Chewton Glen is a five-star country-house hotel on the edge of the New Forest — but the reason it’s on this list sits a short walk from the main house, raised up to 35 feet into the trees: fourteen individually designed treehouse suites that turned a grand English estate into one of the country’s most coveted “unusual stays.”
Why it made our list
These aren’t rustic cabins. Each suite is a proper one- or two-bedroom retreat on stilts, with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the canopy, a woodburning stove, and a private terrace with a hot tub looking over the treetops. Breakfast is delivered each morning to a hatch by the door, so you needn’t leave. It’s the fantasy of a childhood treehouse, rebuilt for grown-ups with the full resources of a five-star spa hotel behind it.
What guests say
Chewton Glen rates around 9.6/10 (“exceptional”) on the major booking platforms:
- The treehouse experience — privacy, the canopy views, the hot tub — is the runaway highlight.
- Guests love the breakfast-hatch delivery, the spa, and the sense of seclusion within easy reach of London.
- The only real caution is price: the treehouse suites are a significant step up from the main-house rooms.
The consensus: book the treehouse (not a house room) for a special occasion, use the spa, and settle in — people routinely say they didn’t want to leave.
Good to know
- Price: treehouse suites from around $1,270/night (roughly £995).
- Best time to visit: year-round — spring/summer for the forest, autumn/winter for the woodburner and hot tub.
- Getting there: about 2 hours from London; near Milford-on-Sea on the Hampshire coast.
- Suits: couples, honeymoons, milestone celebrations.
Details verified against the hotel’s official site at time of writing. Prices are indicative and change — confirm current rates and availability before booking.