14 charming Airbnbs in the UK for Christmas
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Whether you need more space to host the whole gang, or want to escape to pretty village for a change of scenery, taking over a UK Airbnb at Christmas is an ideal way to celebrate the festive season. For inspiration, we’ve rounded up the loveliest Airbnbs to book during the festive period – from seaside escapes for two to countryside hangouts big enough for the whole crew.
While we have not stayed in every Airbnb featured, unless otherwise stated, these listings are vetted based on Guest Favourite status, amenities, location, previous guest reviews and decor.
Country manor, Shropshire
Can you imagine a more quintessentially British Christmas than one spent gathered around the fireplace at this chocolate box manor house? Hosts Nell and her family live in the east wing, but the west side is all yours to pile full of presents and festive cheer. Inside is as charming as can be – all deep wooden beams and panelling, a jumble of blue and white crockery and big Chesterfields to flop onto after a brisk walk around the Shropshire hills. Bundle up in a big jumper and head into the garden for some stargazing – the skies are beautiful around here – then warm up afterwards with a spell in the wood-fired jacuzzi.
Sleeps: Four
Price: From around £136 per night, with a two-night minimum
19th-century coach house, North Dorset
Families will love this spacious coach house, nestled among rolling hills in the rural village of Okeford Fitzpaine. There’s plenty of room to pull together a slap-up Christmas dinner in the expansive kitchen before you flop on the sofa with a blanket for a film or two. The interiors are bright and breezy, with a crackling log fire to warm chilly toes. Beyond the front door, an abundance of beautiful countryside to walk or cycle around awaits, which can be rounded off nicely with a stop for mulled wine at the Royal Oak, a most charming village pub.
Sleeps: Four
Price: From around £140 per night
16th-century tower, the Scottish Borders
This is a bijou Airbnb, but proof that good things come in small packages – namely, the chance to experience the festive season from the very top of a 15th-century mediaeval tower. You’re better off booking a Christmas dinner at one of the fabulous pubs or restaurants around – there’s a kitchenette, but it’s predictably teeny – but for a romantic Christmas for two, this provides the chance to enjoy the season as lord or lady of your own miniature castle. At bedtime, potter up the spiral stone staircase to the secluded upper chamber, then spend a leisurely morning in the grand panelled hall. You’re right by the river Leader, so there are plenty of lovely winter walks – you’re in one of the most gloriously beautiful parts of the Scottish countryside.
Sleeps: Three
Price: From around £50 per night
17th Century Barn, Oxfordshire
It’s a traditional 17th century barn, but not as you’d expect. Enter through the sweeping entrance into an elegant and refined space, with a muted colour scheme that balances sleekness with a big dose of cosiness. Everything is finished to a very high spec, with a private terrace, proper laundry room, underfloor heating and plenty of room to stretch out, relax and make the most of your Christmas day haul. The location is perfect for both post-lunch walks in the Chilterns and exploring pretty Oxford. The barn is also sat in the same village as Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons (one of our favourite hotels for Christmas in the UK) with its Raymond Blanc-helmed restaurant that’s retained its two Michelin stars since opening 39 years ago – perfect for hosting Christmas lunch. Previous guests have been thrilled after a stay here, describing it as better than the pictures would suggest.
Sleeps: Four
Price: From around £280 per night
Abbie MelleCotswold Farm Hideaway, Gloucestershire
Swiss owner Judith has given this cluster of Cotswolds country cottages and outbuildings a refined costume change, with vintage furniture stealing the spotlight in otherwise neutral spaces. There are three Cotswold Airbnbs here – take them all over for the privacy and space that comes with renting your own property, while keeping close enough to the rest of the family for impromptu mince pie snaffling and present sneaking. The biggest cottage, Whitehall, has stacks of logs for fires, as well as duck eggs and just-baked bread left out for breakfast. One-time artist’s studio Winterspring sleeps four, while Willow, the smallest, has space for two. The buildings are set on a farm, so there’s bags of space for little ones to run riot in mud-caked wellies; or you can work up an appetite for Christmas lunch en masse by tramping along the Cotswold Way, which runs right past the farm.
Sleeps: 12
Price: from £580 a night for all three cottages
The Curator’s Apartment, Bath
Two slender floors of a Georgian townhouse in Bath have been given the country-hotel treatment by former investment banker Tina Liu. The result is a stripped-back, carefully curated space that reminds us of Hampshire’s Heckfield Place (one of the best country hotels in the UK), but with all the space you need for an utterly laid-back Christmas. This is a grown-up bolthole, so we’d recommend booking with friends to spend Christmas morning listening to the bells from St Swithin’s church (within walking distance; you might know the name from its Austen connections) and opening presents on the vintage furniture.
