From its photogenic honey-stone cottages to its postcard-perfect country pubs, there’s very little that isn’t ridiculously good looking about the Cotswolds (and that includes its celebrity residents).
Stretching across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, this area of outstanding natural beauty delivers charm in spades. Hotels range from sprawling countryside estates and shirt-and-tie manor houses to cosy restaurants with rooms and boutique B&Bs.
Options are plentiful, so it’s all about finding the right fit and making yourself at home. Here’s the cream of the crop.
The best hotels in the Cotswolds are:
Best for village vibes: Thyme
The pool at Thyme: cross your fingers for sun
(Rich Stapleton c/o Thyme)
Neighbourhood: Southrop
Dotted throughout Southrop Manor’s sprawling 150-acre estate you’ll find the cosy pub, 17th-century cottages, two restaurants and al fresco pool that make up Thyme, which is not so much a hotel as a village-within-a-village. Guests have the run of the place, swanning from central-hub-slash-watering-hole Baa (which also happens to be a bar, set in former lambing sheds) to the first-class Meadow Spa that offers probiotic treatments in soothing surroundings. When it comes to sleeping, 31 restful, neutral-hued rooms are set in restyled farmhouse buildings (including a former rectory and a magnificent tithe barn) while ex-Quo Vadis chef Charlie Hibbert is doing wonders in the kitchen.
Read our full review of Thyme hotel
Price: Doubles from £420
Room number 16 at Number 131
(Simon Brown c/o Number 131)
Neighbourhood: Cheltenham
If you have designs on one day rattling around a grand Georgian mansion, make it this grand Georgian mansion. Traditional on the outside and eclectic on the inside, this good looker from the team behind The Lucky Onion is a (really big) home away from home. Each of its eight opulent rooms is decked out in statement wallpapers, industrial lights and moody blues with brassy touches, while antique knick-knacks rub up against original artworks by David Hockney and Banksy. The newest addition is events space The House, which can be booked out in its eight-bedroomed entirety for OTT weddings and parties.
Price: Doubles from £135
The Hilly Hut at The Fish: the ideal hideaway for high-end glampers
(The Fish)
Neighbourhood:…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…