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 The Cotswolds Hotels
It's easier to be ensnared by a cloying, bijoux tourist trap of an overpriced traditional hotel in the Cotswolds than almost anywhere else in Britain, such are the numbers who want to buy into the region's old world charm. And now, being easily accessible to London, another sort of hotel has begun to make an appearance there: to accommodate stressed-out metropolitans looking for a weekend escape, with spas and champagne bars and Wellington boots in a row, in the unlikely event that anyone should take a walk. "Who are your ideal clientele?" one owner was asked. "Porkers (people in Porsches) who come from London and spend "£4,000 in a weekend", came the candid reply. None of those hotels quite do it for us, but the following do. The hotels are listed by price category, and their order bears no reflection on our preference.
 Reviews by Fiona Duncan |
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| Luxury: Metropolitan chic in a picture book Cotswold village |
| Location: Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. In centre of town |
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| Of Cotswold hotels designed to appeal to the style conscious, this is our favourite, with intimacy as well as style. A lovely spiral staircase leads to rooms that are oases of contemporary pampering (choose from your 'bed menu'); others have hot tubs in private gardens. There are two restaurants, one formal, one a popular brasserie, and a lovely walled garden. |
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| Luxury: Superb all-round hotel in its own estate |
| Location: Tetbury, Gloucestershire |
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| Heaped with awards, this is one of the best examples in the country of a genuinely family-friendly hotel that also works for couples. Set in its own estate, the former farmhouse, with a courtyard of lime trees and old barns, is praised for the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, the quality of the country house-style bedrooms and of the spa and indoor pool, and the food. Not to mention the outdoor hot tub, next to a roaring log fire. Expensive but good value. |
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| Luxury: Hip hangout in the Cotswold countryside |
| Location: Cowley, a 10-minute drive south of Cheltenham, 1½ hours west of London |
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| A flawlessly hip refuge in a landscape of heritage-listed gardens, Cowley Manor is an elegant blend of stone grandeur and contemporary bliss-out, ideal for stressed urbanites. Enjoy the two pools, gym and treatments on offer at C-Side, the hotel's award-winning modernist spa, sample the locally-sourced British menu in the relaxed restaurant or chill on the glorious suntrap of a terrace with views over the lake-filled Grade II-listed grounds. |
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| Mid Price: Elegant restaurant with rooms in famous Cotswold village |
| Location: Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire. In village centre |
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| There are many elegant hotels in fine stone Cotswolds houses, but few hit the spot like this sophisticated restaurant-with-rooms. A lovely 1698 mansion in the village centre overlooking the river Windrush with its three stone bridges, its interior is both traditional and stylish, as well as warm and welcoming, with leather sofas and old portraits in intimate sitting rooms and chintz-free fabrics in lovely bedrooms. The food: delicious. |
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| Mid Price: Charming restaurant with rooms, personally run |
| Location: Winchcombe, Gloucestershire |
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| Small but perfectly formed: an enticing 15th-century black and white timbered house, where Methodist preacher, John Wesley, stayed in 1755 and 1779. Bathrooms are tiny and bedrooms small but sweet and thoughtfully equipped, while downstairs a terracotta-floored sitting room with inglenook, an airy dining room and atrium terrace invite you to linger over beautifully presented modern English food. There's also a wine and tapas bar next door. |
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| Mid Price: Delightful B&B in sleepy Cotswold village |
| Location: Broad Campden, Gloucestershire. One mile SE of Chipping Camden |
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| It’s hard to imagine closer attention to detail in the seven delightful bedrooms, full of fresh flowers from the lovely garden, pretty fabrics and delicate ornaments, of this four-century old house where malt for the village ale was stored. Judi Wilkes is a superb hostess, warm and professional, and her breakfasts (no dinner but excellent gastropubs nearby) are second to none. A treat. |
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| Mid Price: Stylish informality in a fine old house |
| Location: Crudwell, Wiltshire. In village, 7 miles from Cirencester |
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| A wonderful addition to hotels in the area, this listed building stands beside the church on the edge of the Cotswolds. Rooms, overlooking the walled garden with its 17th-century baptism pool, are airy, fresh and elegant, and the young owners and staff are particularly welcoming. There's a funky bar, excellent food in the lovely panelled dining room, and a brand-new deli. The go-ahead owners are also renovating the pub opposite. Equally suited to merriment or mellowing out, this is a real find. |
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