Just how comfortable can you be in a stormy autumnal night up a tree? In the case of the treehouses at Chewton Glen in the New Forest, Hampshire very. They opened to the public in August, and have hot tubs, kingsize beds, log burners and showers. "This is what the Swiss Family Robinson would have made if Mr Robinson were actually Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs," says Caitlin Moran in The Times. "Done out in white, muted dove-grey tweed and wood, this is the dandiest and most tasteful treehouse that ever lived."
Forget shimmying up a pole. Your treehouse is a huge suite on legs built into the hillside of a valley. So you enter at ground level on one side, to find that at the other you can enjoy views from the tree canopy over the small valley.
"The sweep of the sofa and the wood-burning stove encourage guests to hole up and be hermits," says Susan d'Arcy in The Sunday Times. "In fact, an antisocial attitude is positively promoted", with a continental breakfast discreetly delivered to your room through a hatch so you don't have to bother going to the main house to eat.
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You can even take dinner in your treehouse if you so wish. But that would be a shame, as the restaurant offers dishes including saddle of hare, fois gras pancakes and boasts an unnervingly knowledgeable sommelier "a declaration that I couldn't stand pudding wine was taken as a challenge and three glasses later I had indeed found a pudding wine that slid down a treat."
Chewton Glen has long won awards for its main hotel, which is one of the best spa hotels in Britain. With the treehouses, it is trying to appeal to a younger clientele. Children will love the loft rooms that some offer a quick clamber up a ladder reveals a couple of single beds, an enormous TV, beanbags, books and games. How many other hotel suites have an inbuilt playroom?
It is very hard to find anything to fault, provided you don't expect complete privacy it's going to take a couple of years for the newly planted saplings between the treehouses to grow and envelop each suite in its own private woodland. But that just creates an excuse to visit again "to see how the view has changed, from the hot tub".
Prices start from £600 a night including breakfast for a treehouse suite that sleeps two. Find out more at www.chewtonglen.com or call 01425-282212.
Three more tree-top stays
If you like the sound of a treetop retreat, here are three other hotels offering treehouse accommodation in Britain.
If you're looking for "bling in the branches", the lakeside perch at Cleveley Mere, Lancashire, offers plenty, says Rhiannon Batten in The Independent. There's a Miele kitchen, luxury bathroom, floor-to-ceiling windows, a veranda, barbecue and free use of bike, boat and canoes. The Lakeside Tree House costs from £398 to rent for a minimum two-night stay (self-catering) and sleeps four (Cleveleymere.com).
Deep in the heart of the Welsh mountains in a wooded valley is Gwdy Hw, Powys. A spiral staircase leads up to a futuristic pod with a comfy double and bunk beds, a small library and a terrace with sensational views. It is completely off-grid and has a Swedish compost loo and shower. There's a pub only 20 minutes away. It sleeps two adults and two children and costs from £137 a night (Canopyandstars.co.uk/gwdyhw).
A rope bridge leads to this "leafy roost" where an oak tree slices through the middle of the interior. But that's where "any hint of jungle living ends" at Bensfield Treehouse, Sussex (pictured), says Batten. Inside it resembles a smart studio apartment, with a wooden kitchen and bright green dining chairs. It sleeps two and a four-night short break costs from £485 self-catering (Qualityunearthed.co.uk).
