You may even find that a weekend spent roaming a well-manicured estate, sipping brandy in the drawing room and snoozing between crisp, white sheets is more fun than a week at a crusty hostel in Budapest or Bruges.
A perfect example is Crathorne Hall Hotel, a sprawling four-star digs on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors in the Tees Valley. You can’t help but feel like a king or queen when you walk into this grand Edwardian building, especially as it’s played host to diplomats and royals, including the Queen Mother and Sir Winston Churchill. A night in a double room will set you back around £120 (or £160 for a king-size deluxe room), but it’s good value when you think about all the fun to be had for your money.
For a start, giant rooms mean you can swing a big cat in them if you want. And it’s not just the size that’s impressive — the rooms are stunning, with soft, rich fabrics, thick drapes, a drawing table and ornate chairs, not to mention a huge TV and a bed big enough for five people.
If you can drag yourself away from your room, there’s a lovely manicured croquet lawn right outside the front of the house. It doesn’t get any more aristocratic than a game of croquet. Also on offer is a spot of clay pigeon shooting or archery.
Then it’s back to your room to spruce up for dinner. No waiting for bathroom hogs or worrying about contracting tinea in the communal shower. At Crathorne Hall, your en suite is all polished porcelain and chrome with a cracking shower and a spacious bath, plus a complimentary range of luxury soaps and shampoos too good not to steal.
If you’re thirsty, start your evening in style. Give room service a buzz and get a bottle of champers delivered to your door by the impeccably dressed butler.
Once you’re suitably washed and refreshed, throw on a decent pair of threads and head down the grand staircase to the even grander drawing room.
Sip a couple of whiskeys while gazing out the window at the dense green woodland and the elegant landscaped lawns. It’s a world away from a few beers in the common room at the hostel with your fellow travel bums.
It’s dinner time, but forget baked beans or a dirty kebab. Instead, dinner at Crathorne Hall’s award-winning restaurant offers a choice of sumptuous meals such as locally shot partridge served with griottine cherries, creamed celeriac and spinach, washed down with a lovely red wine and capped off with an almond and prune tart drizzled with crème anglaise for dessert — all fresh and sourced from local producers.
Of course, this kind of quality doesn’t come without a hefty price tag. On top of the cost of the room, it’s £120 for a five-star dinner and room service.
It ain’t exactly cheap, but it’s not ridiculously expensive either when you consider what you get.
More importantly, the weekend will be remembered as a gem. Like exploring a new city or frolicking at a festival, a stay in an English country manor is a unique experience and something well worth trying before you pack your bags for home — and this time, you won’t be taking bed bugs with you.
» Trevor Paddenburg travelled to the Crathorne Hall Hotel with Hand Picked Hotels (0845-458 0901; www.handpicked.co.uk) and Visit Tees Valley (01642-264957; www.visitteesvalley.co.uk).
