Travel
10 Best Grown-up Stag and Hen Parties
Jane Anderson of 101 Honeymoons' top ideas, with not a learner plate or lap dancer in sight.
How do you feel if you get an invite to a stag or hen weekend? Do you punch the air with delight, looking forward to getting off your trolley, marauding through various nightclubs, chaining the groom to a lamppost and shaving off one of his eyebrows?
If you answered yes, stop reading this article.
If that’s not your idea of a good time, you’ll be pleased to know that others think the same. There’s an increasing trend for more sophisticated stag and hen celebrations that might involve a few drinks, but might also feature beautiful countryside, cultural experiences, gourmet food, delicious spa treatments and fun outdoor activities.
Here are ten fun ideas in the UK and overseas from Jane Anderson, Editor of 101 Honeymoons - and not a learner plate or a lap dancer in sight.
GARDEN PARTY IN HEREFORDSHIRE
Finding a self-catering rural idyll with plenty to keep you all occupied makes for a civilised hen or stag. How about Bearwood House & Cottage, which sleeps up to 15 guests in picturesque Herefordshire. The sunken garden has an outdoor hot tub for up to six people, and there’s a games room with pool table, tennis table and darts board. There are also six bicycles including a tandem, and garden games including croquet, badminton and boules. If you fancy a tennis tournament, there’s a court at the owner’s house nearby, and if you don’t want to cook, you can treat yourselves to the dinner delivery service.
What it costs: From £32 per person per night based on 15 guests sharing a three-night stay during low season.
www.ruralretreats.co.uk
MESS ABOUT ON WATER
A weekend on a cruiser on the Norfolk Broads is a novel and hugely enjoyable way for a hen or stag to celebrate. Waterways Holidays offers three-night weekend getaways on the Norfolk Broads or Britain’s canals departing from cities such as Bath, Oxford and Birmingham. No experience is required as everyone is given full boat handling tuition on arrival (and you don’t need a driving licence either). It’s great fun as everyone can have a go.
What it costs: A 12-berth boat costs from under £30 per person per night for a weekend including fuel.
www.waterwaysholidays.com
RECIPE FOR FUN
For a really civilised treat, book your party into the Raymond Blanc Cookery School at the beautiful Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire. Based on the chef’s book Blanc Vite, this course aims to provide students with skills and techniques to create fast, simple, seasonal dishes. Knife skills and kitchen tips are included, along with secrets to cut time but not quality. You’ll also pop out to the stunning gardens to pick ingredients.
What it costs: From £365 per person including one-day course tuition, morning and afternoon tea and informal lunch in the cookery school as well as a course certificate.
www.belmond.com
AFRICAN SAFARI... IN WALES
If you fancy a taste of Africa without the costly airfares, Pentre Mawr country house in rural North Wales offers genuine African safari lodges, each with its own hot tub. There’s a private dining room that seats 16 and an extra large hot tub on the pool terrace, plus a dance area if you want a bop. The great outdoors beckons too: there’s a falconer on site and husky mushing as well as hill walking.
What it costs: Stag or hen parties cost from £230 per person for the weekend based on 10 guests sharing three African safari lodges including dinner and breakfast, afternoon tea and some drinks.
weddingvenueswales.co.uk
GORGE YOURSELVES ON ADVENTURE
The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley have become popular venues for active stag and hen weekends. For a real challenge, gorge scrambling is the latest trend – climbing up a series of waterfalls, scrambling over rocks and balancing along ledges above the water. Stay at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel, a 13th-century farmhouse close to Clearwell Caves and the ancient forest of Puzzlewood. Highlights include a restaurant that spills out onto a gorgeous cottage garden.
What it costs: Double rooms at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel start at £100 per night with breakfast. A half-day gorge scrambling costs from £36 with Inspire2adventure.com.
www.tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk
CYCLING THE CATALAN COAST
What could be more idyllic than setting off with your best friends on a weekend of cycling through the varied landscapes of Catalonia? You’ll take a coastal route, passing medieval farms, ancient villages, fields of sunflowers and vineyards on a self-guided tour with plenty of time for a dip in the sea and seafood lunches. Meanwhile, your luggage is transported to meet you at your next hotel.
