Best Fantasy Holiday Homes (In Pictures)

by Shabana Adam | 27 March 2013

Highclere Castle

If Britons could stay anywhere it would have to be somewhere with a touch of class, according to new research.

Downton Abbey tops the list of fictional places we’d most like to stay at given the choice, while the Queen’s official Scottish residence, Balmoral, topped the list of real places, a survey by holidaylettings.co.uk has found (scroll down for gallery).

When it comes to fictional places, Highclere Castle, the location of Downton Abbey, leads the votes with 16 per cent, followed by the Hobbit house in ‘The Hobbit’ and Wayne Manor in ‘Batman’.

You can now visit Hobbiton in New Zealand

Other suggestions include Southfork in Texas from US TV soap ‘Dallas’, Hogwarts from the ‘Harry Potter’ series, Doctor Who’s Tardis and Manderley in Cornwall, as featured in the Daphne du Maurier novel ‘Rebecca’.

Meanwhile Balmoral tops the table of real places people would most like to stay with 26 per cent of the votes, followed by Buckingham Palace, Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion and The White House in Washington.

Other real places people would like to stay also include Graceland in Memphis where Elvis lived and Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country residence.

Alnwick Castle was used to film some of the Hogwarts scenes

Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies of holidaylettings.co.uk. said: “A few years ago we would have expected flashier, more celebrity-style homes to have led the way in this survey.

"These results go to show that we’re still attracted to high-end places but they need to have a touch of class and sophistication and it’s not just about flashing the cash anymore.

"Plus the royals have become more aspirational again thanks to the Kate Middleton effect. That trend is also reflected on our website, where we’ve seen a rise in enquiries for castles, manor houses and the like."

Though you can't take a holiday at some of these fantasy and real properties, Holiday Lettings has two great and grand properties in Northumberland and Scotland where you can live out your fantasy holiday home visit.

Guyzance Hall in Northumberland

19th century manor house, 12 bedrooms, sleeps up to 29, from £4,400 to £9,500 per week.

For more information, click here.

Glentruim Castle in the Highlands

Beautiful castle, nine bedrooms, sleeps up to 15, from £2,625 to £4,100 per week.

For more information, click here.

Whatever you’re after - castle, manor house or glitzy celebrity-style pad - with over 100,000 holiday homes around the world there’s something for everyone on holidaylettings.co.uk.

Which ar eyour favourite fantasy holidayhomes from the gallery below - tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK