Artisanal cheeses, finely crafted backgammon boards, prints from local artists… UK hotel boutiques have had a renaissance as of late, in step with the farm-to-fork, soil-to-skin philosophy and artisanal locality that now underpins any self respecting staycation. Their curations are perfect microcosms of the ever-evolving, and positively thriving British luxury boutique hotel scene and what ‘the good life’ now, (allegedly) entails. OUT with the big brands, the generic, global beauty classics and pashminas (why are there always so many pashminas in hotel boutiques?). IN with the hand-embroidered napkins crafted by a village creative, the shearling hats spun from the farm’s own flock, the sparkling wine from a local farmer-turned-wine maker (who defeated the famous Champagne houses in a blind tasting). These finely-tuned, artisanal gold mines are where to go for elite stocking fillers and Christmas presents, often supporting local artists and makers, usually with stories woven into them, and nearly always wrapped and boxed with the festive magic that Blighty’s top hotels dispense like medicine each year.
Gleneagles
Perthshire’s legendary glorious playground, Gleneagles, has partnered with Highland artisans for a collection that celebrates both the hotel’s own tartan and timeless Scottish craftsmanship. This Glen X curation includes crockery, vases, cashmere, lambswool goodies such as this Le Bonnet Lambswool scarf – designed in Amsterdam and crafted in Scotland, and versatile enough for town or country.
Claridge's
Claridge's’ Christmas pudding (a secret, century-old recipe passed down through the hotel chefs) is almost as legendary as the Deco icon's fantastical Christmas tree. Send a little haute hotel glamour to loved ones in the form of their handmade Christmas puddings (beautifully presented in a china bowl and boxed and ribboned with that fancy, five-star hotel panache and iconic turquoise). And if you happen to be in the neighbourhood, pop into the shop via a few festive cocktails or high tea. 'Tis the season.
Fife Arms
Transport yer kin to the Cairngorms’ heather-stitched hills and moorlands, where the Fife Arms (a Victorian coaching inn rescued by art power couple, Iwan and Mnauela Wirth) is dressed in Laird-like tartans and dotted a profusion of both taxidermy and museum-worthy modern art. Along with its epic sporting adventures into the Cairngorms and Lucian Freuds and Picassos pack at cosy base, the Fife Arms truly delivers on the boutique front, with a gift shop celebrating the very best of Scottish makers. These are all available online – tartan rugs, cashmere jumpers with tongue-in-cheek Scottish sayings, thistle-cut decanters, Albamhor soaps and creams – and the wee dram gift box is a failproof for any whisky lover.
Knepp Wilding
Turns out that meat roamed 3,500-acres or rewilded farmland in West Sussex does, indeed, taste that much better. Those who’ve woken up here in one of the treehouses, shepherd’s huts or forest cabins, before setting off on ‘safari’ with ecologists can attest.
Hawarden and Glen Dye Estate
Inspired by the Gladstones' ancestral Hawarden estate (home to descendants of the Prime Minister and dominant political figure of the Victorian era), these blankets are hand-crafted in North Wales in double weave. Browse the Gladstone / Hellen shop for best of British traditional presents – Fairisle jumpers, willow basket bags, six bottles of Hawarden estate apple sauce – all supporting local artisans or showcasing bounty from this family’s two regenerated estates (where you can now stay and eat like a Gaelic King).
The Newt
From the South African owners behind Babylonstoren, the Newt really ramped up nearby Bruton’s appeal – a sleepy Somerset village now dotted with hipster bakeries and artisanal shops flogging their wares to trendy Londoners. At the centre of this vast estate is the main honey-hued, Palladian-fronted house of architectural reverie and with brow-raising design restraint. But it’s the bountiful kitchen gardens, the orchards, soft, sheep-graved valleys that deliver all that festive cheer (typically in a hamper). Go for the Taste of The Newt Hamper – a gourmet tour of its 1000-acres of pastures green and neighbouring farms (think Somerset Cyder marmalade, blackcurrant curd, Somerset cheese pickle, damson & allspice, and all things nice…)
The Great Bustard
The village pub, a pillar of British society, the cornerstone of the community, and increasingly, beneficiary of the rustic glow up and menu overhaul. Great Durnford’s 19th-century inn in Wiltshire is one of these, lost in the coils of the River Avon and rolling Woodford Valley meadows. Along with the cosy, beamed-and-earthy rooms and the restaurant, where Head Chef Jordan Taylor whips top-flight countryside bounty into swishy modern plates, there’s a terrific farmshop flogging your usual organic suspects – Durnford jams, chutneys, fresh kitchen garden veg, Durnford Estates game, and body creams and oils concocted on site. The Durnford Diffuser (crafted from on-site botanicals) makes a lovely stocking filler – particularly if it spins you back to a lazy weekender here filling up your cup.
Dursale Farm Shop
From the Dursdale Farm Estate, where Hauser & Wirth’s Somerset gallery is located, and the legendary Farm Shop (you’ll find its little sister in Mayfair) this gift box is delicious enough to lure loved ones West for 2026. Lucky souls finding this hamper under their tree will be quaffing wine from the Dursdale vineyard, drizzling honey from its hives and munching foraged fruit and vegetables from the walled garden.
The Torridon Hotel
‘Made for slow mornings’... this bathrobe from the Torridon will either entice above the border or remind those unwrapping theirs this Christmas of the Caledonian, loch-and-mountain drama from their bedroom window at this turreted Highland hotel. You’ll find these winking at you from the back of the bathroom doors after a piping hot bath, having romped through the glens, or disturbed the loch’s glassy surface with an oar.
