Guide ·
Family reunion accommodation: one house for the whole family
A family reunion is the hardest group to house: a 2 year old and an 82 year old, four couples who want a door that shuts, and someone who has to drive from Aberdeen. Here is what to look for.
A hen weekend wants a hot tub and a big table. A family reunion wants all of that plus a bedroom on the ground floor, a bath for the toddler, a room the teenagers can disappear into, and somewhere the dog can go. The good news is that the UK has hundreds of farmhouses, manors and converted barns built for exactly this, and most of them sit empty in the quiet months.
Pick the size by bedrooms, not by sleeps
Start by writing down the sleeping units: each couple, each single adult, and the children in groups that can share. Fourteen people might be five couples, two single grandparents, and four children. That is seven bedrooms plus a bunk room, so you need a house that sleeps 16 to 18 on paper to get everyone a door. The sleeps figure on a listing counts sofa beds and z-beds; the bedrooms figure in the facts table is the honest one.
Ground floor and stairs
If anyone has trouble with stairs, this is the first filter and the one the agencies describe worst. 226 of the houses here list a ground-floor bedroom, and it shows as a chip on the card and in the facts table. Then look for “wet room” in the description, and at the photos for steps to the front door. Old farmhouses in the Dales and the Lakes often have steep, narrow stairs and a step down into every room; purpose-built barn conversions and newer lodges are usually flatter. If it matters, ring the agency and ask about the specific room.
The kitchen and the table
A family gathering is three meals a day for a week. Look for two ovens or a range, a dishwasher (two is better), a big fridge, and a table that seats everyone at once, not a dining room for twelve and overflow at the breakfast bar. Houses that mention “catering kitchen” or “commercial kitchen” are built for this and the price per head is often no higher.
Space to get away from each other
The thing that makes a reunion work is not the shared space, it is the second sitting room. Look for a snug, a games room, a separate annexe or a “wee house” in the grounds: 202 of the houses here have a games room and many of the biggest have a second or third sitting room. A pool table and a television in a separate room is where the teenagers will be, and that is the point.
Children and outside space
Enclosed garden is a filter for a reason: with toddlers and dogs you want a gate between the lawn and the lane. Check for a trampoline or play equipment in the photos, how far the nearest beach or river is, and whether the garden has a ha-ha or a pond. For wet days, a games room and a good broadband connection earn their keep.
Where to go when everyone is coming from somewhere different
Pick a region within three hours of most of the group, then check the drive time on the house page, which we give from the nearest city. For a family split between London and the north, the Peak District, the Cotswolds and the Yorkshire Dales are the fairest meeting points. For a Scottish and English mix, Northumberland, the Lake District and the Borders. For a group flying in, a house within an hour of Bristol, Manchester or Edinburgh airport beats a prettier one on a peninsula.
Who pays what
Decide before anyone falls in love with a house. The three fair models: equal per adult; per bedroom, weighted by size; or the grandparents pay for the house and everyone else brings the food and drink. Write it in the group chat, have one person book and hold the deposit, and ask the agency for the total for your dates including the booking fee and the damage deposit so nobody gets a surprise at the end.
When to book
Summer and school holidays go eight to twelve months ahead for houses sleeping 16 or more. Easter and the May half term go six to nine months ahead. A term-time week in October or in the spring can still be booked two months out and costs a third to a half of the August price. If grandparents and small children are the core of the group, term time is the obvious choice.
The row below shows houses sleeping 14 or more with at least six bedrooms, one per region. The listing pages take you to the rest.
