The best UK hotels offering self-contained accommodation: From chic city pads to luxe treehouses

It’s that age-old dilemma – weighing up the pros and cons of staying in a hotel versus getting your own self-contained property. With a hotel, you (often) get a load of extras – from a cooked breakfast and room service to stylish bars, top-class restaurants, swimming pools and a swanky spa.

But then you don’t always want to eat out, especially if you’ve kids in tow, and sometimes a night in on the sofa after a day’s sightseeing is all you’re after.

And that’s when your own place starts to look very appealing – offering a home from home feel, with space to spread out (and escape your fellow guests), and where you can knock up some pasta in your PJs at 1am, if the fancy takes you. It’s likely a whole lot cheaper than dining out every night, too.

However, dilemma be gone, because the beauty of choosing a hotel offering self-catering accommodation is that you get more freedom, more choice, more space and more beds for the price of an all-inclusive holiday. No matter which part of the UK you choose for your staycation – from the capital’s chic city pads and Wiltshire’s country boltholes to coastal escapes in West Sussex and forest adventures in Hampshire – our fair island has something for everyone.

From cute cottages set in sprawling country estates to shepherd’s hut lodges and swanky townhouse residences, here are eight of the best self-contained accommodations for a hotel fix with a twist…

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These six luxe apartment suites in a Chelsea townhouse with Cadogan Gardens’ views are the first self-catering residences from Iconic Luxury Hotels, behind Cliveden and The Mayfair Townhouse.

The one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments have fully fitted Bosch kitchens, contemporary-cool interiors by Atellior – with botanical flourishes that pay homage to the Chelsea Flower Show – and Taschen books to thumb through after shopping on the King’s Road and Sloane Street. Bathrooms are stocked with Noble Isle toiletries, and fridges are filled with breakfast goodies, including Bread Ahead Chelsea Buns, eggs and juices.

Sitting just across the way from 11 Cadogan Gardens hotel, apartment guests get access to leafy, private Cadogan Gardens and priority booking for outdoor dining at Hans’ Bar and Grill. 

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Tudor manor hotel Gidleigh Park, on the fringe of Dartmoor National Park, is known for its 107-acre gardens, which include a bluebell wood, an area where the River Teign meanders underneath fetching acer trees, manicured lawns and a fragrant herb-filled kitchen plot.

The Pavilion is a charming two-bedroom thatched cottage, sleeping four and a dog. It has woodsy interiors, interconnecting bedrooms with Vispring beds and cosy throws, two bathrooms and a homely open-plan sitting-room-cum-kitchen diner.

There’s a tennis court, croquet lawn and masses of walking trails through nearby moorland.

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For bucket-and-spade fun, the popular Beachcroft Hotel has four Beach Hut Suites, which look out onto pebbly Felpham Beach and the rolling ocean.

Inspired by trad beach huts, the dog-friendly accommodation features retro wall hangings, porthole windows, fish-print cushions and wave-blue corner sofas. A mezzanine master bedroom sleeps two adults, there’s space for two children in a second bunk-bed room, and each hut has a dinky shower room and private terrace.

A straight-to-hut continental breakfast is included, and champagne picnic hampers, boxes of fish and chips, and room service suppers can be organised.

Located along a seven-mile coastal footpath, ramblers can walk west to Bognor Regis and east to pretty Littlehampton, or make a beeline for the South Downs’ chalk hills.

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For those craving a getaway with adventurous pizzazz, Chewton Glen’s 14 treehouses in the New Forest make for a stylish self-catering getaway.

Sitting 35ft high in the treetops, and sleeping up to 12 guests, expect high-drama canopy and valley views through floor-to-ceiling windows. You can get back to nature in luxury, thanks to underfloor heating, marble bathrooms and hot tubs on treetop terraces.

Each treehouse has a kitchenette with coffee machine, dishwasher, fridge, sink and microwave, and a daily breakfast basket. Don’t fancy cooking? There’s outdoor dining at James Martin’s The Kitchen restaurant, or takeaway wood-fired pizza from the Walled Garden.

Chewton Glen’s 130 acres of parkland are made for picnicking, and a signposted walk cuts through dappled woodland to Highcliffe Beach, or stay on site and enjoy the hotel’s spa and swimming pool.

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After a grand crash pad with spa R&R? This three-bedroom Georgian property just next to, and run by, The Gainsborough Bath Spa hotel ticks all the boxes.

A Grade II-listed townhouse in Bath’s spa quarter, it sleeps five and features a heady mix of Georgian opulence and 21st-century flamboyance. Decadent, free-spirited and colourful, the teal-hued master bedroom has a canopied king-size bed, chandelier, silk wallpaper and a copper roll-top bath. Others are decked out in lilac and pink, and mix fringed tassel-back curtains, with weighty wooden furniture and original fireplace detail.

The modern kitchen has a funky Smeg fridge-freezer, electric oven and hob, there’s a plant-filled stone-floored dining room, and in the drawing room antiques rub up against a Bang & Olufsen TV, Roberts radio and Austen-heavy library.

Best of all, guests have exclusive access to the nearby, historic open-air Cross Bath for soaks in Bath’s thermal waters.

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Lovers of the great outdoors will enjoy the easy-going atmosphere at this 17th-century manor house hotel in rural Herefordshire. In the 20-acre grounds of Longville House (previously Lemore Manor Hotel and Resort) are five shepherd’s huts and a one-bedroom Garden Room cottage. Intricate metal headboards, pom-pom-edged woven baskets, log burners and butterfly-print blinds create a refined rustic feel. Each hut comes with an outdoor hot tub and fire pit, and the cottage has its own walled garden.

A breakfast hamper is included, while DIY BBQ and pizza-making bundles can be ordered, and the hotel can set up al fresco picnics, as well as meals in the restaurant.

Close to Eardisley village in Herefordshire’s Golden Valley, bracing walks along Hergest Ridge or the Cat’s Back at the edge of the Black Mountains are within easy reach. 

Price: From £300

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Guests after the serene bedrooms and holistic wellness centre of the Como Metropolitan London can check into Brick Street Residences – 10 smart apartments in a Mayfair townhouse just next door to the five-star property.

Each residence has two bedrooms, an open-plan Lauren Nicholas kitchen, a living area and two bathrooms. Spaces have plenty of natural light and soothing, unfussy interiors with a white-on-white backdrop overlaid with slate-hued sofas, deep-blue rugs on wooden floors, and a peppering of subtle contemporary art. The apartments are centred around a courtyard, which has secret garden vibes, and a striking pergola by landscape artist Peter Curzon.

Como’s well-connected concierge is just a phone call away to share local tips, arrange in-room spa treatments – the unknotting Como Shambhala massage is legendary – and in-room meals from the hotel’s wellness-focused menu.

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Acclaimed Cotswold country pile The Manor House’s Ludlow Cottage sits pretty in quintessentially English Castle Combe. The two-storey mews cottage has a high-ceilinged master bedroom with impressive original beams, and there’s space for two children on a sofa bed/extra bed combo in the large oak-panelled lounge, which has an open fireplace and stained-glass window. A small kitchen and spacious ground-floor bathroom – with whirlpool bath and shower – make it feel like a home away from home, and there’s a petite back garden too.

Just next door is Baker’s Cottage, a two-bed, dog-friendly cottage with natural-hued decor, a double and twin room, and sofa bed, which can sleep four adults and one child (plus a baby). The bathroom comes with an elegant freestanding tub.

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