7 of the best exclusive hire venues for company retreats
There's a moment on every great retreat when the venue stops feeling like a venue and starts feeling like yours. It happens much faster when it actually is yours: no other guests at breakfast, no conference in the next room, no lowered voices in the bar. That's the case for exclusive hire, and it's why more companies are choosing exclusive use venues for their retreats over hotels.
This guide rounds up seven of the best exclusive hire venues for company retreats across the UK and Europe, all available through Basejam. Between them they sleep everything from a 20-person leadership offsite to a whole company of 100 or more – one of them village included.
Why choose an exclusive hire venue for a company retreat?
Privacy changes behaviour. Strategy conversations, honest feedback, the slightly chaotic team quiz: all of it flows more freely when nobody's worried about who's at the next table. With the whole property to yourselves, the team relaxes in a way that shared venues rarely allow.
The space works around you. Exclusive use means the schedule is yours. Breakfast at eight or ten, sessions in the garden, dinner that runs long. No hotel timetable, no negotiating meeting rooms with another company's sales kickoff.
It's often better value than it looks. Divide the cost of an exclusive hire property across a team, and it frequently comes in comparable to (or below) mid-range hotel rates per person, with private meeting space, grounds, and communal areas included rather than charged as extras.
The venues
Rural Hertfordshire manor house on rewilded estate only 1 hour from London
📍 Hertfordshire, England | 🛏️ 23 bedrooms
Magical forest-edge estate with swimming pool just 30 minutes from Lisbon
📍 Mafra, Portugal | 🛏️ 50 bedrooms
Private sanctuary 1 hour from London with cabins, farmhouses and equipped meeting barn
📍 Surrey, England | 🛏️ 37 bedrooms
19th century château surrounded by enchanting countryside near Paris
📍 Oise, France | 🛏️ 101 bedrooms
1000 year old castle in Tuscany turned eco-hotel, event space and farm
📍 Tuscany, Italy | 🛏️ 27 bedrooms
Rent your own village in the Italian hills with swimming pool and incredible views
📍 Piedmont, Italy | 🛏️ 81 bedrooms
Luxury, design-led château with swimming pool surrounded by the vineyards of Sancerre
📍 Sancerre, France | 🛏️ 24 bedrooms
Exclusive hire venues: frequently asked questions
What does exclusive hire mean? Exclusive hire (also called exclusive use or private hire) means your company books the entire property: every bedroom, every meeting space, the grounds, the lot. No other guests, no shared facilities.
How many people do exclusive hire venues sleep? Exclusive hire venues for company retreats span a wide range: intimate manor houses sleeping 20 or so, estates with cabins and farmhouses for 40-plus, and at the top end châteaux and entire hillside villages that sleep 80 to 100 or more.
Is exclusive hire more expensive than a hotel? Not necessarily. Per person, exclusive hire is often comparable to mid-range hotel rates once you factor in that meeting spaces, communal areas, and grounds are included. Many venues also allow self-catering or private chefs, which can bring food costs down compared with hotel F&B minimums.
How far in advance should you book? For popular dates (May to September, and December), six months or more. Exclusive hire venues have exactly one booking per date, so the best ones go early.
Ready to find yours? Browse the full collection of exclusive hire venues on Basejam, or get in touch and we'll shortlist options matched to your team size, dates, and budget.
