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5 of the best treehouse holidays 2020
My childhood attempts at a treehouse involved nailing a wooden chair to a branch and sitting on it to admire the view. It didn't end well.
Thankfully, things have moved on a bit and there are a number of woodland locations in the UK where you can stay in a treehouse with a hot tub and a log burner. You will find that treehouse holidays are quite expensive, compared to caravans and most lodges but you can make them more affordable by filling them up with eight or ten people.
We've picked out five of the best treehouse holidays, based on reviews, value for money, quirkiness, local facilities and location. We've mostly picked tree houses on resorts and lodge parks which have at least some facilities onsite, rather than one-off treehouses in the middle of nowhere. We've also done a rough price comparison for a week in August 2020.
Thankfully, things have moved on a bit and there are a number of woodland locations in the UK where you can stay in a treehouse with a hot tub and a log burner. You will find that treehouse holidays are quite expensive, compared to caravans and most lodges but you can make them more affordable by filling them up with eight or ten people.
We've picked out five of the best treehouse holidays, based on reviews, value for money, quirkiness, local facilities and location. We've mostly picked tree houses on resorts and lodge parks which have at least some facilities onsite, rather than one-off treehouses in the middle of nowhere. We've also done a rough price comparison for a week in August 2020.
1. Golden Oak 10-person treehouses, Gloucestershire/Hampshire/Norfolk/Nottinghamshire (hot tubs, some activities)
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Forest Holidays has four locations around the UK which offer whopping 10-person 'Golden Oak' treehouses for hire.
You can pick between Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, Blackwood Forest in Hampshire, Thorpe Forest in Norfolk, and Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. They are cleverly designed with a main house which is a woodland lodge and an attached treehouse which is accessed via a bridge. That means that the grown-ups get the comforts of a proper lodge whilst the younger visitors (or excited Dads) get the novelty of staying in a treehouse. As with most treehouses, they aren't cheap but they are much better value if you can spread the cost between ten people. You also get luxuries like hot tubs and properly equipped kitchens rather than anything too 'rustic'. The treehouses are part of woodland lodge resorts which have a few dozen classy lodges spread out amongst the woodland. You don't get an abundance of onsite facilities but some of them have things like archery, canoeing, bike hire and a playground (it varies a bit depending on the location and you pay extra for some things). Reviews are very positive. When we checked, all four of the locations were scoring 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor. They also have pet friendly treehouses at Sherwood Forest, Thorpe Forest, Forest of Dean and Blackwood Forest so you don’t need to see the sad look in your dog’s eyes when you drop them off at the kennel. Price: £4950 for a week in early August 2020 for 10 people. That works out as about £2000 for a family of four for a week. |
Forest Holidays have 10 person treehouses in Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Norfolk and Nottinghamshire
Each treehouse is attached a large woodland lodge with a hot tub
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2. Woodside Bay Treehouse at Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat, Isle of Wight (sleeps 2, hot tubs, coastal)
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If you’re looking for a romantic break for two with a beach nearby, then take a look at the two treehouses with hot tubs at Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat.
Most of the resort is a posh lodge park, but it also has two treehouses next to the coastal footpath. The local beach is a scrubby one, rather than a glorious sandy paradise but it’s only two minutes walk from the treehouses and it has lovely sunsets (subject to the availability of sunshine). The resort is run by company called Darwin Escapes and has a restaurant and gym. It’s near to the ferry which links up with Portsmouth. Getting to the Isle of Wight takes about 40 minutes to 1 hour by car ferry or 20 minutes by passenger ferry. Customers were giving Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat an average score of 4.5/5 when we checked. Price: £1939 for a week in August 2020 for two people. |
There are two treehouses at Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat
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3. Golden Oak 8-person treehouses, Cornwall/Yorkshire (hot tubs, some onsite activities, woodland walks)
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If you like the sound of the Golden Oak Treehouses run by Forest Holidays that we mentioned above (#1) but want to reduce the price a bit, you can also book into similar treehouses for eight people which cost quite a bit less.
