in a Nancy Meyers film (no judgment here). Add rolling hills, dreamy countryside walks, a brilliant local pub or two – and you’ve got the perfect excuse to stay an extra night. Or three.
When you go to Middleton Lodge (and you really should), prepare to be completely and utterly ruined for everyday life. Set within 200 acres of dreamy North Yorkshire countryside, this Palladian-fronted Georgian estate has quietly become one of the UK’s most coveted retreats.
The spa is small by design – only 16 guests allowed at a time – but that’s precisely what makes it magic. No jostling for loungers or whispering through a crowd. Just peaceful dips in the outdoor pool, panoramic saunas, parkland views, and oat-toned interiors worthy of a lifestyle shoot.
Elsewhere on the estate, you’ll find the Coach House for cocktails, potting sheds, kitchen gardens, and rooms that strike the perfect rustic-luxe balance. Days are spent wandering, reading, soaking, sipping. It’s all beautifully understated, but make no mistake: this place knows exactly what it’s doing.
The group chat has spoken: this year, it’s a Sten. And where better to bring the gang together than Scarlet Hall, a charming 12-acre private estate in the heart of Cheshire, designed for memory-making on a very grand scale.
With space for up to 22 guests, this isn’t just a house, there’s an indoor heated pool, sauna, snooker table, cinema room, outdoor kitchen, badminton hall, boules, croquet, rounders, table tennis, golf… You get the idea. If you’re planning a last hurrah before the big day, this is the sort of place that makes it memorable (without a novelty sash in sight).
The interiors are all wisteria-draped windows, roaring fires and grand country-house energy, while the dining hall is crying out for a private chef and a meal to remember. It’s a pretty exceptional place to gather your favourites and celebrate in style, wouldn’t you agree?
Some places offer dinner, bed, and breakfast. At Hampton Manor, it’s more like dinner, art, revelation, and then breakfast. A Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms, this 45-acre estate is best described as a “foodie’s country estate” with its headline act being Grace & Savour, a considered but very impressive dining experience that unfolds across 15 exquisite courses.
Bedrooms span the reimagined manor house, garden suites, and a four-bedroom cottage overlooking the walled garden. Check-in comes with fizz and cake in the library (as it should), and the morning-after breakfast is exactly what you need after the night before: delicious, nourishing, and served in a light-filled dining space that makes you want to whisper, “Let’s never leave.”
The Bell in Ticehurst is a proper village pub; the sort with creaky floors, crooked beams, and locals perched at the bar. But it’s also much more than that. This 16th-century coaching inn has had a playful, stylish makeover, becoming a romantic weekend bolthole that’s part pub, part boutique hotel, part fairytale fever dream.
There are seven rooms above the pub, each with its own silver birch tree (yes, really), a few with deep copper tubs, and all with beds so comfortable you’ll struggle to leave them. Out in the garden, you’ll find whimsical lodges and oast-inspired cabins with pitched ceilings, wood burners, and private outdoor terraces.
There’s a roaring fire pit, proper food, a good wine list, and an easy, anything-goes atmosphere that’ll have you sinking into a velvet armchair before you’ve even checked in. Bring the dog. Order the pudding. Stay for one more drink. The Bell makes it very easy to feel at home.
If your idea of a minimoon involves tweed-meets-chic interiors, indulgent dinners, and long countryside walks followed by an even longer soak in the tub, Slaughters Manor House is a strong contender. This honey-hued, 17th-century stunner is set in the heart of one of the Cotswolds’ prettiest villages (and that’s saying something).
Each of the 18 bedrooms has its own personality (some are in the main house, others in the converted stable yard), but all come with crisp linens, plush pillows, and bathrooms that will make you rethink your own.
And then there’s the food. With one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the area and a kitchen garden that keeps the produce close to home, it’s very much a come-hungry, leave-happily-fed situation enveloped in a proper countryside escape.
Behind the dunes at Camber Sands, The Gallivant feels more laidback Long Island than East Sussex. Inside, you’ll find a soothing palette of oat and chalk, a smattering of raffia lampshades, and beautiful-but-effortless styling that makes you feel instantly cooler just by checking in.
Mornings start slowly here: a swim in the sea (if you’re brave), breakfast in the garden, maybe a browse of the curated shelves in the snug. Later, there’s wine and seafood, sun-warmed naps, spa treatments and yoga. You might even forget to check your phone.
Bedrooms are calm and dreamy, with cloud-soft beds, linen robes, and books by the bedside. The restaurant is as good as you’ve heard. And the whole place feels like a holiday; one you’ll want to relive every anniversary from now on.
For charm by the bucketload, look no further than The George. Smack-bang in the heart of Rye, this dusty-pink coaching inn has been transformed into a boutique retreat where centuries-old beams meet patterned wallpaper, bespoke furniture, and roll-top baths made for two.
Rye itself is a treasure – a time-stamped, medieval town with cobbled lanes and crooked rooftops, home to one of the UK’s best selections of independent shops, antiques, and art galleries. Spend your days hand-in-hand hopping between vintage bookshops, sipping flat whites from tiny cafés, or meandering down to Camber Sands for a windswept walk on the beach.
Back at The George, order a local sparkling wine from the bar or settle into one of the elegant sitting rooms with a Negroni and a paperback. Dinner is relaxed but refined, with a focus on seasonal produce and low-intervention wines. Then it’s up to bed – each one different, all deeply comfortable, with dreamy linens, oversized showers and a pleasing sense of calm.
