UK (or extremely close international) getaways for Easter ’24?

[ThriceForgiven]

Hi everyone!

Appreciate it’s quite late to be asking this, and prices will be eye-watering, but would appreciate any input whatsoever from this illustrious group for for suggestions on a nice domestic/international getaway over Easter with the following conditions:

* 2 to 4 day duration, and doesn’t have to 100% coincide with Easter’s Fri and Mon (i.e. can leave Friday 29th/Sat 30th and return Weds 3rd if cheaper)
* We’re London-based, so if domestic/train, something within ~3h/4h max or so by train. If international, somewhere not too far to make a 3 day stint still worth it.
* Don’t want to go too fancy, but not too cheap either. Am thinking maybe ~£300/night or so hotels
* This will be our last trip before Player 2 brings Player 3 into the world, so we’re looking for something comfortable and easy as well (i.e. no camping or anything of the sort :D)

As an example we recently stayed at The Gainsborough in Bath booked through Amex Plat’s Fine Hotels with a really good rate and loved it over there.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

[Cranzle]

Quick trip on Eurostar to Paris or Brussels?

[can2]

Let me share my plan for the Easter.

If you want to fly: try Channel Islands

Spa hotels: Yorkshire or Scotland

Peace and Nature: northern England or Scotland Grand Hotels

Doubletree/Hilton has some hotels that tick the box as well as Hyatt.

We ended up with a spa hotel for relaxation. But I always meant to fly to a Channel Island…

[BBbetter]

“This will be our last trip before Player 2 brings Player 3 into the world, so we’re looking for something comfortable and easy as well (i.e. no camping or anything of the sort :D)”

If player 2 is in 3rd trimester or close to it, I’d just recommend a spa hotel not far from London.

[bobthebuilder]

BBbetter wrote:

“This will be our last trip before Player 2 brings Player 3 into the world, so we’re looking for something comfortable and easy as well (i.e. no camping or anything of the sort :D)”

If player 2 is in 3rd trimester or close to it, I’d just recommend a spa hotel not far from London.

Luton Hoo seems to always have good reviews or comments from people who have been there.

[NigelHamilton]

I’d take a first class train to York, and go to the Grand, less than 5 mins walk from the station.

[AnotherUser]

We enjoyed Madrid and Barcelona when we were able to take pre-baby breaks. Enjoyed them 🙂 Hotel prices outside of the big US chains aren’t bad, and easy places to get around by taxi or public transport if walking is tiring. Fantastic food, museums, culture etc. Not sure what will be going on around Easter, though.

Brussels often has decent hotel rates at weekends, and easy to get to by Eurostar. Lots of good places to eat, and the Grand Place is spectacular

[Bill_B]

What about IC Estoril? The flight to Lisbon is just under 3 hours.

[meta]

Bear in mind that many places will be closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (including many restaurants, etc) in Paris and Brussels as well as in Spain and Portugal.

[NorthernLass]

Don’t rely on trains running over a bank holiday weekend!

[Michael C]

NorthernLass wrote:

Don’t rely on trains running over a bank holiday weekend!

Fixed that for ya, Anna!!

[NorthernLass]

Lol, definitely!

I second somewhere with a nice spa/pool/pregnancy treatments. It’ll probably be too cold to swim outside at The Langley but otherwise it’s very nice. You can book via Amex Plat or Emyr.

[AnotherUser]

meta wrote:

Bear in mind that many places will be closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (including many restaurants, etc) in Paris and Brussels as well as in Spain and Portugal.

Good point about the holidays

[ThriceForgiven]

Thanks everyone for your input! Plenty of food for thought, and I appreciate that the question was somewhat vague so thanks for all your input. I’m beginning to think potential staycation with pampering in London could be another option, though not one we’d be thrilled with…

[squawk7700]

Have you tried the Peak District before?

My wife very much enjoyed her pregnancy massage at Botanicals Bakewell https://www.botanicals-bakewell.co.uk/ at a fraction of London prices.

Whilst Bakewell itself is relatively average (in my opinion!) there are plenty of lovely accommodation options around in the nearby countryside.

Chatsworth Estate makes a great day out (definitely pay to tour the inside) and the Packhorse Inn at Little Longstone does some of the best food in the area, we love it there.

[NorthernLass]

That’s going to be very arduous to get to by public transport on a bank holiday weekend 😬

The Langley is reasonably near London though not cheap – Emyr benefits might make it worth it though.

[AnotherUser]

ThriceForgiven wrote:

Thanks everyone for your input! Plenty of food for thought, and I appreciate that the question was somewhat vague so thanks for all your input. I’m beginning to think potential staycation with pampering in London could be another option, though not one we’d be thrilled with…

There’s loads of great places to stay in London, but if the two of you are more excited about heading further afield I’d vote for doing that. It’s not *that* bad travelling over Easter, and while travelling with a kid can be great fun it’s a very different experience to going just as a couple.