Five Best: UK Family Breaks

1. Woolley Grange Hotel, Wiltshire

The benchmark against which all other UK family hotels are measured: Woolley Grange pioneered the "adult-friendly" family hotel, where "boutique" and "luxury" aren't bywords for "no children please". There is a kids' club, or rather an Ofsted-registered supervised play area, but your offspring won't be confined to it. Gourmet dining, plush décor and in-room spa treatments are to be enjoyed as a family plus there are 14 acres of land to explore around this converted Jacobean Manor House along with bikes, children's croquet, a playground and outdoor heated pool.

Woolley Grange Hotel, Woolley Green, Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts, BA15 1TX (01225 864705, www.woolleygrangehotel.co.uk). £145 per person, per night, B&B, based on two sharing. Children sharing parents' room are charged for meals only. Two-night minimum stay at weekends

2. Calcot Manor, Gloucestershire

One of the most fêted of today's new breed of British country hotels, set in a 220-acre estate, three miles west of the Cotswold town of Tetbury. The dedicated family annex, tucked away from the main house, has family rooms and suites, connected to reception via a baby-listening service. Facilities include a "Playzone" set in a restored barn with activities for ages 0-16, an Ofsted-registered crêche and spa access for kid pampering at set times. Bikes are available, to explore the grounds, along with tennis, ball sports, an artfully designed playground and indoor/outdoor pools.

Calcot Manor, Near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8YJ (01666 890 391, www.calcotmanor.co.uk). Family rooms from £235 per night, half-board. Children under 12 pay a supplement of £25 per day for breakfast and high tea/13 years and over £30

3. The Knoll House Hotel, Dorset

This family-run hotel on the edge of Dorset's Jurassic Coast is set in a 100-acre estate sloping down to Studland Bay's three-mile beach. If paddling in the surf doesn't suffice, there are indoor/outdoor pools, along with indoor/outdoor play areas, an adventure playground, tennis courts, a nine-hole pitch and putt golf course, and a spa. A children's dining room for under-eights offers early suppers and kids' menu plus parents have 24-hour access to drinks and baby food. The hotel has various sizes of family room including suites with connecting rooms. A baby-listening service is on offer 7.30-11pm and baby-sitting is available.

The Knoll House Hotel, Studland Bay, Dorset BH19 3AH (01929 450450, www.knollhouse.co.uk). From £77 per person, per night, b&b based on two sharing an en-suite double room. Children 12 and under qualify for variously discounted rates

4. Hell Bay Hotel, Scilly Isles

For a real getaway, try this hotel set in beachfront grounds on the western tip of Bryher Island, 30 miles off the Cornish coast. Outdoor heated pool, gym, sauna, spa, games room, golf course, children's playground and a seasonal sailing school are on offer to guests plus diving, snorkelling, windsurfing, kayaking and inter-island boat trips can be arranged. The hotel's 23 bright, modern rooms are all suites including two-room family suites. High tea and early dinners are provided for children with fresh fish, crab and lobster delivered daily.

Hell Bay Hotel, Bryher Island, Scilly Isles (01720 422947, www.tresco.co.uk). £135 per person, per night, based on two sharing half-board accommodation including transfer from the mainland. Under 12s sharing an adult's room pay £40 for high tea and breakfast. Children in their own room pay 70 per cent of the adult half-board tariff

5. CenterParcs

For many parents, a mini-break at CenterParcs has become a modern rite of passage. Whether you visit Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Sherwood Forest in Notts, Longleat Forest in Wiltshire or Whinfell Forest in Cumbria, you'll find a long list of hearty activities - from horse riding and dance classes to zip wires and "adventure golf" - amid hundreds of acres of car-free, cycle-friendly woodland. Grown-ups will gravitate to the treatments at the Aqua Sana spa centre, but the biggest draws all round - especially when the weather isn't great - are the flumes, slides, rapids and whirlpool baths of the Subtropical Swimming Paradise, an indoor waterworld of its own. Surreal but fun.

A 3-bedroom Comfort villa sleeping 6 people starts from £319 per villa for a 3-night weekend break and £229 for a 4-night midweek break. For more details and booking information, call 08705 200 300, or see www.centerparcs.co.uk

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