Baby-friendly holidays in the UK
These are places put together with littles in mind: for gatherings with grandparents-turned-sitters, or star-crossed babymooners seeking slumber. With blocks and books, cots and stairgates, luxury baby-friendly holidays in the UK can only happen in homes as curated as these.
You might be surrounded by tiny socks, wooden rattles, and bassinet blankets, but these are the days when memories are made. British babymooners, now is the time to retreat to a luxury family-friendly home in the country and make flump on a miles-deep sofa ‘til long past lunchtime. We know that baby-friendly holidays in the UK come with a longer checklist, so whether you're new to the parenting thing or three children in, these homes are kitted out for all your little one's needs; think cots and stairgates, wooden toys and story books, and cottages so close to the coast that the ocean soundscape will send them to slumber.
Perhaps now is the time for a big group gathering to introduce a little bundle to the whole clan? With grandparents chomping at the bit to have their turn holding the bottle, and siblings waiting in the wings with fairytales and fables up their sleeves, there's nothing like having all hands on deck to calm the laser-like focus that tiny babies bring. At these luxurious country houses, you'll have the option to indulge in cold water therapy in wild swimming lakes, embrace all the healing benefits of the sauna, or simply slink off for an early supper by the garden pizza oven while the big cousins do cot-side duties in the cinema room.
The Black Cabin
Parisian style meets wild beauty at The Black Cabin. Idyllically set near Hay-on-Wye and overlooking the majestic Black Mountains, this noir-hued cabin offers a wood-fired hot tub, infrared sauna and views for miles.
Sleeps: Up to two guests
From: £1,595 per week, £1,195 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Outdoor woodfired hot tub, indoor infra-red sauna and cold plunge tub
Idlewylde
Machynlleth, Snowdonia, Wales, UK
From the sweet seclusion to mountain vistas, hot tub to glittering skies uninterrupted by city lights, Idlewylde is an impossibly romantic escape for couples in North Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,595 per week, £1,150 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Hot tub
The Cable Hut
Aberbach, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Between the remote beaches of Abermawr and Aberbach in South Wales, metres from Pembrokeshire's Coast Path, The Cable Hut is the luxury cabin for a castaway experience.
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,350 per week, £995 per short break
Pets: One large or two small well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub
White Beach Cove
Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, UK
A traditional Welsh cottage nestled into Anglesey’s remote north coast, White Beach Cove is an adventurer’s delight hidden in one of the UK's wildest corners.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests (+1)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,750 per week, £1,195 per short break
Pets: Three well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, electric car charging point, portable air conditioning unit
Tincture
Llanwrtyd Wells, Cambrian Mountains, Powys, Wales, UK
A luxury off-grid cottage in Llanwrtyd, Tincture rides on the tides of nature in the heart of Wales' wild and little-discovered Cambrian Mountains; a fairy-tale home with an edge.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,495 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Eirianfa
Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd, Ruthin, Wales, UK
Cradled within a peaceful valley near Ruthin, this heart-stirring luxury cottage in Denbighshire boasts a games room with hot tub and a private lake, all set within 17 acres in North Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,795 per week, £1,350 per short break
Pets: One medium or two small well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Hot tub, bar, 50" TV, pool table, private lake
Smokehouse Cottage
Newgale, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
A white stone dot tucked under the hills, Smokehouse Cottage is part of Wales' wild magic on the Pembrokeshire Coast; a luxury fisherman’s cottage with a hot tub ideal for surfers.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
From: £2,150 per week, £1,750 per short break
Pets: One small to medium well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub (available autumn and winter months on prior request), outdoor shower for surfers
Hiraeth
Nevern Valley, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
In a forest in Pembrokeshire’s Never Valley, Hiraeth is made up of two luxury properties; one traditional cottage and one gabled bothy, sharing a hot tub, sauna, and river hammock.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests (8 adult and 4 children)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,450 per week, £2,595 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Hot tub, sauna, outdoor bath, fire pit and river hammock
Huckleberry
Nevern Valley, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Built from old stone and shaped by new hands, Huckleberry is a luxury country cottage with a hot tub, bringing Greek notions to the hills of Pembrokeshire in Wales' Never Valley.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 & Up to 4 guests
From: £4,150 per week, £3,150 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Swedish wood-fired hot tub, luxury Thai massage room, TV snug, snooker table, outdoor kitchen, fire pit and river hammock
Charity
Black Mountains, Herefordshire, UK
Divinely secluded, Charity is a real wild retreat; set down a mountain road in the Black Mountains of Herefordshire, this luxury country home has a hot tub and sauna.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,595 per week, £2,695 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub, sauna, outdoor shower, outdoor pizza oven, table tennis, snooker room, cinema barn and badminton lawn
Celestia
Talybont-on-usk, Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK
Resting on an open clearing beneath the tops of the Brecon Beacons, cocooned by a tangle of woodland, these luxury farmhouses are an ode to mountain living in remote south Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 14 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 & Up to 6 guests
From: £3,750 per week, £2,795 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Pool table, Steinway piano, fire pit with grill, and stargazing bowl
Florin
Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales, UK
A luxury country house set in five acres of magical gardens near Aberaeron in Ceredigion, Florin is a castle-style home with a hot tub and library, made for big gatherings in Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 14 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 10 & Up to 8 guests
From: £3,850 per week, £2,995 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, a third is welcome on prior request
Features: Hot tub, treehouse for children, library with pool table, modern garden house with pizza oven
The Milk Wood
Nevern Valley, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Deep within the Nevern Valley in Pembrokeshire, The Milk Wood is a riverside family estate in Wales comprised of four luxury country cottages with a hot tub, sauna, and outdoor tub.
Sleeps: Up to 24 guests (20 adults and 4 children)
From: £7,600 per week, £5,745 per short break
Pets: Four well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, luxury Thai massage room, sauna, TV snug, snooker table, outdoor kitchen, outdoor bath, fire pit, river hammock and sauna