subject: Follow quietly in the footsteps of Queen Victoria and Christine Keeler [print this page] Peace and privacy are becoming ever more precious - and hard to find. But both are offered in abundance in the new selection of 'hideaway' properties from Exclusive Use.
Small and secluded luxury venues include a garden lodge and a riverside retreat, each of which can be taken over exclusively just for two, or just for a few. The Exclusive Use website features gorgeous images and all the details needed to help choose your own unique hideaway, whether it's for a romantic night away, a few days with special friends, or an intimate celebratory break.
Guests at many properties have the benefit of being able to use the dining and leisure amenities of a nearby hotel, while others provide their own self-catering facilities. Some houses even offer the indulgence of personal staff and gourmet cuisine delivered to your door. Exclusive Use guarantees the best prices at each.
For example, a couple or a small family - and even a pet dog - can hide away in the picturesque thatched Pavilion Cottage, in the 50-acre grounds of Gidleigh Park hotel within Devon's Dartmoor National Park. The idyllic and romantic two-bedroom cottage has a wood-panelled sitting room and a private full-length verandah overlooking the lawns and moors beyond. Guests can cook for themselves or dine in the hotel's renowned two Michelin-star restaurant. Cost with breakfast is 630 per night for two and 740 for four.
A 200-year-old cottage with a colourful history on the banks of the Thames in Berkshire provides the utmost in privacy and escapism. The picturesque, mock-Tudor Spring Cottage in the grounds of stately Cliveden House can count Queen Victoria and Christine Keeler among its past guests. A perfect retreat for two, or a treat for up to six, it comes complete with a personal butler. Staff can serve meals in the cottage, or provide transport to the hotel. As an example of price, three nights' exclusive use for up to six with breakfast costs from 2,250.
Mesmerising views across Lake Ullswater and the Lakeland fells await guests at Bank House, a 17th-century former farmhouse belonging to Sharrow Bay hotel. With its own sweeping drive, it is a mile along the lake from the hotel and furnished and decorated in sumptuous style with rich fabrics and fine antiques. A four-night stay for up to 11 people with breakfast every day and dinner on three nights costs 4,262 midweek in winter.
