large house (or hostel) to rent for hen night - any ideas?

[lirael]

I am organising my sister's hen night - we're thinking of renting a large house and asking everyone to contribute. Does anyone know of anywhere that would be no more than £1000 for the weekend, preferably somewhere in Devon, Somerset, or within an hour of either county? A big TV or home cinema room would be great - she would like a singalong type evening on one of the nights.

Hello, we hired a hostel Herefordshire way and it was brilliant. Worked out really good value for 28 of us (about 35 quid each for the weekend from memory and we had loads of space). I found it by calling the YHA. Their website is really good but if you call they'll work with you to find what you want. Have fun!

We went here hartpiece farm and it was lovely but on a farm in a valley so not walking distance to shops etc.

We used the caterers they recommended and went horse riding. Jacuzzi was fun!

We went here for a group holiday which was beautiful. Not sure if it's too far for you. You can either have one or both barns (they interlink).

The tv isn't massive but we did do a karaoke night! (Brought Xbox with us). We also got a chef in to cook for us one night which was great. Can dig out details if needed.

Thanks for these - forgot to say that there will be at least 15 of us (so Hartpiece Farm no good, which is a shame as it looks lovely).

Ring the YHA, you can rent entire hostels to yourself. Look on the website or speak to them to find one the right size.

what about here they have a party barn. I know they do catering as well and could organise things for your group to do. what time of year do you want to go. if outside school hols then should be easy if July then you might struggle. £1,000 for 15 is £66 per person. worth bearing that in mind when you look at places. have a look at thehenhouse website and groupaccommodation.com and bigholidayhouse.com as good websites to find this sort of thing. we have used these websites before and found them good with lots of choice and different price ranges.

Lireal sorry I should have said!

there are three properties on the farm, the farm itself, a hall and a tappen, which in total sleeps around 20-24 I think. They are right next door to each other and one has a room with table big enough to seat 24. Couldn't be sure about the size of the tv but the room the tv is in would be the right size for a karaoke singing sesh.

There were 18 of us on my hen do and we were very comfy although some people had to share double beds. If we had hired the tappen too we might have had a bed each. Having two properties was quite good as there were a quieter group of people and a more rowdy group so they were separated at sleeping time!

It was 6 years ago that we went there - the website says it is luxury and although it was well catered / comfortable, I would say a little bit rustic too, but in a homely and good way. They may have changed a few things since then of course.

The weather was amazing in May and it is a beautiful place to sit of an evening with a glass of champagne, looking over the rolling hills...! As I said, I recommend the caterer too.

A youth hostel would be ideal, but all the ones I've looked at so far can only be rented as a whole until March - and my sister wants her hen night in May :(

not in May half term I hope or you will really struggle. half term week is 24th May and there is an early bank holiday first weekend in May which you also need to avoid or it will be mega expensive and no one will want to do just a couple of nights. have you looked at any of the suggested websites OP?

She was thinking of the May Day weekend Mummymeister, but as you say, everything's either booked or too expensive. This is a very last minute wedding - it's my sister's second, she's 52 and has been with her partner for years, so everything's a bit more casual than last time :) She has no idea what she's wearing or even a definite venue... and it's in July! I've looked through all the websites mentioned and nothing available and/or in price range as yet.

One of the problems is that even if we go before May, when short breaks are generally available, they're always 3 nights and many of the hens (including me and my sis) work in schools so can't do Fri-Mon in term time.

independent hostel in Swanage

lots of independent hostels

Is SW Wales too far?

That website is great BikeRunSki - thanks! SW Wales a bit far, but Swanage a possibility.

Serafina Barn in Leominister. Absolutely beautiful and not too expensive.

This place is great barnonthecoast.co.uk

Have a search on Air BnB - you can search by no. of bedrooms, no. of people staying, max price per night, and so on. DH and I always use it when we travel anywhere as it's much easier with 2-year-old DD than us all staying in a hotel room.

theres 15 of them bab. I use airbandb a lot and haven't seen anything that size on there.

Honestly if you call the YHA they can see better availability than is on their website... Really helpful

Do you think they'd rent out a whole hostel outside the low season period though KipT77?

You don't know unless you ask - they were v helpful over the phone and if they can't do it, they can't do it. Really can't remember we're ours was but have looked on a map... Somewhere near Kington or Knighton in Herefordshire. Had a big lounge, big dining room (we got caterers in) and good stuff to do in the day nearby. It was mid September so not really off season although you might want to get a move on with that phone call if it's for May