It may seem a long way off, but now is the time to book if you want to celebrate New Year 2005 in a big house with friends. Very large properties book up quickly, and you'll gain nothing by waiting until the last minute.
Top end
At the very top of the market is Blandings, which is so secretive about the properties it rents - presumably to ensure its celebrity clients' secrecy - that the website only hints at the range and sumptuousness of what might be on offer - let alone the prices. Loyd & Townsend-Rose has various villas, mansions and chalets in the likes of Verbier and Klosters to hire. You could also try the Big House Company, whose rates start at £3,150 for a weekend in a house sleeping 21-30. It owns three properties in Somerset, while Polhawn Fort in Cornwall has eight bedrooms and a private beach: weekends start at £2,675.
More affordable
Most sites have a few big properties on the books that come in at less than £1,000 a week in low season. Try the Big Domain, the Country Cottages group, or Country Cottages Online which, despite the names, offer a number of larger houses. Seven of the West Country specialist Helpful Holidays' properties have more than three bedrooms. Holiday-Rentals.com and Rural Retreats are worth checking - the latter has a number of lighthouses on its books, although the biggest sleeps only seven. Large Holiday Houses specialises in France, Scotland and Spain. One of its gîtes in south-west France sleeps 15 and costs only £500 for a week in low season.
Bargains
If you have a big party that is prepared to slum it a little, try the Youth Hostels Association's Rent-a-Hostel scheme. YHA Maeshafn in Mold, for example, charges only £220 for two nights - admittedly in bunk beds. That's a tenner each.