You'll find them in Cornwall at Deerpark Forest near Liskeard and Yorkshire at Keldy Forest. They have a similar setup where one bedroom is in the treehouse whilst the main house has the rest of the accommodation and communal areas. Of course, this may lead to a few squabbles or mid-holiday room-swapping. There are some onsite activities, including children's play areas and archery at both. The main attraction are the woodland walks, so they are good ones if you are trying to drag your children away from screens for a few minutes. They both come with hot tubs too, so you can enjoy an outdoor bath and say things like "ahhhh, this is the life". There are a number of other lodges at Deerpark Forest and Keldy Forest, but the rest of them don't come with treehouses. When we checked, the Deerpark Forest site was scoring 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor whilst the Keldy Forest resort was scoring 4/5. Scarborough and Whitby are near to the Yorkshire site if you fancy a day trip whilst the Cornwall site is near to Looe and Polperro. Price: £3850 for a week in August 2020. That is for 8 people, so it's a similar price per head to the 10 bedroom treehouses mentioned earlier (#1). |
The Deepark Forest (Cornwall) and Keldy Forest (Yorkshire) treehouses sleep 8
One bedroom is inside the treehouse
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4. Center Parcs Treehouses, Five UK resorts (sleeps 8) France (sleeps 4/6) or Germany (sleeps 4)
Center Parcs Top tip: CenterParcs.fr is nearly always cheaper than CenterParcs.com for exactly the same holiday. The saving can be more than €100 for a week's summer holiday. Your browser will translate CenterParcs.fr to English if you don't speak French! Read more.
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Center Parcs offers a very different experience to the other treehouse holidays mentioned above.
For a start, they are operating on a completely different scale. The UK Center Parcs have around 800 lodges compared to about 80 at the Forest Holidays resort in Nottinghamshire where you'll find the Golden Oak Treehouses. Getting in and out of Center Parcs takes time and you aren't allowed to leave your car outside your accommodation. As a result, most people tend to spend the whole holiday onsite. Secondly, Center Parcs offers a fantastic range of activities to try out. The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is the main appeal for a lot of people (and is included in the price). Most other activities cost extra, and the cost can add up to quite a bit over a week (for example, we paid nearly £40 to paint a mug and a cupcake on a recent stay at a UK Center Parcs). If you want a treehouse break, your options for locations are any of the five sites in the UK (see our Center Parcs UK comparison) or Center Parcs Bispinger Heide in Germany or Center Parcs Le Bois aux Daims in France. The UK Center Parcs treehouses are four bedrooms and sleep eight people. The French Center Parcs treehouses that I found were either for four people or six people whilst the Germany Center Parcs treehouses were for four people. Center Parcs Europe and Center Parcs UK operate as separate companies, despite the shared name, so there can be quite a difference in price. Price: £3871 for a week in August 2020 at Center Parcs Les Bois Aux Daims in France was the cheapest price we could find. It was £4111 if you booked through the English version of the Center Parcs website but we managed to lower the price to £3871, simply by booking the same holiday through the French version of the Center Parcs Europe website (read more about this clever little trick!). The UK Center Parcs treehouses are four bedroom and sleep eight people. It was £7598 for a week in a Center Parcs Whinfell Forest (UK) in August 2020. So it was roughly the same price per person, as long as you fill it up. |
Center Parcs treehouse in France
Center Parcs treehouse in the UK (images from Center Parcs)
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5. The Treehouse at Clowance, Cornwall (sleeps 4, indoor swimming pool, restaurant)
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Clowance Estate and Country Club is a posh resort based around a manor house, about 20 minutes drive from St. Ives in Cornwall.
Amongst the lodges and other accommodation is a fancy treehouse which sleeps four people in two bedrooms. The real plus point with The Treehouse at Clowance is that you get access to a good range of facilities including an indoor swimming pool/sauna, playground, gym, rowing lake and a restaurant. There are also various sports. The treehouse has an outdoor copper bathtub (similar to a hot tub I guess) and a swanky modern décor. Overall reviews for the Clowance Estate were averaging 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor when we checked. Price: £4049 for a week for a family of four in August 2020 |
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Price comparison of 5 of the best treehouse holidays
We looked for the price of a treehouse for a family of four in early August 2020. We looked for the cheapest price without any extras such as activities.
It gets a little complicated as some of the treehouses we found are for two people, whilst others are for four, six, eight or ten people.
We've ranked them in order of price, based on the equivalent price for four people:
It gets a little complicated as some of the treehouses we found are for two people, whilst others are for four, six, eight or ten people.
We've ranked them in order of price, based on the equivalent price for four people:
- Golden Oak 8-person treehouses, Cornwall/Yorkshire - £3850 for eight people (equivalent of £1925 for four people)
- Golden Oak 10-person treehouses, Gloucestershire/Hampshire/Norfolk/Nottinghamshire - £4950 (equivalent of £1980 for four people)
- Center Parcs Les Bois Aux Daims - £3871 for four people
- Woodside Bay Treehouse - £1939 for two people (equivalent of £3878 for four people)
- The Treehouse at Clowance - £4049 for four people
