The Chase
Sleeps 24-26
Cheltenham
Pool, gardens and grounds
The ball you kick into the nets in the one acre of fenced greenery will be the only thing that disturbs the tranquility.
Out among the mature hedging, the birds tweet in the trees and the lawns, landscaping and terracing are ripe for a picnic or barbie with goodies from Charlton Kings Deli and fizz from Sixways.
Did we say swimming pool? Oh yes, it’s a private, 12-metres-by-four indoor affair heated to 30 degrees. Bring your swimwear and inflatables and prepare to be challenged at water polo. Or just loll around on the sunbeds with a sundowner. Towel off and slide out through the bi-folds to the terrace for sunbathing and stargazing.
Living spaces
After the pleasing crunch of your wheels on the gravel drive, you’ll enter through double wood and glass doors into a light and lovely reception hall bedecked in oak and leading to an open-tread staircase. From here, pick from a sitting room with doors onto the sun terrace or a family room that’s ripe for reading or recalibrating.
Between the dining room and the pool, the TV room’s equipped with Sky and the smart TV sits ready for your Netflix or Amazon Prime account. Popcorn at the ready. Wi-Fi whistles around the place care of Zen Superfast, and Sonos provides your soundtrack. Ping pong and pool are all possible in the games room.
Cooking and dining
While you might be tempted to book our chef for a full-on celebration, a buffet or a banquet, when you see the kitchen/breakfast room, you might change your mind. Colossal and contemporary, it comes with an island the size of Cyprus, two electric ovens, induction hob and fridge/freezer to fill with fresh stuff from Charlton Kings Deli.
Pile up to 28 around the dining room and pass the Prosecco. Open up the dual-aspect bi-folding doors to the sunshine and the water feature. Slide out when you’re done to take a Nespresso on the pool terrace. Stay out until supper, then get the coal barbie going and break out the beers.
Grab takeaways from Charlton Kings Tandoori or Simpson’s Fish and Chips. Get great upmarket pub grub such as pan-fried seabass and chorizo from child-friendly The Langton, surf and turf or gammon steak from The Royal, or wholetail scampi or steak-and-ale pie from The London Road Inn.
Head into town for a smorgasbord of high-quality restaurants, bars and bistros covering every nationality from French to Italian and Lebanese to Vietnamese. Try Indian street food at Bombay and Co, Italian at Nasprias, European at Lumiere, Caribbean at Turtle Bay, or Thai at Siam Smile.
Bedrooms
No shortage of accommodation here, with flexible sleeping for up to two dozen within fours doubles or kings and sixteen singles. Plus an extra 2 in the Annex if needed. Perfect for families, friends or hens.
Looking for ultimate luxury? Best to bag the super-king master bedroom suite with its attached bathroom, bath and walk-in shower and extra single bed. Change in the dressing area and eat breakfast on the balcony in the sunshine. Twin bedded bedrooms two and four are also en-suites with baths and walk-in showers, while bedroom three also offers twin beds.
Bedroom five is a super king sharing a bathroom with bedroom three, while bedrooms six and seven offer 6 singles beds between them. Bedrooms eight and nine downstairs will take another seven guests with a combination of doubles and singles. Freshen up in the walk-in shower in the bathroom next to the pool.
For an extra two guests, the Annex is available at an additional fee offering a double bed and private bathroom.
Children welcome
If the excitement hadn’t begun already, it will when the car wheels crunch over the gravel and you pull up outside the double wood and glass doors. What’s beyond? Well, enough space for 24 mums, dads, grannies, grandads, cousins and maybe even friends? The Chase is a home from home. A very swish one.
Is 7000 square feet enough space for an endless game of hide-and-seek? That’s until the lure of your own private pool takes over. Bring your cossies and dive in to 12 metres by four of splashtastic fun heated to 30 degrees. Once you’ve towelled off, you’ll find more toys at each end of the pool room.
The games room’s right next door, with table tennis and pool. At the other end, pack your popcorn for the TV room and catch some Sky on the wall TV or bring your Netflix password. Wi-Fi’s super-slick Zen. At mealtimes, get used to barbies out on the entertainment terrace and run wild in a full acre of fenced garden with footie nets.
What people say
Gin, horses and apes
Come in March for the festival and have a flutter at the races. Or tackle the course yourself at the Cheltenham Running Festival. Try a gin-tasting lab experience at Brennen and Brown. Game outdoors with BattleSports Glos. Go Ape in the Forest of Dean. Or see rare breeds, ride the train and milk the cows at the Cotswold Farm Park.
