Top English Country Cottages

The English landscape is dotted with grand old houses in picturesque settings. Few can afford them as homes nowadays, so many have become hotels. English country cottages and hotels range from small and family-run to resort-scale. Some are quite pricey, but many offer discount packages. All are rich with history.

Staying in one of these country house hotels on your England vacation puts you right in the glorious green countryside. (Rates are given per room, per night, double occupancy, including breakfast, unless noted.)

Cliveden House

Palatial Cliveden House, near London, has a scandalous past. Built for a duke who was a notorious rake, it was also a scene in the 1960s Profumo Affair involving espionage, adultery and men in high office. Play tennis or squash, cruise the Thames in a vintage launch or luxuriate in the spa. Rates start at ₤240 ($348) and last-minute bookings are sometimes available starting at ₤195 ($282). www.clivedenhouse.co.uk

 

• Enjoy award-winning cuisine at Berkshire’s Cliveden House.

Courtesy of Cliveden House

Farlam Hall

Farlam Hall is in the remote north of England, a few miles from the Scottish border. This 12-room establishment is intimate—the family that runs it offers an informal welcome. The dining room’s unabashedly English menu matches the traditional decor. Rates start at ₤145 ($210) per person, double occupancy, including dinner and breakfast, with a ₤30 ($43) daily reduction on rates for longer stays. www.farlamhall.co.uk

Lower Slaughter Manor

The gentle Cotswold Hills and its golden stone villages are emblematic of rural England. Lower Slaughter Manor, a grand house dating back to the 17th century, has updated interiors and an elegant, highly regarded restaurant. Diversions include croquet, tennis and country pursuits like walking—a public footpath, for example, leads to the pretty Bourton-on-the-Water and other charmingly named villages. Room rates start at ₤230 ($333). www.lowerslaughter.co.uk

Sharrow Bay

Sharrow Bay has an impossibly beautiful position at the head of a lake formed by the fault between two long ridges, in the romantic Lake District. It claims to have been the “original country house” hotel, converted in 1948. The place seems suspended in time—floral patterns, ruffles, endless glass and china trinkets, and a staff straight from central casting. Rates start at ₤200 ($290). www.sharrowbay.co.uk

 

• Take a swim in the hydrotherapy pool at Chewton Glen.

Courtesy of Chewton Glen

Chewton Glen 

Chewton Glen, on the south coast adjacent to the ancient New Forest, also claims to have been the first country house hotel. It’s certainly one of the most lavish. There are 58 rooms, tennis, spa, golf and walking trails through the 130-acre property. The restaurant is a consistent award-winner. Room rates start ₤313 ($454), with a late-availability deal of ₤250 ($362); breakfast not included. www.chewtonglen.com

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