Recently, Andrew Loyd went on a trip to Suffolk to explore an exciting English manor house to rent for our clients. Set within a 4,500 acre estate in rural Suffolk, this delightful manor house for rent can sleep 24 in 12 bedrooms with 11 bathrooms and there is additional accommodation in a number of other rental properties within the estate. The manor house has been done up to a very sophisticated level and offers all modern day facilities including a fully equipped gym and private cinema. The manor house for rent is perfect for a large family group or bunch of friends wishing to relax in style and explore this very attractive part of England.

The estate sits in lovely old English parkland and is surrounded by magnificent trees and woodland.  The manor house is fully staffed by a great team and is one of the most attractive homes Andrew has seen for a long time making it very well positioned to look after guests hoping for serious luxury.  This luxury combined with some fun activities available on the estate and with lots more to do and see in the area makes it a hugely attractive manor house to rent for those coming from London needing a country bolt hole!  It is certainly well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive from London and is a great place for a special birthday or celebration with the option to use the extra cottages, lodges etc. and entertain a big gang of family and friends.

Please call Andrew on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 or email andrew@ltr.co.uk.

On a glorious Friday afternoon in April, we descended on Endsleigh, Olga Polizzi’s romantic hotel in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor.  A wonderful luxury hotel that would be ideal to hire as an exclusive use venue for a 40th or 50th birthday party or special anniversary.  A former fishing lodge of the Duke of Bedford, the house was designed by Jeffrey Wyatt and the garden by Humphrey Repton.  We wound our way along some narrow Devon lanes before reaching the estate and then taking the long drive through wonderful trees to the house which sits up high, splendidly overlooking miles of forest.  It is a very peaceful setting and after a long drive, we instantly felt welcome and started to relax as soon as our case was lifted out of the back of the car.

The house has been decorated with Olga’s usual fantastic taste and ‘light touch’, is a clever mix of comforgable and elegant.  Our bedroom opened straight onto the gardens and again had fantastic views.  The bathroom was large and very well done and we even had a small sitting room.  Once unpacked, we dived into a huge afternoon tea laid out in the sitting room.  Never able to resist scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream, we were in need of a good stomp around the grounds before dinner, which again was delicious.  We slept well in our huge bed and of course managed to squeeze in a well cooked and promptly served ‘full English’ before departing for home.

This luxury hotel is ideally suited to guests needing to re-charge their batteries, explore this gorgeous part of England and get plenty of fresh air into their lungs.   With 16 bedrooms, it would also be great fun to hire the whole hotel as a venue for a 50th birthday party or other celebration, where a host could entertain some close friends in great style and combine fun local activities with fabulous dinners back at Endsleigh.  A spoiling place in an old fashioned low key way but with all the modern bits thrown in, like a great bathroom and other facilities.  We recommend you try the cocktails.

Please call Andrew on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 or email andrew@ltr.co.uk to find out more about this wonderful 50th birthday party venue and let us organise a celebration you won’t forget.

How would you like to spend the summer in your own private castle in the north of Scotland? At LTR we have the perfect Scottish highland castle for guests to hire exclusively for themselves for a summer vacation. Sitting amidst a 500 acre estate, sleeping 18 with 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, you won’t be short of space or luxury. Formerly inhabited by the Dukes of Gordon, this wonderful Scottish castle has been carefully renovated and beautifully re-decorated to the highest of standards. There is an army of staff to ensure your arrival is greeted with a very warm welcome and they are there to cater to your every need.

There is a wealth of activities for any guest to enjoy in Morayshire.

- Salmon fishing on the River Spey or River Findhorn is endlessly popular along with various trout fishing lochs to almost guarantee the children their first catch.
- Sailing at Findhorn.
- Golf on one of the many nearby golf courses such as The Royal Dornoch and Nairn courses.
- This area is the home to numerous Whisky Distilleries which offer interesting and informative tours.
- Walking is ever popular with some stunning scenery along the coast or beside beautiful rivers.
- Shopping and sightseeing.

