Croftview

This generously-sized holiday home in Somerset offers self-catering accommodation in what feels like your own private hotel and spa. The 13 bedrooms at Croftview are all en suite and have a TV, toiletries and robes – throw one on and make your way down to the spa house where there’s a swimming pool, sauna and hot tub. There’s also a games room and terrace with lovely views of the property's 1200-acre estate. It may sound like a boutique country house hotel – but there are no other guests here. Book a stay and enjoy this all exclusively.

Sleeping up to 26, with four optional extra beds and up to two dogs allowed, this self-catering property is perfect for extended families and groups of friends. It’s built on the footprint of a large barn that belongs to your host Charlotte’s family farm on the Hinton Park Estate. Its heritage is only subtly in evidence though – there are a couple of retained walls and a timeline of estate history, but this is basically a super-sized modern holiday home with every possible convenience: five ovens, three dishwashers, an American-style fridge freezer in the open plan kitchen-diner and a custom-made 30-seater dining table. There’s another of those outside on the terrace, where a large gas barbecue makes alfresco meals an option. The sofa is predictably huge, as is the Smart TV in the same room.

Everyone gets their own bathroom, and the bedrooms are uniquely designed to suit different tastes and needs – there’s a ground-floor room with an accessible shower and toilet; some have bathtubs while others have walk-in showers; some can accommodate an extra bed or a travel cot; and all bar one can be configured as king-sized or twin.

For fun, there’s the spa house with its pool, sauna and hot tub, the games room with air hockey, a pool and an Xbox. There’s even a karaoke machine. Outside, check out the Hobbity underground hidey-hole with a fire pit, the kid’s play area and table tennis. There are also plenty of walks across mapped-out routes around the estate. One leads to a cracking local pub – The Lord Poulet Arms in the pretty village of Hinton St George.

That’s about as far as we predict you’ll get on a holiday here. There’s simply no reason to go anywhere else, but if you insist, the town of Ilminster is just eight miles away and seaside Lyme Regis is a drive of 35 minutes.