Sometimes you need to go to a place far, far away. Elmley Nature Reserve isn’t actually that far away (it’s in Kent), but it feels completely and utterly removed from it all. A working family-run nature reserve with serious design credentials, it’s home to a mix of custom-built cabins, shepherd’s huts and an 18th-century farmhouse; each one created to help you slow down, switch off, and soak it all in.
Here, windows are expansive, views are uninterrupted, and sunsets are epic. Wake to birdsong. Watch the mist lift over the fields. Spot hares, owls, and birds of prey from your bed – or better yet, from the outdoor bath. It’s not uncommon to spend the entire day in a robe.
The interiors are beautifully pared-back, but the real draw is outside. Whether you’re toasting marshmallows under the stars or reading by the fire with only the cows and curlews for company, Elmley makes space for absolute stillness.
If you’ve ever dreamt of checking into a retro-glam beach resort with palm prints, striped parasols and poolside cocktails (but without the long-haul flight), allow us to introduce The Nici.
Perched high on Bournemouth’s West Cliff, this boldly redesigned hotel is pure Miami vibes. Expect candy-coloured cabanas, tropical planting, and a 30m outdoor pool that wouldn’t look out of place in South Beach. There are fire pits for late-night lounging, Aperol spritzes on tap, and a spa for when all that relaxing starts to feel like hard work.
It’s vibrant, it’s kitsch (in a fun way), and it’s fully committed to the theme, right down to the poolside playlists. Everything is dialled up just enough to feel playful, but never too far. And when the sun’s shining, you’ll find yourself wondering if that passport renewal is really necessary after all.
Brutalist on the outside, joyfully retro within, The Standard is anything but. Smack in the heart of King’s Cross (with Coal Drops Yard, Regent’s Canal and some of London’s best restaurants on your doorstep), it’s perfect for a city mini-moon, post-wedding come-down, or just an excuse to hole up in style.
A lot is going on inside these concrete walls: weekly DJs, panel talks, rooftop cocktails when the weather behaves, and interiors that mix rich colours, bold textures and shag-pile rugs with irreverent ease.
With 266 rooms, swanky bars, standout cocktails, and some seriously tempting in-house restaurants, it’s almost impossible to leave. Bonus points: they’re dog-friendly, too.
Just 10 miles from Edinburgh and away from the beaten path, Penicuik Estate offers something seriously special. There are no tartan clichés here, though; the interiors are relaxed, creative and richly textured, somewhere between Scottish heritage and Soho Home.
Whether you’re staying in one of the restored estate cottages or taking over the house itself, everything has been carefully and beautifully done. There are cedar hot tubs, wood-burning fires, handmade furniture and vast windows framing mature woodland and pasture.
The estate’s long-term vision is equally compelling—regenerative farming, rewilding, and renewable energy, to start. Walkers, cyclists, riders and stargazers will love the surrounding Pentlands, while those in need of a slower pace can happily stay put. Arrive with a book, leave with plans to come back.
Once the brothers’ childhood playground, today Browning Bros is a gorgeous little slice of the Essex countryside – we’re talking wild swimming, woodland feasts and hot tubs under the stars.
Just an hour from London, their three lakeside cabins are cleverly designed for low-effort escapism: limewashed walls, natural textures, log burners and deep baths with a view. Each has a hot tub and sauna out on the deck, where moorhens paddle past and (if you’re lucky) a kingfisher might drop in.
If the dates line up, book your stay to coincide with one of their woodland dining experiences – twinkling lights, sizzling food and trees overhead – and thank us later.
They’re dog-friendly, design-led and deliciously slow; this is the kind of bolthole that reminds you how good the simple life can be. And while shooting stars are not guaranteed, they’re very likely indeed.
When you think of ‘romance’, does it involve starry skies and wood-fired saunas? If so, say hello to fforest. With three locations across Wales, this laid-back, well-designed escape is an ode to the great outdoors, just with better bedding and effortlessly stylish details.
The original fforest farm is a natural playground: 200 acres of wild meadows, ancient woodland and stylish shelters in all shapes and sizes – from cosy domes to timber ‘shacs’, garden cabins, and charming farmhouses. Each space has been designed in-house and built using local materials, period pieces and a signature style that is equal parts rural simplicity and Scandi-Welsh cool. You’ll find all the mod-cons you need and none of the ones you don’t.
There’s even a tiny on-site pub – proudly dubbed the smallest in Wales – and seasonal events taking place year-round, from feasts to retreats and their own mini summer festival.
Once a crumbling hunting and fishing lodge, now one of England’s most revered retreats, find Hotel Endsleigh in 108 acres of Grade I-listed gardens, complete with woodland, waterfalls, grottos and follies. This is Devon at its most poetic.
There’s no traffic. No light pollution. Just the rush of the River Tamar and the occasional thwack of a croquet mallet. Between strolls through the estate, garden games on the lawn, and quiet hours reading on a sun lounger, you’ll feel time slowing down around you.
Inside, the 21 rooms pair charm and elegance without ever trying too hard. Antique finds, deep bathtubs, a touch of whimsy. Dinner is refined but unfussy, the welcome warm but discreet. It’s the perfect place for romantics, for readers, for anyone in search of something a little bit offbeat.
We’re not saying it’s the most beautiful spot in England, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it were.