Please contact jonathan@ltr.co.uk or call + 44 (0) 1835 824642 to speak to one of our Travel Consultants.

Spring has still not yet sprung but we are thinking ahead to those balmy summer months.  Would you rather stay in a fully staffed and catered English Mansion in the rolling English countryside or in a romantic Scottish Castle on the shores of a beautiful loch?

We have some spectacular English mansions available to hire for exclusive use with an army of staff to look after you for your stay.  LTR will organise every part of your stay from collecting you at the airport to the menus prepared by our 5 star chefs and the range of exciting activities that you can take part in during your stay.  We have some very contemporary English mansions available to rent situated in beautiful gardens with acres of grounds all at your disposal.  With a contemporary feel and every comfort you should need, look no further and contact Andrew Loyd at andrew@ltr.co.uk or on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 to find the perfect house for your holiday.

Perhaps you would prefer a little more adventure and romance and would like to head with your friends and family to one of our historical Scottish castles.  Some are situated on the edges of beautiful lochs and others on the shores of the sea.  More of our Scottish castles are in the Scottish highlands amongst the dramatic hills.  Again, you can stay in one of these castles with a full compliment of staff to attend to your every whim.  LTR can organise every aspect of your stay and ensure that you return home relaxed and with memories to keep forever.  All of our fully staffed Scottish castles available to rent for exclusive use are steeped in history to keep any visitor enthralled throughout their stay.  Please contact Jonathan Townsend-Rose at jonathan@ltr.co.uk or on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 to find the perfect Scottish retreat for your holiday.

At LTR we are delighted to announce that we have some wonderful, fully staffed and catered houses and castles all within easy reach of Muirfield, East Lothian available for the Open Golf Championship 2013. If you prefer self-catering, we also have some self-catered properties near Muirfield that are available for the Open Championship 2013.

Please contact jonathan@ltr.co.uk to find out more about the British Open accommodation that we have available.

The excitement is mounting for another gruelling battle between Europe and the USA in the September 2014 Ryder Cup being hosted at Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.  From 26-28 September next year the European team led by Paul McGinley will be hoping to repeat fthe magic of Medinah two years ago where David did beat Golith and no one could quite believe how Europe managed to pull back from the jaws of defeat!  McGinley has huge respect for Tom Watson and next year’s battle at Gleneagles will be no less fierce with the USA team no doubt desperate to get their revenge and reclaim the trophy, which for so long they won with such ease.  The last few tournaments have put a stop to that and the Ryder Cup has become one of the top 3 sporting events in the world.

LTR is delighted to announce that we have a number of superb fully staffed and catered houses and castles along with some self-catering properties all within easy reach of Gleneagles, where our guests can relax in considerable comfort whilst enjoying the tournament.  A fine example being the Tower of Lethendy near Blairgowrie which offers 8 bedrooms, a private golf course, heated pool, 2 tennis courts, billiards and table tennis rooms, sauna and steam rooms and a very sophisticated level of service and comfort.  This home is available for the Ryder Cup period and any rental includes our full concierge service.  For details on this and other lovely estates available for exclusive use rental over the Ryder Cup 2014, please contact jonathan@ltr.co.uk.

LTR is delighted to have been appointed by Travel & Leisure as one of their Best Villa Rental Agencies in the March edition.  This is in recognition of 14 years service to the luxury rental market in the UK & Ireland the wonderful collection of houses and castles we have on offer.  The Tower of Lethendy gets a special mention as one of the most unusual homes, with its incredible facilities, including a private golf course, heated pool and tennis courts.

LTR has now been recognised by both Travel & Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler and we are extremely grateful to both these magazines, which wield huge power within the US travel industry and throughout the World.  We work with many leading US travel companies and a lot of individual clients, who will hopefully draw comfort that our efforts are being noticed.  We strive to offer a very high level of personal service and ‘dare to share’ when it comes to giving out information to casual enquiries.