What it costs: The four-night cycling trip starts at £540 per person with Inntravel, based on two sharing a room with daily breakfast, two dinners, cycle hire, maps and taxi transfer from Girona airport. For those who need a boost, electric bikes are available for a supplement of £32.
www.inntravel.co.uk
WOW FACTOR SAILING
For hens and stags with a VERY healthy budget, chartering a boat in the azure waters of the British Virgin Islands is an experience of a lifetime. Pack the icebox with cool beers and water toys to keep everyone entertained and set off with your closest friends. The Moorings offers crewed sail catamarans sleeping up to 12 people in air-conditioned ensuite cabins. The crew of captain and chef allow guests to get stuck in or opt out as they wish. And the best part is mooring up for the evening at Cooper Islands Beach Club to join the yachtie crowd at the Rum Bar with more than 190 rums from around the world.
What it costs: A Moorings 5800 yacht with a crew of two costs from £15,200 for seven nights, based on 10 guests.
www.moorings.co.uk
PAMPERING IN PROVENCE
In the heart of the Côtes du Ventoux vineyards of Provence, hens and stags will be blown away by the beauty of Crillon le Brave. Perched at the top of the village, the hotel is made up of a series of interlinking old houses and offers wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. It has just 32 bedrooms, a heated outdoor swimming pool, a small spa and exceptional kitchen. One option is to take the hotel’s bicycles into the surrounding countryside where the Tour de France’s most imposing climb, Mont Ventoux, will challenge even the strongest cyclists.
What it costs: Four nights costs from £959 per person including flights to Marseille and car hire for the duration.
www.kirkerholidays.com
COWGIRL RETREAT IN COLORADO
For a spot of cowboy-style fun, try this girls-only glamping retreat at High Lonesome Ranch in Colorado. There’s morning yoga, trail rides, afternoon swimming, fly fishing, farm-to-table contemporary western meals, story telling at the fire pit, equestrian adventures and massage therapy to keep everyone entertained and thoroughly bonded. The High Lonesome Ranch sits on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies and covers nearly 400 square miles of mountain forests, grasslands, spring creeks and alpine mesas.
What it costs: A five-day retreat costs from US$1,845 per person, excluding flights with Frontiers Travel.
www.frontierstravel.com
HEALTHY HEDONISM IN IBIZA
There’s a lot more to Ibiza than manic club nights. Thirty Eight Degrees North offers a long weekend, designed to whip you into shape, restart your fitness, and then reward you with a final day on a private yacht - with beach games, a sunset cruise and chilled bubbly - followed by guest list entry to one of the island’s most famous club nights.
What it costs: Four nights at the five-star Aguas de Ibiza hotel with healthy meals, fitness training, private boat trip and Sunday night dinner and clubbing costs from £1,726 per person.
thirtyeightdegreesnorth.com
July 2015
If you answered yes, stop reading this article.
If that’s not your idea of a good time, you’ll be pleased to know that others think the same. There’s an increasing trend for more sophisticated stag and hen celebrations that might involve a few drinks, but might also feature beautiful countryside, cultural experiences, gourmet food, delicious spa treatments and fun outdoor activities.
Here are ten fun ideas in the UK and overseas from Jane Anderson, Editor of 101 Honeymoons - and not a learner plate or a lap dancer in sight.
GARDEN PARTY IN HEREFORDSHIRE
Finding a self-catering rural idyll with plenty to keep you all occupied makes for a civilised hen or stag. How about Bearwood House & Cottage, which sleeps up to 15 guests in picturesque Herefordshire. The sunken garden has an outdoor hot tub for up to six people, and there’s a games room with pool table, tennis table and darts board. There are also six bicycles including a tandem, and garden games including croquet, badminton and boules. If you fancy a tennis tournament, there’s a court at the owner’s house nearby, and if you don’t want to cook, you can treat yourselves to the dinner delivery service.
What it costs: From £32 per person per night based on 15 guests sharing a three-night stay during low season.
www.ruralretreats.co.uk
MESS ABOUT ON WATER
A weekend on a cruiser on the Norfolk Broads is a novel and hugely enjoyable way for a hen or stag to celebrate. Waterways Holidays offers three-night weekend getaways on the Norfolk Broads or Britain’s canals departing from cities such as Bath, Oxford and Birmingham. No experience is required as everyone is given full boat handling tuition on arrival (and you don’t need a driving licence either). It’s great fun as everyone can have a go.
What it costs: A 12-berth boat costs from under £30 per person per night for a weekend including fuel.
www.waterwaysholidays.com
RECIPE FOR FUN
For a really civilised treat, book your party into the Raymond Blanc Cookery School at the beautiful Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire. Based on the chef’s book Blanc Vite, this course aims to provide students with skills and techniques to create fast, simple, seasonal dishes. Knife skills and kitchen tips are included, along with secrets to cut time but not quality. You’ll also pop out to the stunning gardens to pick ingredients.