Cowdray
Acres and acres of bucolic, sheep-flecked countryside, woodland and parkland, Cowdray is one of England’s prettiest estates. From its infamous ruins to its design-den treehouses, it's a superb weekending spot (under two-hours from London), with scenic walks in all directions through the rolling Sussex Downs. With all these acres comes a first-class larder, one you can stick your snout into at the estate’s Farm Shop and now, for the jammy pals receiving Cowdray’s classic hamper. Consider it a festive slice of the Farm Shop: rosebud redcurrant jelly, Cowdray truffles, Cowdray Mince pies, figgy pudding, Cowdray Christmas cake, artisanal cheeses and more. Merry Christmas.
The Goring
Anyone who’s stayed as this Belgravia-based, unapologetic old timer will be familiar with its traditional rhythms, its royal stamp of approval, and its tangible sense of fun (think Shetland ponies and riotous summer parties). The Goring Cocktail Bar may resemble a swanky Gents’ Club, with its velvet banquettes, rows of amber whiskies and a roaring fire, but you’ll find a smart set propped up at the deco bar with squiffy intentions. The G&T’s and martini’s never fail to be of service, and The Gin of The Goring (infused with natural botanicals and apricots grown in its own gardens) is a thoughtful gift to transport drinking partners straight back to that stool, on that night, at that Belgravia hotel.
The Witchery by the Castle
Envisage a shrunk-in-the-wash Gothic castle… shrunk without losing any of the tapestry, velvet, panelling pomp. The Witchery by the Castle is Edinburgh’s theatrical, 17th century stay, with mahogany four poster beds, candle-lit evenings and haggis mornings. Unsurprisingly, it's rather good at tartan, particularly in its gift shop (a paean to Scottish craftsmanship) where tartan queen, Araminta Campbell’s designs for the Witchery fit snugly onto hot water bottles – the ultimate companion for those brutal Scottish winters.
The Ritz
A monopoly board from the Ritz seems a fitting present for hard-to-buy-for. Players can immerse themselves in the glitzy Mayfair and St James world of London’s legendary grande dame while whooping their opponents. The hotel itself is the ultimate embodiment of a traditional London Christmas – well worth a festive afternoon tea to break up a long day of Christmas shopping or, indeed, an indulgent stay in one of the hotel’s ornate, velvet-and-gilt mirror suites.
The Bull, Charlbury
From the Public House Group team (of Notting Hill Pelican and Fat Badger fame), The Bull in the Agatha Christie-esque Cotswold village of Charlbury is a deftly reimagined pub-with-rooms – pared down and in keeping with the pub’s heritage through a hip/crafty lens. The food is sublime (elevated pub fare with local produce left to sing) and, while keeping all that local boozer charm (gnarled beams, flagstones, crackling fires) the cocktail menu is well worth exploring. The mixologists bring all their London know-how to the sticks, and you can make someone’s Christmas by sending the tools they use to craft these ludicrously good cocktails. Crafted in Sheffield, the set comprises of a handmade Japanese Katto Knife, a matching walnut muddler and a steel mixing spoon, all beautifully set in a handmade leather roll by Putter & Co. Chin-chin.
Coombeshead Farm
Reconsider your overpriced, overpackaged London farmshop or Waitrose order this Christmas and angle instead for Coombeshead Farm’s larder supply boxes. Stuffed with Guinea fowl, Christmas hams, bacons, sausages, pickles and preserves, it’s all grass fed, highly organic, highly sustainable and wildly delicious, while supporting British farmers. This comes from the Cornish farm-to-fork trailblazer, Coombeshead Farm, from ex-New Yorkers Tom Adams and April Bloomfield. The couple brought their made-from-scratch ethics deep into the Cornish countryside, where sourdough is freshly baked for breakfast in an on-site bakery, then smothered with their own whipped butter and orchard jams. Hebridean sheep graze the surrounding meadows, which are framed from agri-cool farmhouse rooms, still donning original floorboards and wonky, uneven ceilings.
Ham Yard Hotel
Kit Kemp’s signature playful, kooky and colourful interiors dress all the Firmdale Collection hotels, from Soho’s Ham Yard and Charlotte Street Hotel to New York’s Warren Street Hotel in Tribeca. There’s the instant pang of familiarity when you walk into one of the group’s vibrant, bold patterned, arty numbers, and for anyone with memories here or, just a love of Kit Kemp’s design, her Blue Tall Trees ceramic candle is a stellar Christmas present. And it smells as delicious as it looks: pink pepper, warm cedarwood and soothing purple patchouli.
Rosewood London
One of London’s smoothest, cosiest, most elegant drinking holes, Scarfe's Bar at the Rosewood is a dark-wooded, jazz-fuelled winter warmer, with terrific cocktails. Those who’ve quaffed negronis and ‘on yer bikes’ here will be acutely aware of celebrity illustrator, Geralad Scarfe’s caricatures framed throughout and peppered across the cocktail menus. Whisk a loved one to the Holborn’s smoothest drinking den with a pair of the bar’s bespoke collector cups, featuring a unique sketch by Scarfe himself of Sir Richard Branson as a hot air balloon reaching for the stars.
Thyme
Fanning out across Southrop, a pretty Cotswolds village of honey-stone houses, barns and cottages, Thyme is all soft, rural idyll. At its helm is the Hibbert family, whose passion for farm-to-fork eating, soil-to-skincare living and a general, profound reverence for the beauty and rural bounty surrounding them conjures up beautiful, meaningful gifts. The spa and rooms are stocked with Bertioli products – the clever work of mother and daughter duo, Caryn and Camilla Hibbert, with scents emblematic of the region’s precious meadowlands. Botanical essential oils with notes of water mint and wild grasses are immediately shoulder-lowering, and the eco-credentials, inspiring (eliminating throwaway plastic and reducing carbon footprints and glass bottles). Treat someone in need of a few slow mornings to their Water Meadow Bathing set this Christmas.