Please contact Andrew Loyd on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 or andrew@ltr.co.uk to find out more about the tailor-made holidays in the UK that we organise, staying in private houses and castles with exclusive use.

Following on from Andrew’s trip to the Cayman Islands for the Conde Nast Traveller Summit 2013, he went on to spend 10 exciting days exploring Cuba.  “Cuba”, he says, “was one of the most colourful and fun countries I have ever visited!”

The accommodation ranges from ok to not so great, the infrastructure is appalling but the food was much better than expected (wonderful lobster), the people delightful and the country itself, utterly stunning.

Havana is either totally run down or being frantically restored but either way, the city remains in a wonderful 1950s time warp.

Despite being very poor, the people, and even more importantly, the dogs and horses look well fed.  We never got hassled, felt incredibly safe and the amazing mix of Spanish colonial, neo classical and 1950s retro architecture is endlessly fascinating.  There’s great music, tons of art and very smiley people out on the streets.  The health care is first rate and the kids all look immaculate.  It’s very good value and even ‘tight as two coats of paint’ Loyd was dishing out the pesos with almost gay abandon!

The countryside is lush, with tobacco farms, sugar plantations and tropical forests.  Some parts very flat, others hilly and there are miles of pristine beaches along the coastline.  The roads are empty!

There is a caveat to all this, Fidel Castro is 87 and Raoul Castro is 82.  When they go, the embargo will be lifted and once those US cruise ships start docking in Havana and the guests start waddling into town, screaming for a burger but “go easy on the mayo”, you just know it will never be the same again.

Due to being totally skint, they are already opening up the economy but Cuba still has an ‘edge’ to it, which I am sure India and other places still have but its vanished from many of our destinations.

Anyway, if you haven’t been, go soon!

You can reach Andrew Loyd on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 or andrew@ltr.co.uk.  Have a look at our collection of wonderful accommodation in the UK available to hire for exclusive use.

Andrew attended his 2nd CNT summit which was this year held at the Ritz Carlton resort in Grand Cayman.  We were looked after beautifully by the hotel staff in our heavily discounted rooms and hosted by the resort one night on the beach for a fun evening of cocktails and delicious gourmet nibbles.  CNT put together an excellent programme of discussion groups, lectures and seminars, which was particularly appreciated by the villa rental specialists who got to spend time together and chat about all sorts of issues.

The summit reaffirms all our commitments to luxury travel, to offering our clients the best possible service and to helping each other.  It’s a huge honour to be featured on this list and we all strive to excel at what we do in order to stay on it!  There is a very wide range of attendees and a rich mix of editorial staff to guide us about what the Conde Nast traveller reader expects from a top flight villa rental specialist.  Some people like myself do not contribute as much to the debate as others but we all absorb a lot of what others say and emerge better travel consultants for it!!

Please call Andrew on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 or email andrew@ltr.co.uk to find out more about our luxury travel offerings.

We have extolled the virtues of renting a fully staffed and fully catered house through LTR and now we will discuss the benefits of renting a self-catered house for a holiday with friends or family.

The excitement of renting a beautiful country house that you will be staying in on holiday for a week with a group of friends, can’t be under estimated.  The majority of LTR’s houses come fully staffed and catered but we do have a small number where the owners are happy to allow self-catering groups to come and stay.  Home from home, you will be in sublime comfort as we only have the best and most luxurious houses on offer.  As a family home, it will have everything you need to call it ‘home’ for your stay.

Cooking in someone else’s kitchen with friends can be much more fun than cooking in your own … and certainly reduces the cost when comparing a self-catered and fully catered holiday.  It also gives you the flexibility to be impulsive when deciding whether to ‘eat-in’ or ‘eat-out’ and leaves you in charge of your own timings.

With a host of activities available either on the estate that the house is part of or nearby, LTR can plan a truly memorable holiday for you all.

Please call Jonathan on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 or email jonathan@ltr.co.uk to find out more about our self-catered properties.