Is it the coddling warmth? The frothy jets? The chance to wear your holiday swimsuit minus the tropical temperatures? Whatever the draw, it seems like everyone is obsessed with hot tubs, with many Londoners swearing they wouldn’t book a self-catering getaway without one.
So if you’re booking a group trip, these are our pick-of-the-crop hot tub party houses — big enough to fill with family or friends — which allow you to steam together in style. Whether your jam is an elegant historic manor house, or an architecturally daring seaside pile, there’s one for every occasion.
Cuckney House, Welbeck, Nottinghamshire
Sleeps: 40
Best for: A fully-catered affair
A hot tub experience of the most exclusive sort. Grade II-listed and gorgeously renovated, picture-perfect Cuckney House is set on the former Duke of Portland’s Welbeck Estate, one of the country’s most epic private properties — home to white fallow deer, underground tunnels and the grandiose Welbeck Abbey mansion, dating to the 12th century.
Much of the estate is closed to the public, but a stay at Cuckney provides insider access, alongside the chance to relish meats, cheeses, breads, beers and rums produced on the land. Dream up your ideal menu and leave the whipping up to pro chefs from the onsite School of Artisan Food, then later drift up to bedrooms dressed in saturated hues, floral wallpapers and original fireplaces.
Hot tub time: The duo of hotties — yes, there’s two tubs — sit theatrically next to a manicured lawn, by a row of loungers where you can enjoy a post-soak snooze.
Details: Two nights from £6,380. cuckneyhouse.co.uk
Hesdin Hall, Chapmanslade, Wiltshire
-(1).jpeg)
Sleeps: 18, plus 6
Best for: Birthday bashes
Hesdin Estate doesn’t like celebrations — it loves them. In Wiltshire countryside near Warminster, this clutch of farm buildings has been redeveloped explicitly with good times in mind. They’ve thought of everything, from bountiful cutlery to social cooking areas, on-tap games to fire pits and, of course, hot tubs big enough to accommodate a crowd.
Eight-suite mansion Hesdin Hall is the largest of the bunch, a three-storey pile with outdoor kitchen, oversized dining table, foosball, Xbox and dedicated drinks fridge. Interior design is loud and fun (bright pinks, cow prints, eclectic art) and to keep the momentum going you can book jazzy extras like group candle-making workshops or a monster macaron tower.
Hot tub time: Crack open the drinks, pour into the kitchen’s plastic glasses (we did say they’ve thought of everything) and away you soak. That is, if you’re not tempted by the heated pool instead.
Details: Four nights from £2,380. hesdin.co.uk
Carnivàle, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Sleeps: 10
Best for: Music geeks
Bestival, much-loved music festival of the Isle of Wight, might now be RIP, but it lives on in this house on the Yarmouth waterfront — owned by event creators the Lynwodes. It tune with Bestival’s bohemian MO, Carnivàle feels like a Goa beach house, with checkerboard tiling surrounding a turquoise pool, a window-lined lounge with bright bursts of electric colour and an open-plan kitchen with communal dining benches.
There are vintage Bollywood posters and tasseled lampshades; an old tuk tuk and tiger motifs; and a crocheted peace sign from the Bestival main stage — one-of-a-kind musical memorabilia.
Hot tub time: Set the mood to ‘chill out’ with an impromptu sound bath using the house chau gong, then slip into the wood-lined hot tub positioned on a sweeping first-floor sun deck.
Details: Short week from £8,495. uniquehomestays.com
Orchardleigh Castle, Frome, Somerset
Sleeps: 12 + 12
Best for: Wedding parties
If you can’t say ‘I do’ without a pre-nuptial soak, book yourself and your spouse-to-be into Orchardleigh, a 500-acre estate specialising in glam wedding bashes. It’s dotted with self-catering party houses of various sizes, but turreted Orchardleigh Castle has undeniable wow-factor. Originally built in 1485 for the arrival of the Duke of Gloucester and suitably medieval-regal, it consists of two separate battlements, each one sleeping 12. Both spaces are furnished with a wood-panelled lounge and bedrooms with exposed stone. It’s all very Henry XVIII.
Hot tub time: While they may not be original 15th century features, the two eight-person hot tubs — one for each battlement — fit right in here, surrouned by greenery and tucked under a pergola.
Details: From £600 per night. orchardleigh.net
The Water Shed, Chichester, West Sussex
Sleeps: 10
Best for: Demure gatherings
For low-key, relaxed get-togethers — think elegant dinner parties, multi-gen family reunions or a detox weekend away — this exceptional West Sussex home fringed by a natural swimming pool provides one stunner of a backdrop. If it looks familiar it’s because it featured on Grand Designs, when owner-designers Nina and Dan fused their own breed of contemporary architecture with the joys of the great outdoors.