Sleeps: four
Price: from £135 a night
Spinks Nest Cottage, Hunworth, North Norfolk
Cosy up in this charming one-bed cottage in north Norfolk’s beautiful landscape and lose yourself in its surrounding nature. Owners Ana Perez and Alan Flett have recently renovated the countryside den, bringing a fresh splat of colour with vibrant greens and earthy tones and decking it out with reclaimed furniture. The original flint of the building has been exposed as part of its stylish upgrade and vintage fabrics, such as beautiful Morris & Co curtains, animate the rooms. Venture out two miles to the lovely town of Holt and enjoy brisk coastal walks along the seafront, before retreating back for a snuggled-up evening in front of the wood burner. By Cordelia Aspinall
Sleeps: two
Price: from £220 a night
Jane Austen's House, Bath
As the previous home of the Austen family from 1801 to 1805, this apartment is more an experience than just another Airbnb stay. Framed vintage photographs, antique furniture and walls overflowing with artwork mean the space is packed to the brim with bohemian character and charm, along with plenty of cosy nooks to curl up with a book or open gifts on Christmas morning. The galley kitchen has all you need for rustling up a Christmas day feast, as well as a dishwasher to help make the clean up easier. While the history is evident throughout the study, sitting and dining areas, the bathroom is completely modernised and minimal with a rainfall show and underfloor heating.
Sleeps: Three
Price: From about £200 a night
Forter Castle, Perthshire
Built in the Highlands in 1560 and burned down less than a century later, this Scottish castle an hour's drive into the mountains north of Perth was finally reconstructed in the 1980s. The hosts have leaned into the legends and myths of their misty surroundings – there’s no shortage of antlers or tartan here. Some bedrooms have four-posters and gilded portraits on the walls; others are dominated by open fireplaces. Children will love hiding away in the attic, which has a couple of beds in the eaves that are perfect for midnight feasts. Bring in a caterer to cook blinis and chestnuts in the surprisingly modern kitchen while you sip on whisky left in decanters in the bedrooms. The Wi-Fi here is shaky at best, too – enforcing a Christmas digital detox that will leave you feeling refreshed for the new year.
Sleeps: 12
Price: from £1,099 a night
Stone cottage, Peak District
The pretty village of Castleton is pure Christmas-card material – stone houses overlooking trickling streams backed by craggy hills, with white-knuckle roads carving through the surrounding valleys. On summer weekends, it's a honeypot for local walkers; in winter, the cosy pubs squeezed between leaning rows of farm shops and tea rooms are more of a calling card than the hiking trails. Host Marianne charms traditionalists at her 200-year-old cottage – with its flagstone flooring, inglenook fireplace and stacks of board games for snowed-in evenings – and leaves out a tray of wine, handcrafted pork pies and shortbread for your arrival. The kitchen is more than big enough to cook a proper Christmas lunch, followed by a waddle down to The George or Ye Olde Nags Head for a locally brewed pint.
Sleeps: four
Price: from £130 a night
WWW.MATTSP.CO.UKThe Chocolate Box, Suffolk
Pretty pastels run throughout Australian couple Sophie and Harry’s cottage just off Aldeburgh high street on the craggy Suffolk coast – sea-foam walls in the twin bedroom, an oyster-silver bathroom, candy-pink courtyard walls outside. Squishy sofas and armchairs are scattered around an open fire (perfect for opening presents) and the oak dining table is ginormous enough to withstand plates upon plates of pigs in blankets and stuffing. A waterfront walk to one of the many pubs in town is a post-lunch must-do.
Sleeps: four
Price: £632 for a three-night minimum stay
The Crofter’s House, Isle of Skye
This 1830s-built cottage is about as far removed from a slick city pad as you can get – set in the rugged Skye landscape, surrounded by scrubby countryside, a couple of minutes’ walk from serene Camustianavaig Bay. Interiors are a masterclass in Scandi-minimalism: all-white shiplap and abstract art, plus carefully curated recipe and guide books, as well as maps for exploring the local area. Drive five miles down the single-track road to Portree, Skye’s biggest town, where crayon-coloured houses are set around a pretty harbour.
Sleeps: two
Price: from £150 a night
A thatched cottage, Cornwall
Remove the stress of deciding whose family you’ll visit for the festive period and take off, just the two of you, to a middle-of-nowhere Airbnb in Cornwall. Sound tempting? Enter, stage left, this diminutive thatched house near St Agnes, a few miles inland of Cornwall’s north coast. All the classic elements of a Christmassy stay are present and correct: an open fireplace, thick blankets draped over restored Ercol chairs, a tiny courtyard for braving a Champagne toast under the stars. Walk a few steps to The Miners Arms for beer-battered catch of the day or flaky pies, or venture a little further to The South West Coast Path to blow away the Boxing Day cobwebs.
Sleeps: two
Price: from £93 a night
Dan y Graig, Wales
Christmas lunch under the exposed beams at this handsome farmhouse on the Pembrokeshire coast can be followed up with a Blue-Flag beach stroll just as you hit danger-nap territory. Walk to Porthmelgan, a tiny cove surrounded by hills or, on clear days, tackle some of the Carn Llidi mountain path. Back at the cottage, four big bedrooms mean there’s enough room for the whole family, and the slick kitchen has plenty of space for whipping up Christmas lunch.
Sleeps: eight
Price: from £325 a night