What it costs: From £365 per person including one-day course tuition, morning and afternoon tea and informal lunch in the cookery school as well as a course certificate.
www.belmond.com
AFRICAN SAFARI... IN WALES
If you fancy a taste of Africa without the costly airfares, Pentre Mawr country house in rural North Wales offers genuine African safari lodges, each with its own hot tub. There’s a private dining room that seats 16 and an extra large hot tub on the pool terrace, plus a dance area if you want a bop. The great outdoors beckons too: there’s a falconer on site and husky mushing as well as hill walking.
What it costs: Stag or hen parties cost from £230 per person for the weekend based on 10 guests sharing three African safari lodges including dinner and breakfast, afternoon tea and some drinks.
weddingvenueswales.co.uk
GORGE YOURSELVES ON ADVENTURE
The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley have become popular venues for active stag and hen weekends. For a real challenge, gorge scrambling is the latest trend – climbing up a series of waterfalls, scrambling over rocks and balancing along ledges above the water. Stay at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel, a 13th-century farmhouse close to Clearwell Caves and the ancient forest of Puzzlewood. Highlights include a restaurant that spills out onto a gorgeous cottage garden.
What it costs: Double rooms at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel start at £100 per night with breakfast. A half-day gorge scrambling costs from £36 with Inspire2adventure.com.
www.tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk
CYCLING THE CATALAN COAST
What could be more idyllic than setting off with your best friends on a weekend of cycling through the varied landscapes of Catalonia? You’ll take a coastal route, passing medieval farms, ancient villages, fields of sunflowers and vineyards on a self-guided tour with plenty of time for a dip in the sea and seafood lunches. Meanwhile, your luggage is transported to meet you at your next hotel.
What it costs: The four-night cycling trip starts at £540 per person with Inntravel, based on two sharing a room with daily breakfast, two dinners, cycle hire, maps and taxi transfer from Girona airport. For those who need a boost, electric bikes are available for a supplement of £32.
www.inntravel.co.uk
WOW FACTOR SAILING
For hens and stags with a VERY healthy budget, chartering a boat in the azure waters of the British Virgin Islands is an experience of a lifetime. Pack the icebox with cool beers and water toys to keep everyone entertained and set off with your closest friends. The Moorings offers crewed sail catamarans sleeping up to 12 people in air-conditioned ensuite cabins. The crew of captain and chef allow guests to get stuck in or opt out as they wish. And the best part is mooring up for the evening at Cooper Islands Beach Club to join the yachtie crowd at the Rum Bar with more than 190 rums from around the world.
What it costs: A Moorings 5800 yacht with a crew of two costs from £15,200 for seven nights, based on 10 guests.
www.moorings.co.uk
PAMPERING IN PROVENCE
In the heart of the Côtes du Ventoux vineyards of Provence, hens and stags will be blown away by the beauty of Crillon le Brave. Perched at the top of the village, the hotel is made up of a series of interlinking old houses and offers wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. It has just 32 bedrooms, a heated outdoor swimming pool, a small spa and exceptional kitchen. One option is to take the hotel’s bicycles into the surrounding countryside where the Tour de France’s most imposing climb, Mont Ventoux, will challenge even the strongest cyclists.
What it costs: Four nights costs from £959 per person including flights to Marseille and car hire for the duration.
www.kirkerholidays.com
COWGIRL RETREAT IN COLORADO
For a spot of cowboy-style fun, try this girls-only glamping retreat at High Lonesome Ranch in Colorado. There’s morning yoga, trail rides, afternoon swimming, fly fishing, farm-to-table contemporary western meals, story telling at the fire pit, equestrian adventures and massage therapy to keep everyone entertained and thoroughly bonded. The High Lonesome Ranch sits on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies and covers nearly 400 square miles of mountain forests, grasslands, spring creeks and alpine mesas.
What it costs: A five-day retreat costs from US$1,845 per person, excluding flights with Frontiers Travel.
www.frontierstravel.com
HEALTHY HEDONISM IN IBIZA
There’s a lot more to Ibiza than manic club nights. Thirty Eight Degrees North offers a long weekend, designed to whip you into shape, restart your fitness, and then reward you with a final day on a private yacht - with beach games, a sunset cruise and chilled bubbly - followed by guest list entry to one of the island’s most famous club nights.
What it costs: Four nights at the five-star Aguas de Ibiza hotel with healthy meals, fitness training, private boat trip and Sunday night dinner and clubbing costs from £1,726 per person.
thirtyeightdegreesnorth.com
July 2015