In a special feature, Danny Finkelstein and family check into Calcot Manor, and compare it with renowed family friendly hotels Bedruthan Steps in Cornwall, and Ickworth Manor in Suffolk

SOUTH WEST

8. If you never want to hear your children saying: "I'm bored" on holiday, try Moonfleet Manor. Owned by Luxury Family Hotels, this is now part of the Von Essen group. A sprawling Georgian manor house near Weymouth, Moonfleet prides itself on facilities for children of all ages: swimming pool, computer games, tennis, table tennis and a nursery. Standard doubles from £200, free for children sharing.

9. The von Essen group also owns the equally child-friendly hotel, Fowey Hall in Cornwall. The hotel has bedrooms named after characters from The Wind in the Willows. There is a games room, a beach a short walk away, a crèche for children under seven, and baby monitors and baby-sitters on offer. Parents may pack as many offspring as they can tolerate into their bedroom at no extra cost. Doubles from £175.

10. Also in Cornwall is the Bedruthan Steps. This family hotel near Mawgan Porth is traditiional — chaotic family teas, toddlers rampant. The rooms are comfortable, nothing more; the evening meals are pleasant, nothing more. But the location is spectacular and the children's facilities are wonderful. The hotels recently featured in a Sunday Times article on green hotels in the UK - plus read Nick Wyke's review of the hotel's new spa. Bedrooms from £80.

11. Further east in Warminster, Wiltshire, Bishopstrow House has activities for older children: quad-biking, horse-riding and board games. A baby-listening service allows parents to enjoy a romantic dinner in the Mulberry restaurant. Standard and family rooms with PlayStations and DVDs from £199 with breakfast; children over four £30 a night if sharing a room with parents; under-4s free.

12. Surprisingly, one of the UK’s trendiest hotels, Babington House near Frome in Somerset is also impressively baby-friendly and its spa, the Cowshed, has indulgent treatments provided n glorious lakeside cabins. Doubles from £225.

EAST ANGLIA

13. Fritton House in Norfolk was converted by the Hon Hugh Crossley from an old inn on his family’s estate and has rowing boats and pedalos on the lake, plus a model farm, giant board games and slides in its 250 acres of grounds. Doubles from £135, B&B.

14. Ickworth in Bury St Edmund's, a National Trust property, once the home of the Hervey family. The East Wing has been used as a hotel since 2002. While you enjoy the grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, horse riding, tennis and cycling and the adults-only restaurant, your children have a shed full of bikes, ponies in the stables, tennis court, swimming pool, trampoline and kids’ clubs, among other facilities. There is also the Aquae Sulis spa, reviewed by Ginny McGrath

WALES

15. Over the border in Wales the Porth Tocyn is a traditional family hotel above Cardigan Bay, run by the Fletcher-Brewer family for more than half a century. The food is good, and there’s a games room and outdoor swimming pool, with fishing and watersports on offer nearby. Doubles from £87, B&B.

16. If you want to be able to run straight down to the beach in the morning, head for the Druidstone Hotel, a 19th-century house above a glorious beach near Broad Haven in Pembrokeshire, with safe bathing, 22-acre grounds. The hotel’s own fisherman catches sea bass and mackerel for breakfast. GMTV presenter Fiona Philipps descibes it as "big and well worn and relaxed, with a slightly hippie vibe." Doubles from £86.

17. You can still pamper yourself even if you have a baby in tow at Mamaheaven which is based at Penrhos Court, an organic hotel on the Welsh borders. In fact, it runs weekend retreats for women with babies under 18 months old where the focus is on yoga and massage to bolster the body after the trauma of childbirth. Two nights from £675.

SCOTLAND

18. In Scotland, Glenfinnan House is near the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard. This handsome Victorian house on Loch Shiel has a playground, fishing and children’s menu. Children under 12 get free accommodation. Doubles from £70.

MORE SPA IDEAS

We've a special section with 18 suggestions for family-friendly spas, including 12 in Britain

MORE CONTINENTAL IDEAS

If you want to take your family further afield, check out our 12 suggestions for the best family-friendly hotels in Europe .

Our spa expert, Miranda Allard also recommends the family-friendly Porto Elounda and Six Senses Spa in Crete, a five-star hotel with a great spa and the Ark which is a first-class facility for children up to 10 years old, booking through Powder Byrne which arranges holidays to this destination and runs its own all-day Scallywags club for 3 to 8-year-olds,

Or for a really healthy holiday, try the Grand Spa Resort A-Rosa Kitzbuhel in Austria where children can use the swimming pool and offers fitness classes for children including boxing and yoga.

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