Best Family Friendly Hotels in United Kingdom

The highlight of the 90 roomed Rudding Park is undoubtedly its stunning glass rooftop spa comprising a 17-metre pool, eatery and garden. While Harrogate is just a short car ride away, the property is surrounded by peaceful parkland and two golf courses. The decor is funky yet chic featuring bold modern art, dramatic feature pieces and an urban meets country style. Dine in the Clocktower restaurant, drink on the terraces, work out in the gym and catch a film in the private cinema.

Laid back but classy, this super family-friendly establishment offers plenty of school holiday-friendly pursuits and rooms or apartments sleeping up to eight people. There’s tennis, swimming, croquet, badminton, bikes, a cinema room, creche and a kids club on-site, as well as free access to the nearby National Trust galleries. Adults can enjoy some alone or couple time with bespoke treatments in the spa, and candlelit meals at Federick’s. The hotel itself is an imposing 18th-century manor house enveloped by an enormous area of parkland, four miles from Bury St Edmunds.

40 miles from Glasgow (certainly, as the crow flies) is Portavadie Marina, a resort surrounded by rolling West Coast hills and on the banks of Loch Fyne. The hotel itself is a modern and glass-fronted building overlooking the marina full of yachts and boats. The village itself is compact with not much more than a few cottages, but the resort more than makes up for that with its luxury spa and well-being facilities. After a £10 million development, the contemporary spa facility offers a 16-metre pool, fully equipped gym, sauna (with a picture window offering incredible views), Jacuzzi, and a plethora of spa treatments using Ishga products developed in the Outer Hebrides using the pure Scottish seaweed. The star of the show here however is the heated outdoor infinity pool (the biggest in Scotland) which feels like you are swimming in the loch but without the freezing temperatures!

Conveniently located on the edge of the stunning Windsor Great Park, this hotel provides a very green outlook. Sitting beside a lake and landscaped gardens it’s a serene setting, but with ample onsite facilities. There are more than 200 large bedrooms and multiple places to eat and drink: the 1215 Restaurant, the 1215 Bar, the Orchid Tea Room, MOREISH Restaurant, The Library Club, Schroders’ Botanicals Bar and Greens Cafe. A spa and wellness area offers group classes and advanced treatments such as cryotherapy, dry flotation and nutritional therapy. Book the luxury two-bedroom corner suite for your own in-room private cocktail bar.

The Athenaeum Hotel is a five-star hotel and residences with a five-star history. Dating back to the 1800’s the building has taken many forms; from a popular Gentlemen’s Club, a luxurious Art Deco apartment block and a prestigious hotel – The Athenaeum Hotel has become synonymous with the important, the rich and the famous. The Athenaeum has made a name for itself not just as a hotel but also as a dining destination on its own merit. As the name suggests, Galvin at The Athenaeum is the hotel restaurant by Michelin-starred chef brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin, known for the French-inspired menus the brothers have developed a menu for this restaurant that champions classic British produce. The cosy bar is also a firm favourite with hotel residents and non-residents alike, with a carefully curated cocktail menu it’s well worth a visit.

There can be no more regal outlook than Buckingham Palace. And that’s exactly what this full-service five-star hotel opposite the Royal Mews offers. Guests are met by liveried doormen, before being checked into bedrooms with four-posters, fabric-covered walls, velvet tapestries and Murano chandeliers. Many of the rooms are royal-themed, paying homage to Britain’s monarchs and singles are available for solo travellers. The English Grill is the main restaurant; The Curry Room has a menu of Indian food; The Palace Lounge offers classic afternoon teas; and The New York Bar is a cool cocktail hangout.

The superb Scottish mansion and lodge is situated at the heart of the Trump International Estate in Aberdeenshire. The lodge is surrounded by mountain ranges, rivers and lochs. The property’s secret stairways, extensive whiskey collection, and traditional log fires maintain and offer an authentic Scottish cultural experience. Charming and luxurious rooms have great entertainment amenities and free wi-fi access. The property’s restaurant offers fine dining and special diet menus on request. Traditional Scottish breakfast is served in the mornings including haggis, Stornoway black pudding etc. The elegant dining room is great for special cocktail events.

Found right on the riverbank, this four-star hotel provides direct access to some water-based recreation in the form of its own hire boats. In the summertime, the outdoor terrace becomes an open-air cinema, as well as a place to eat and drink. Very family (and dog) friendly, the hotel has a games room with a PS4 and Xbox, table tennis, a playground and an indoor pool for kids. There’s also an outdoor pool area with sun loungers, a hot tub, and a Guinot crown elite spa. A river theme runs throughout The Runnymede, in the decor and its aptly named Leftbank restaurant (boasting a theatre-style kitchen and Japanese robata-style grill) and the Lock Bar restaurant.

The Retreat Elcot Park is a newly re-imagined 18th-century country house hotel and spa set in magnificent grounds, located in the heart of the beautiful West Berkshire countryside. The hotel boasts 55 rooms and suites (including adjoining rooms – ideal for families) each of which is beautifully appointed and displays its own individual charm. Eating and drinking is a memorable experience here with two stunning restaurants offering exceptional quality food; the 1772 Brasserie and Yu, pan-Asian Restaurant. For more informal drinks, light bites, and Afternoon Tea, guests can make use of the Orangery and many other fabulous spaces around the hotel. Relax and unwind in the spa, make a splash in the heated outdoor pool and the hydrotherapy indoor pool, and get active in the gym, fitness studio, or even on the tennis court.

While spa breaks are traditionally the domain of adults, Woolley Grange offers a unique all-age experience. Mini-me pamper sessions catering to younger skin enable kids to get a taste of treatments and the large indoor pool with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the charming Bath stone walled garden, is super for some fun splash time. But there are also zoned areas for grown-ups to relax away from the little ones. The treatment spaces are housed within a contemporary oak-timber building that exudes a sense of calm as soon as you enter. And there’s also an outdoor heated 12-metre pool, open from May to September.