8:31am Monday 18th January 2010
By Telegraph & Argus
As the cold snap persuades people to stay by their own firesides, demand for short breaks in Britain could see a steep fall unless hotels, B&B establishments and holiday cottage operators make their terms more attractive.
Hey Green Country House Hotel at Marsden in the Yorkshire Pennines offers dinner for £75 per couple, including drinks with free overnight accommodation, and a chance to explore its 15 acres of lakes and woodland.
Porth Veor Manor, a manor house hotel in North Cornwall, has something similar. From January 29 until March 18, guests get free accommodation if they stay on half-board basis, making the rate just £37.50 per person.
Closer to home in Haworth, The Old Registry guest house offers bed and breakfast for £60 per couple through January – half the usual rate.
Hand Picked Hotels, a collection of 17 country house hotels across the UK, offers mini spa days from £70 for two, two-for-one spa packages from £99 for two guests, or a five-day luxury transformer programme from £1,350 including expert advice and rest periods between treatments.
Overnight detox for two at Norton House Hotel & Spa in Ingliston, Edinburgh, from £209, is available from Sundays to Fridays until March 31.
In the centre of Salisbury, Millford Hall Hotel has a winter saver rate of £60 per room per night, including breakfast, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights until the end of February.
Among the groups, Barcelo UK, with 21 hotels ranging from city getaways to country retreats, is offering stays until February 28 including dinner, bed and breakfast for £29.50 per person, for two sharing. Quote ‘Supersale’ at time of booking.
If you prefer a self-catering break, check out cottages4you.co.uk which claims a range of options – including Sherborne in Dorset, Whitby, and Cardigan Bay – all costing between £5 and £9 per person per night at full capacity.
Coach operator Shearings also needs steady demand to keep its hotels around the UK ticking over. Four nights’ all-inclusive in Morecambe, from £109 per person including return coach travel, is less than half the original brochure price, with departures from January to March.
Weather permitting, true romantics might head for Falmouth, Cornwall, for a Valentine break. Superbreak offers two nights’ dinner, bed and breakfast at the three-star St Michael’s Hotel and Spa within four-acre grounds from £199 per person, including champagne truffles and strawberries on arrival.
INFORMATION: Hey Green Country House Hotel (01484 848000); Hand Picked Hotels (0845 4580901); The Old Registry, Haworth (01535 646503); Millford Hall Hotel (01722 417411); Porth Veor Manor (01637 879572); Barcelo UK (0800 6528413); cottages4you (cottages4you.co.uk, 0845 2680760); Shearings (0844 8246350); Superbreak (0871 2213344).
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