Ten of you round one long table on the terrace, plates scraped clean, someone already lifting the hot tub cover while the steam curls up into the dark. A big house changes a group holiday. Nobody draws the short straw and ends up on a sofa bed, the snorers can be put at the far end of the landing, and two families or five couples can share a house without living in each other’s pockets. That’s what makes a 5 bedroom cottage with hot tub such a good fit for a big birthday, a reunion or a multi-generational family stay with three generations under one roof.
They’re surprisingly hard to pin down online.
Most big agency searches filter 5 bedroom holiday cottages or hot tubs, rarely both, so we’ve done the sifting ourselves. Below are six spacious holiday homes from our own listings. Each one sleeps 10 and has its own private tub, and they run from the Somerset coast to the banks of Loch Tay.
Six luxury holiday homes with a private tub we’d happily book
We’ve set out the facts the listings give us: how many it sleeps, how many bathrooms, whether pets can come and the guest rating out of 5. Prices change by the week, so check the dates you want on each cottage page.
5-Bedroom Hot Tub House in Dunster
Dogs: Welcome
Guests: 10 | Bedrooms 5 | Bathrooms 5
Why you’ll love it:
A bathroom for every room, so the morning queue simply doesn’t happen. You’re in the heart of Dunster’s medieval village at the foot of the castle, with old pubs, tea rooms and independent shops a stroll from the door. Country fairs fill the castle grounds in July and August, and on the first weekend of December the whole street glows for Dunster by Candlelight. After dark, sink into the tub and look up: Exmoor became Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve in 2011. There’s an open fire indoors, it’s dog friendly and the coast is close by. More Somerset stays are on our Somerset hot tub cottages page.
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5-Bedroom Hot Tub Cottage in Triscombe
Dogs: Not allowed
Guests: 10 | Bedrooms 5 | Bathrooms 5
Why you’ll love it:
Here’s one for the group chat. This thatched cottage comes with its very own pub, which guests have private access to, so somebody gets to pull the pints after a day on the hills! It sits in the Quantock Hills, which in 1956 became England’s very first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is now called a National Landscape. Trails lead from the doorstep into open countryside, the long-distance Coleridge Way passes nearby and Cothelstone Hill is a classic short climb for the views. The property is new to the site, so there’s no rating yet, and pets can’t come.
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5-Bedroom Hot Tub Barn in Bentham
Dogs: Welcome
Guests: 10 | Bedrooms 5 | Bathrooms 4
Why you’ll love it:
A perfect 5.0 from guests. This barn conversion is tucked down a private lane on the owner’s farm, with 18 acres to roam, a river for a lazy afternoon’s fishing and a footpath from the front door up Ingleborough, at 723 metres one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks. The village of Ingleton is under 3 miles away, where the Waterfalls Trail loops for about four and a half miles past a string of falls. Pets are welcome and there’s an open fire for the evenings. Our Yorkshire Dales page has more around the Three Peaks.
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Leathes Head Country House, near Keswick
Dogs: Welcome
Guests: 10 | Bedrooms 5 | Bathrooms 5
Why you’ll love it:
Got teenagers in the party? The games room here is your friend. It’s a luxury country house near Keswick with a wood burning stove, five bathrooms, a garden and plenty of off-road parking, which matters when ten people arrive in three cars. Bassenthwaite is under 11 miles away. Down on Derwentwater, the Keswick Launch runs its wooden boats all year, and you can hop off at any of the jetties to walk to Lodore Falls or Ashness Bridge. Your dog can come too. For more in the Lakes, try our Cumbria hot tub cottages.
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5-Bedroom Hot Tub Cottage in Machynlleth
Dogs: Not allowed
Guests: 10 | Bedrooms 5 | Bathrooms 4
Why you’ll love it:
An elegant period house with views towards the Dyfi River and its bridge, plus a hot tub, a games room and a garden with direct access to the coast path. Machynlleth is under a mile away, with independent shops, a weekly produce market and the MOMA gallery. Sandy beaches and a links golf course wait at Aberdovey, 9 miles off. Between April and September, it’s worth the short drive to the Dyfi Wildlife Centre, where ospreys have bred on the reserve every year since 2011, the first time in over 400 years. Pets aren’t allowed at this one.