Wake early to oodles of natural light pouring through yawning windows, then descend the suspended spiral staircase to see birds flitting around the beach and greenery lining the natural pool. A dip is calling.
Hot tub time: The perfect warm-up after your wild swim, the outdoor barrel hot tub is surrounded by blooms, grasses and boulders in an effortlessly chic arrangement. But given the impeccable state of everything else in this home, is that really a surprise?
Details: From £3,360 for two nights. thewatershed.co.uk
Birkenbaud, Moray, Scotland
Sleeps: 10
Best for: Remote surrounds
If you want your hot tub stay to come with sweeping views of forest, lochs and fields, you could do far worse than this Highland retreat in Moray, sleeping up to 10. Though the remote scene is only part of the appeal: you’re also in the heart of the Speyside whisky region, with iconic names like Glenfiddich, Glen Elgin and Benromach but round the corner. When you aren’t out hiking or whisky-tasting, you can enjoy Birkenbaud’s spacious, Scandi-style central lounge, lined in windows and warmed by the halo of a crackling wood burner.
Hot tub time: The sizzling depths of the al fresco hot tub are covered with a corrugated iron roof to shield from wind, rain and snow. Nestled next door is a sauna, firepit and outdoor bar area, to keep the party alfresco until the wee hours.
Details: From £1,947 for a long weekend or mid-week break. boutique-retreats.co.uk
Acacia Spa House, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Sleeps: 12-14
Best for: Wellness weekends
This house near Cirencester takes spa-ing so seriously they’ve put it in the name. There’s not only a wood-fired hot tub — backed by leafy palms — but a sun-trap relaxation deck, five-berth barrel sauna and rejuvenatingly icy plunge pool. On the acre of gardens you’ll find hammocks and loungers, as well as a pizza oven for easy social dinners, and massages and beauty therapies can be arranged on site, too. When the sun is shining you’ll question the need to go indoors at all, unless it’s for a cat nap in one of the classic, cosy rooms.
Non tub time: When isn’t it hot tub time here? Try to dry off long enough to explore nearby Cirencester, an old Roman core with a fab market square.
Details: Two nights from £2,600. kateandtoms.com
Little Cottage, Praa Sands, Cornwall
Sleeps: 10
Best for: Seaside fun
Chic white lines, swathes of glass, compelling views towards a surf-lined horizon — this not-so-little modernist pile on the Cornish coast is about as close as Britain gets to Miami Beach. Light pours in from every angle, illuminating the minimalist alabaster spaces accented with colourful artworks. Bedrooms have sea-hued tiling in bathrooms and beachy rattan lampshades to echo the theme, while a cosy den catering to families comes equipped with games, keyboard and foosball table. Besides the hot tub, outside has a firepit, trampoline and separate shower.
Hot tub time: Like most things at Little Cottage, the garden hottie is best enjoyed just before or after a salty dip off mile-long Praa Sands beach.
Details: Three nights from £2,297. luxurycoastal.co.uk
Cartmel Mansion, Grange-over-sands, Cumbria
Sleeps: 20-22
Best for: A WFH getaway
If you’ve already overcommitted your 2025 holiday days, why not try a WFH escape with a circle of remote-working mates or close colleagues, where a day of Zoom meetings or Slack chats can be bookended with de-stressing hot tub soaks. Built in 1815, this Lake District manor house is the perfect get-together home for digital nomads, not only for its conference-capable dining area, but its eclectic extras. For example there’s a cellar snug with juke box and pin ball machine; a dedicated cinema; even a cheese room stuffed with truckles made by neighbouring farmer Martin Gott. When it comes to eats, you can have a former MasterChef champion fix your meals or take turns making your own signature dishes in the outdoor cooking area (we hear Sandra from HR makes one heck of a brisket).
Hot tub time: Come 5pm switch on the OOO and debrief in the wood-burning hot tub, set among six acres of grounds.
Details: Two nights from £6,515. oliverstravels.com
The West End, Hawarden, Deeside
Sleeps: 10
Best for: Culture trips
Sprawling across the first and second floors of historic Hawarden Castle — a dreamy 18th century pile surrounded by woodland — five-bedroom The West End was once home to former British PM William Gladstone. But it’s not just a group getaway for politics geeks: art lovers will lap up the originals by the likes of Damian Hirst and Ai Weiwei on display, while crafty visitors will enjoy sessions at the onsite Walled Garden school — where classes range from lampshade making to garden planning.
In short, this is a spot for a group of culture-minded friends or family members who will enjoy the story of this unique stay as much as its gorgeously designed five bedrooms, painted in muted tones and furnished with mismatched antiques.
Hot tub time: You’ll need to endure a short walk to a private woodland glade to reach the wood-fired hot tub, but any chills you may suffer en route only make the eventual coddling dip all the more delicious.
Details: Three nights from £3,300. hawardenestateholidays.co.uk
