Keythorpe Hall, near the historic market towns of Stamford, Oakham and Uppingham (not to be confused with nearby Keythorpe Manor), has been restored and decorated – think hand-painted wallpaper and cut flowers from the estate’s walled garden – and prides itself on providing an “extraordinary seasonal gastronomic experience with amazing wine”.
Hired fully staffed and catered, guests get use of the entire house and grounds privately for the duration of their stay. It has seven principal bedrooms and an additional three-bedroom apartment, so can sleep up to 20 adults (children are also welcome).
Owners Giles Godfrey and Barbara van Teeffelen, whose background is in the City but who have been “critical consumers of [related] product for many years”, say they saw a gap in the market for a country house for hire but with full-time chefs and other staff.
“We have taken inspiration from the many places we have visited and created our own concept,” explained van Teeffelen. “We are everything but a hotel, so I feel the product has been better because we went in with an open mind and created something we actually wanted to stay in ourselves.”
After buying the house 10 years ago, they first set about renovating the walled garden (which is still ongoing), before completing the house over five years.
They opened to guests in November last year and saw an “incredibly busy summer”. “We have found bookings this year to be fairly last-minute still, which is luckily something we could accommodate as a fairly new business,” added van Teeffelen.
