Travel: A different class of holiday rentals with Oliver’s Travels 

Travel: A different class of holiday rentals with Oliver’s Travels

‘The more the merrier’ is my mantra to life it seems. Be it in regards to piling roast potatoes on my plate at Sunday roast or inviting extra people on my holidays, there is always room for a few more.

Boutique hotels are magical when travelling as a twosome, but when travelling as a group, be it work or play, friends or family, I will always opt for a home or villa rental. Firstly, rentals move you away from the tourist trap areas and really push you into local life, urging you to explore beyond the confines of a resort. Secondly, I am a sucker for the type of commune type living that is forced upon you on large group holidays. The chef, the tidier, the bartend, everyone has their role. You are free to create a schedule that works around your individual wants and needs. The extra communal spaces afforded by a home type spaces means you can be as blissfully weird as you like. If a game of charades or similar gets out of hand at least you are in no danger of scaring other guests or fearing their wrathful glances at breakfast the next morning.

Of course when talking about holiday rentals, the big household names immediately come to mind and although they have without a doubt done wonders in opening up budget travel options, everyone has heard an online booking horror story. Be it a fake listing, some very odd owners or a case of some very clever camera work preceding crushing disappointment on arrival. So when it comes to those really important trips that call for luxury spaces I have the Oliver’s Travels concierge team on my speed dial. Boasting over 14 years of experience and a portfolio of over 3,000 handpicked and personally vetted properties across the UK, Europe, Caribbean and Bali, they really know their shacks from their chateaux’s. On hand day or night is their team of real life people, offering a complimentary concierge service. Thankfully there are no unmanned inboxes and responses in 2-3 working days here. From suggestions to suit your needs to arranging indulgent extras like catering, babysitting and local tours, the team take all the stress and uncertainty away. I don’t doubt their specialist wedding concierge team are already in many of the top wedding planners little black books too.

First impressions count at Inglethorpe Hall

So with 2018 feeling like the year of total Royal saturation, I thought I would follow their lead and head to Norfolk to unwind before the Christmas madness fully ensued. Browsing through the Oliver’s Travels website I fell in love with Inglethorpe Hall, a Grade II country manor situated a mere stone’s throw away from the rather regal Sandringham estate. 

The fairylight-lined gravel drive reveals the BBC costume drama worthy exterior, home to 9 bedrooms, providing more than enough room for the whole holiday crew. Fresh from an extensive 3 year restoration, this is country class at its best. Original Georgian features take centre stage with fitting contemporary pieces to ensure it is as welcoming as it is impressive. No modern luxury has been overlooked. The roaring fires and sofas deep enough to sink into make it pretty hard to tear yourself to bed at the end of the evening. But the personal roll-top baths in your room do manage to lure you eventually. 

 

There is the potential to sleep an additional 15 guests in the grounds surrounding cottages should you be the height of popularity. And the addition of a playroom complete with huge TV and pool table make it a great choice for transgenerational holiday or entertaining those that are kids at heart.

Hearth and home courtesy of Oliver's Travels

Hearth and home courtesy of Oliver’s Travels

Inglethorpe Halls fully equipped kitchen and pantry stocked piled with the essentials I had inevitably forgotten to bring with me, made feeding the masses all too easy. A separate dining room complete with long tables is the perfect space for noisy sharing type dinners. Then you can retire (I believe that is what one does in these type of houses) to one of the lounges with a large glass of red wine to finish off the perfect evening. Of course if you find my idea of communal living and consequently doing the washing up on holiday absolutely abhorrent Oliver’s Travels are more than happy to organise full catering with locally sourced specialists.

Undoubtedly, Norfolk deserves its title as an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, any British beach that can tempt me outside in the depths of winter and indeed enchant me, as Holkam beach did, truly is a thing of wonder. With its vast dramatic plains of sand and wild grasses, it will make an explorer out of even the most couch friendly members of your party. Of course should you wish to see even more of the Royals in 2019 you can hope to catch a glimpse whilst exploring the neighbouring Sandringham estate. Or the idyllic villages of Snettisham, Burnham Market and Holt are worth a visit for an immersion into rural country living.

When it came to arriving home, minus the gang, the roaring fire, the indulgent roll top baths and antique grandeur, it’s impossible not to feel a little flat. But I have it on good authority that Oliver’s Travels are in the process of expanding into Florida, so perhaps it’s about time I find a winter sun ‘home’ to banish these January blues? Question is, who is with me?

Inglethorpe Hall can be booked with Oliver’s Travels from £2,962 for a 3-night stay sleeping 20 (oliverstravels.com // 0800 133 7999)

 

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