In Need Of Some Alone Time? Here's ELLE's List Of The Best Romantic Staycations For 2024
Life Of Luxury At Estelle Manor
Deep in the grounds of west Oxfordshire, this 60-acre estate and Jacobean Revival mansion will have you believing you’re the lady of the manor in an Austen romance. With 108 rooms and suites, four restaurants and a spa housed in its own neoclassical pavilion, everything is unapologetically grand. The indulgence extends to a no-expenses-spared approach to interiors – there are panelled walls, ornate ceilings, silk furnishings and giant windows overlooking the grounds and walled gardens. The bedrooms feature opulent fabrics and, yes, even chandeliers. Minibars are stocked with Ruinart, and bathrooms with George Northwood haircare. Most magical is the Roman-style bath house. The spa, Eynsham Baths, is 3,000 square metres of carved marble with 10 treatment rooms, thermal cabins and an alfresco bar. Who needs a Mr Darcy, when there’s all this splendour to enjoy?
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Table For Two At Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons
They say the way to one’s heart is through the stomach, so if you’re hoping to impress your partner, look no further than Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. The 15th-century manor house, with its lavender-lined paths, has 32 bedrooms and suites whose styles are inspired by Blanc’s travels and contain his personal art and sculptures. Ask for the Botticelli room, for side-by-side freestanding tubs in the bathroom and a flamboyant mural, or go for Hydrangea, if a breathtaking view is more your thing. Outside, there are 11 different gardens, including a wildflower meadow, orchards and a kitchen garden with dozens of herbs and vegetables, for the ultimate hand-held stroll. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant is where you’ll fall head over heels, though. A seven-course dinner is served in the candlelit orangery – so far, so romantic – with menu favourites including French onion soup, lobster ravioli, venison steaks and the finest artisan cheeseboard this side of the
Channel. Every morsel is delicious; there’s nothing not to love.
Timeless Love At Hartwell House
Romantically speaking, a hot tub has the power either to seduce or scare off. At 17th-century Hartwell House, a National Trust property surrounded by 90 acres of immaculate Buckinghamshire countryside, it’s much more likely to be the former. Especially when you have a steaming spa bath and an elegantly lit pool housed in the former orangery. Soak away the week’s grind before dressing for dinner and a drink by the fireplace in the stately home’s imposing entrance hall. Another guest who called Hartwell home, minus the hot tub, was Louis XVIII, the exiled French king, who held court there between 1809-1814. A regal quality remains, thanks to the sweeping staircases, portrait-lined hallways and ‘royal’ rooms decorated with period furniture. Some rooms even have panoramic lead-paned windows overlooking the front gardens and the mile-long double avenue of lime trees that stretches to the estate’s horizon. There’s plenty more to explore in the gardens, including a Gothic tower and a canal temple which is home to 10,000 daffodils. Steeped in history, Hartwell House is pure escapism; it’s easy to be seduced by it all.
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There's nothing quite like a romantic getaway with your favourite person, and all the more better if you can escape the grind and hustle of the city - so why not escape to the country? Whilst exotic destinations are still high on our travel list for the year ahead, staycations continue to be an underrated treasure that offer just as much (or more) fun and relaxation.
Between quaint countryside houses filled with antiques and vintage decors and grand centuries-old English manors with endless acres to roam around in and Victorian styled ponds to stroll by, there's no better place to bring your period drama romance dreams to fruition.
Whether you're celebrating an occasion, a birthday or just feel like sprucing up your weekend with all of the luxe that the countryside has to offer, there is something for everyone.
Here is an ELLE Editor approved list of the best romantic staycations to visit with your favourite person:
Best For Luxury Stay: Estelle Manor
Deep in the grounds of west Oxfordshire, this 60-acre estate (featured in the lead image) and Jacobean Revival mansion will have you believing you’re the lady of the manor in an Austen romance. With 108 rooms and suites, four restaurants and a spa housed in its own neoclassical pavilion, everything is unapologetically grand. The indulgence extends to a no-expenses-spared approach to interiors – there are panelled walls, ornate ceilings, silk furnishings and giant windows overlooking the grounds and walled gardens. The bedrooms feature opulent fabrics and, yes, even chandeliers. Minibars are stocked with Ruinart, and bathrooms with George Northwood haircare. Most magical is the Roman-style bath house. The spa, Eynsham Baths, is 3,000 square metres of carved marble with 10 treatment rooms, thermal cabins and an alfresco bar. Who needs a Mr Darcy, when there’s all this splendour to enjoy?
Best For A Timeless Feel: Hartwell House
Romantically speaking, a hot tub has the power either to seduce or scare off. At 17th-century Hartwell House, a National Trust property surrounded by 90 acres of immaculate Buckinghamshire countryside, it’s much more likely to be the former. Especially when you have a steaming spa bath and an elegantly lit pool housed in the former orangery. Soak away the week’s grind before dressing for dinner and a drink by the fireplace in the stately home’s imposing entrance hall. Another guest who called Hartwell home, minus the hot tub, was Louis XVIII, the exiled French king, who held court there between 1809-1814. A regal quality remains, thanks to the sweeping staircases, portrait-lined hallways and ‘royal’ rooms decorated with period furniture. Some rooms even have panoramic lead-paned windows overlooking the front gardens and the mile-long double avenue of lime trees that stretches to the estate’s horizon. There’s plenty more to explore in the gardens, including a Gothic tower and a canal temple which is home to 10,000 daffodils. Steeped in history, Hartwell House is pure escapism; it’s easy to be seduced by it all.
Best For Foodies: Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons
They say the way to one’s heart is through the stomach, so if you’re hoping to impress your partner, look no further than Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. The 15th-century manor house, with its lavender-lined paths, has 32 bedrooms and suites whose styles are inspired by Blanc’s travels and contain his personal art and sculptures. Ask for the Botticelli room, for side-by-side freestanding tubs in the bathroom and a flamboyant mural, or go for Hydrangea, if a breathtaking view is more your thing. Outside, there are 11 different gardens, including a wildflower meadow, orchards and a kitchen garden with dozens of herbs and vegetables, for the ultimate hand-held stroll. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant is where you’ll fall head over heels, though. A seven-course dinner is served in the candlelit orangery – so far, so romantic – with menu favourites including French onion soup, lobster ravioli, venison steaks and the finest artisan cheeseboard this side of the Channel. Every morsel is delicious; there’s nothing not to love.
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