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Cherished Retreats

Christmas, without hosting it

Country house escapes, exclusive-use properties and Alpine stays over the festive season — chosen so the group can simply arrive.

Enquire About Christmas

A festive escape that actually feels like one

Christmas away only works if the hard parts genuinely go away with it. That means a property that can feed everyone properly, enough room for people to drift off and read, and a plan loose enough to survive a long lunch. We spend our time on those details rather than on tinsel.

Why this retreat type

Why go away for Christmas

Because somebody always ends up doing all of it.

Someone else does Christmas

No weeks of shopping, cooking and hosting. You arrive, the fires are lit and the work has already been done — which is the entire point of going away for it.

Built around who is coming

A quiet two-night escape for a couple and an exclusive-use house for eighteen are very different briefs. We plan around the group you actually have, including the ones who want a long walk and the ones who want a long lunch.

Festive, not themed

Proper trees, real greenery and good food — not novelty. The properties we look for feel like Christmas rather than a Christmas package.

What to expect

What to expect from a Christmas retreat

Multi-night stays over the festive period

Most Christmas escapes run three to five nights across Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, with some properties opening a longer window through to New Year.

Dining as the centrepiece

Expect a full Christmas lunch, and usually a Christmas Eve dinner and Boxing Day spread alongside it — plated or served family-style, depending on the house.

Space to do very little

Fires, walks, long tables and quiet afternoons. The best festive escapes leave room in the schedule rather than filling every hour.

Where to go

Where to spend Christmas

The Cotswolds
England

The Cotswolds

Honey-stone manor houses, frosted fields and pubs with proper fires.

The classic English festive escape — Georgian and Jacobean houses set in villages that look the part, close enough to reach easily and far enough to feel away from it all.

Country House ChristmasExclusive UseWalking
The Scottish Highlands
Scotland

The Scottish Highlands

Lochs, low winter light and houses built for weather like this.

Short days and long evenings, which suits a festive stay rather than working against it. Highland houses take Christmas and Hogmanay seriously, and often run the two together.

Castles & LodgesLog FiresHogmanay
The Lake District
England

The Lake District

Fell walks in the cold, then somewhere warm to come back to.

For groups who want the Christmas walk to be a real one. Country house hotels and exclusive-use properties sit within reach of the fells without being remote.

Fell WalkingCountry InnsSpa
Austria & Bavaria
Europe

Austria & Bavaria

Alpine Christmas, with snow far more reliable than at home.

The Alps do the festive season properly, and a Christmas stay can be combined with markets, a few days on snow, or both.

SnowMarketsMountain Hotels
Christmas 2026

Festive stays we can build now

Christmas without an airport — a country house that does the whole thing for you, or a city that does Christmas well.

English country house drawing room decorated for Christmas
The Cotswolds, Devon, the Lakes or the Highlands · United Kingdom

Country House Christmas — Four Nights, Nobody Cooking

Christmas Eve to the 27th in a country house that does the whole thing for you: the tree, the meals, the walk on Boxing Day, and a kitchen you never have to enter. The version of Christmas where the person who normally cooks gets a Christmas too.

4 nights 23 to 27 December Three generations who would rather not host each other
  • Full-board festive programme across the holiday
  • Rooms for grandparents on the ground floor where it matters
  • Somewhere to walk it off on Boxing Day
Price on enquiry

Quoted for your dates, your airport and the ages of your children — Christmas pricing moves weekly.

Get a quote for this
City Christmas market lit at night below a castle
Edinburgh · United Kingdom

Edinburgh — Three Nights of Christmas in the City

A Christmas market under the castle, a proper city to walk around it, and the option of staying on into Hogmanay. It gets you the market-break atmosphere with a train instead of a boarding pass.

3 nights Late November to early January Families with older children, and anyone staying on for Hogmanay
  • Christmas market and funfair in the centre of the city
  • The castle, the Old Town and the walk up Arthur’s Seat
  • Rail from most of the UK, no airport at either end
Price on enquiry

Quoted for your dates, your airport and the ages of your children — Christmas pricing moves weekly.

Get a quote for this

Live availability

Christmas retreats available now

Real retreats from our published collection, with transparent pricing — no placeholders.

We don't have a published retreat live in this category just yet. Tell us what you're after and our team will find or source the right match for you.

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Types of retreats

Exclusive-Use Christmas Houses

The whole property, just your group — the most straightforward way to have Christmas together without anyone hosting it.

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Country House Hotel Christmases

A full festive programme run by the hotel, for smaller groups and couples who would rather not take on a whole house.

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Quiet Christmas Escapes

For those who would rather step out of the festive season than into it — somewhere calm, with very little scheduled.

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Christmas & New Year Combined

A longer stay running through both, either in one place or split across two.

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Keep exploring

Other retreat types

Not quite what you had in mind? Explore the rest of the Cherished Retreats collection.

Christmas 2026

Would the family rather travel?

Lapland, the European Christmas markets and the theme parks in festive dress — all four options on one page.

See all Christmas trips →
Questions

What to consider

How far ahead do I need to book a Christmas retreat?

Earlier than most trips. Exclusive-use properties over Christmas are commonly taken twelve months ahead, and the best country house hotel dates go by late summer. If you are enquiring for this year, tell us and we will be straight with you about what is genuinely still available.

Can you arrange Christmas for a large family group?

Yes — exclusive-use properties are usually the right answer for anything from ten people upwards, because you get the whole house and can shape the days yourselves rather than fitting around other guests.

Is Christmas lunch included?

It depends on the property. Country house hotels almost always include a full festive dining programme; exclusive-use houses vary between fully catered, a private chef for key meals, or self-catering. We will tell you which applies before you commit.

Do you arrange Christmas abroad as well as in the UK?

Yes. Alpine Austria and Bavaria are the most requested for a snow-reliable Christmas, and we also arrange warm-weather festive escapes for people who would rather skip winter entirely.

Planning Christmas away this year?

Tell us the group, the dates and roughly how far you want to travel, and we will come back with what is genuinely available.

Enquire About Christmas