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5-Bedroom Hot Tub House in Fearnan, Loch Tay
Dogs: Welcome
Guests: 10 | Bedrooms 5 | Bathrooms 3
Why you’ll love it:
In the pretty village of Fearnan on the north shore of Loch Tay, with loch and mountain views, where you can sail, cruise or just picnic with the mountains reflected in the water. Kenmore is 3.5 miles away for inns and shops, and Aberfeldy is 9. Across the loch near Kenmore, the Scottish Crannog Centre reopened on a new site in April 2024, and its rebuilt Iron Age loch dwelling was finished this summer. Three bathrooms for ten is the tightest ratio here, so stagger the showers. It’s dog friendly, and there’s more of Highland Perthshire on our Perthshire page.
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The six side by side
Here’s the quick comparison for a group of 10 guests. Ratings are guest scores out of 5.
| Cottage | Area | Sleeps | Bathrooms | Dogs | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Tub House in Dunster | Exmoor, Somerset | 10 | 5 | Yes | 4.8 |
| Hot Tub Cottage in Triscombe | Quantock Hills, Somerset | 10 | 5 | No | New |
| Hot Tub Barn in Bentham | Yorkshire Dales | 10 | 4 | Yes | 5.0 |
| Leathes Head Country House | Lake District | 10 | 5 | Yes | 4.9 |
| Hot Tub Cottage in Machynlleth | Dyfi Valley, Wales | 10 | 4 | No | 4.9 |
| Hot Tub House in Fearnan | Loch Tay, Scotland | 10 | 3 | Yes | 4.9 |
How many people can a 5 bedroom cottage with hot tub sleep?
Usually ten. Each of the six above sleeps 10, which is two to a room, and that’s the norm across 5 bedroom holiday cottages with hot tubs. Search for a property that sleeps 10 and you’ll mostly find an old farmhouse, a barn conversion or a big village house rather than a lodge. A few add a sofa bed or bunk room and stretch to 11 or 12, and some take a cot or two on top.
What the listing won’t always spell out is how the beds are made up in a five bedroom house. Five doubles suit five couples, but a mix of doubles and twins works better for families with older children or friends who don’t share. Ask before you book.
What to check before booking a big house with a hot tub
Once your party gets past eight, little things that don’t matter for a couple start to matter a lot. Run through these first:
- Bathrooms. Five bathrooms for ten means no queue. Three means someone’s showering at 6am.
- Tub size. Plenty of holiday hot tubs seat around six, so with ten of you it’ll be turns or a squeeze. Ask the property owner how many it seats.
- Tub setting. Is it tucked away in a private garden, or overlooked by the neighbours?
- Bed layout. Doubles, twins, zip and links or bunks? It decides who sleeps where.
- Pets. Half of our six are dog friendly. Check how many are allowed, and whether there’s a charge.
- Parking. Ten people rarely arrive at a holiday home in fewer than three cars.
- Ground floor rooms. Handy for a multi generational trip if grandparents are coming and the stairs are steep.
- Party rules. Hen and stag groups are often turned away, so say if it’s a celebration.
For water safety, the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on spa pools (HSG282) recommends an upper temperature of 40°C, and well run holiday lets keep their tubs treated and tested between guests. If the water looks cloudy when you arrive, ring the owner before anyone gets in.
Is it cheaper than booking two smaller cottages?
Often, yes. One rambling farmhouse split ten ways tends to cost less per person than two separate cottages for five, and you only pay for one hot tub, one spacious kitchen and one set of utility bills baked into the price, and big houses tend to come with the luxury extras, like a games room or a wood burner, that smaller cottages skip. You also get to spend the holiday together and relax in the same living space at the end of the day, which is rather the point.
Book early for school holidays, Christmas and New Year. Big houses are few and far between compared with two bedroom cottages, and in hotspots like Cornwall and the Cotswolds the best ones go first, often a year ahead. Midweek breaks and late autumn tend to be the easiest dates to find.
Need more space, or a little less?
If your group’s nearer eight, our pick of the best 4 bedroom lodges with hot tubs covers timber lodges that sleep eight. There’s also a close look at one hot tub barn for ten near Stratford-upon-Avon if Shakespeare country appeals more. Bigger parties will find accommodation sleeping 12 and up in our group cottages guides.
However many are coming, a five-bed house with its own tub hits the sweet spot: big enough for family and friends, small enough to feel like home. Pick your corner of the country and plan your next stay with every holiday cottage with a hot tub on our site.
