Live like a lady

Footballer with enormous sparkler not included

OTHERWISE ENGAGED

Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa, Nantwich, Cheshire

PERFECT PALACE: Built in 1816, Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa is a 19th-century Georgian mansion that exudes traditional luxury - but who needs history when you're following in the footsteps of modern-day celeb royalty, Victoria and David Beckham?

PEDIGREE: This place was the very start of WAG culture as we know it! Rookery Hall is where Becks proposed to his Spice Girl in 1998, and where they held their engagement party.

LADYLIKE LUXURY: Hang on to your hair extensions, ladies! Rookery Hall has 70 luxury bedrooms, a two AA Rosette restaurant and plush health club.

DENT THE TRUST FUND: Rooms start at £95 per night for bed and breakfast, based on two sharing. Call 0845 458 0905 or visit Handpickedhotels.co.uk.

Be a pampered princess in Tuscany

YOUR VERY OWN CASTLE

Borgo di Colleoli, Italy

PERFECT PALACE: Holiday like a true blue-blood princess at this former medieval castle in Tuscany.

PEDIGREE: In the 15th century it was used as an aristocratic retreat by the Agostini family, whose crest is still over the entrance. In 2003 the 23-acre estate was transformed into a luxury boutique hotel and apartments.

LADYLIKE LUXURY: The hotel, Il

Food with a view

Palazzo, offers luxurious five-star suites complete with original frescoes and mouldings, and all the usual mod cons. The old estate buildings have been converted into stylish self-catering apartments. Explore the stunning Tuscan scenery, relax by one of the estate's two swimming pools or indulge in some local wine at the estate's wine bar and restaurant. Fantastic shopping and wonderful sightseeing are just 45 minutes away in Pisa.

DENT THE TRUST FUND: Suites at Il Palazzo start from £106, excluding breakfast, based on two people sharing. Self-catering studio apartments start from £357 per week, based on two people sharing. For details, visit Ilpalazzocolleoli.com.

Afternoon tea on the lawn, anyone?

ELEGANT AND UNDERSTATED

Homewood Park, Bath

PERFECT PALACE: Homewood Park, set in the sweeping Limpley Stoke valley and only a 10 minute drive from Bath, oozes country-house class.

PEDIGREE: This 19-bedroom Georgian manor house was built in 1832, but its foundations date back to the 13th century. Set in 10 acres of award-winning parkland it's recently had a complete refurbishment - think rustic furniture, and dark, sleek bedrooms - while still maintaining a cosy old-fashioned feel.

Don't bounce on the bed - you're a lady!

LADYLIKE LUXURY: Step this way madam, a platter of finger sandwiches, sponge cake and Earl Grey await you. In the summer, enjoy tea on the veranda or by the pool. In winter, snuggle up beside a roaring log fire. An afternoon at the natural thermal waters in Bath (Thermaebathspa.com) is a must, before returning for a candlelit dinner. Then it's up to the beds so big they could sleep four. Not that we've tried - we're ladies!

DENT THE TRUST FUND: Doubles start from £185 per room per night, including breakfast. Visit Homewoodpark.co.uk or call 01225 723731.

This is no ordinary pub

ROYAL RESIDENCE

Devonshire Arms, Beeley, Derbyshire

PERFECT PALACE: The Devonshire Arms, designed by the Duke of Devonshire's family, is a dining pub with rooms on the Chatsworth Estate in the beautiful Peak District National Park.

PEDIGREE: King Edward VII and Charles Dickens are among the guests who've stayed at the inn, which dates back to 1747. The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire have been involved in every aspect of its design, from decor to dining, so you get a taste of true country life.

Fit for a queen

LADYLIKE LUXURY: The elegant rooms in the ancient inn boast enormous, squashy beds and comfy armchairs, complemented by period features like wonky floors, oak beams and deep stone window seats. Downstairs you can feast on delicious, seasonal food, much of it sourced locally from the estate. After a gut-busting breakfast (the Derby oatcakes and black pudding are a must), stroll across the fields to explore Chatsworth House, which is crammed with breathtaking works of art, or get lost in the beautifully landscaped gardens.

DENT THE TRUST FUND: Double rooms are available from £122 per room, per night. For special offers and to make a reservation, visit Devonshirebeeley.co.uk or call 01629 733259.

TUDOR TREAT

Thornbury Castle, South Gloucestershire

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PERFECT PALACE: Thornbury Castle, a 15-minute drive form the M5, is the only Tudor castle in England that is open to the public as a hotel.

PEDIGREE: Oh yes! Built in 1510 by the third Duke of Buckingham, it has a real royal connection, having played host to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, while Mary I spent some of her childhood there. Berkeley Castle, where Edward II met his untimely end - supposedly courtesy of a red-hot poker - is less than 10 miles away too.

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LADYLIKE LUXURY: When it comes to being treated like a princess, this doesn't just take the biscuit, but the entire dessert trolley. Each of the 25 bedrooms is individually decorated, most with traditional four-poster beds, tapestries on the walls, ornate ceilings, oak furniture and very modern power showers, plus Molton Brown bath treats. If you can tear yourself away from the sherry and homemade shortbread in the room, you can try your hand at archery or croquet on the lawn, and in the autumn help pick the grapes in the castle's vineyard. If that's all just too exhausting, stick to a glass of the castle's wine or a spa treatment in your room (from £20 for a massage or £23 for a facial). Then, naturally, your personal helicopter can land in the grounds to whisk you away.

DENT THE TRUST FUND: Two nights bed and breakfast at the three-star Thornbury Castle is from £140 per person, based on two sharing a deluxe room. For reservations, visit expedia.co.uk or call 0871 226 0808.

BY: EIMEAR O'HAGAN, JO UPCRAFT, CATHY WINSTON, PHOEBE FRANGOUL. PHOTOGRAPHY: CAMERAPRESS, PA PHOTOS