Best British hotels to live the Downton lifestyle
Gravetye Manor - Classic British Escape
East Grinstead
‘Every comfort is anticipated’ at this ‘classy, tasteful’ Elizabethan manor house, from the garden flowers in the public rooms to ‘the most extensive cheese trolley we’d ever seen’.
Hambleton Hall - Summer Breaks in Rutland
Hambleton
‘Tim and Stefa Hart’s country house hotel is consistently outstanding, with service I have yet to see bettered: courteous, attentive, unintrusive. And Aaron Patterson’s Michelin-starred cooking never fails.’
Lewtrenchard Manor
Lewdown
‘It’s up there with the top hotels we’ve stayed at,’ writes a reader this year of Sue and James Murray’s romantic rebuild of a Jacobean manor house, surrounded by parkland.
Cliveden House - Three for Two Short Break
Taplow
For ‘exceptional service’, a scandalous history, and rich views of the Thames, you’d be hard pressed to better this extensively restored Italianate mansion.
Farlam Hall
Brampton
‘A quintessential country house hotel.’ The Quinion family’s creeper-covered manor house in mature grounds ‘combines the familiar features and decor of an earlier age with exceptional service’, writes a Guide reader, a frequent guest, in 2017.
Bodysgallen Hall & Spa
Llandudno
‘A lovely old house’, this historic mansion on the slopes of Pydew mountain has glorious views of Snowdonia.
Lords of the Manor
Upper Slaughter
‘Croquet on the lawn is a must’ at this honey-stone former rectory surrounded by ‘beautiful, magical’ gardens – but that’s not all of it.
Ballathie House
Kinclaven
Watch for roaming deer as you follow the ‘long, attractive drive’ to the Milligan family’s Victorian country house on the banks of the River Tay.
Country house hotels like Downton Abbey
Fans of Downton Abbey will feel right at home in this selection of country house hotels. These exquisite hotels thrive on the estates that titled families once called home – and in some cases still do. Emulate the lifestyle of Lord and Lady Grantham as you stroll through beautiful gardens, try your hand at shooting and fishing, and have aperitifs in the drawing room before sitting down to a spread that Mrs Patmore would be proud of.