Best hotels in the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds is quintessentially quaint. It’s also unexpectedly vast. Count its counties: Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, plus corners of Wiltshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. From north to south it’s a 100-mile schlep. Off-the-beaten-track is a concept the Cotswolds lost long ago, but its central belt – a lopsided oblong with Burford, Cheltenham, Stroud and Lechlade at the corners – does fly slightly below the radar.

Check our our guide to the best restaurants in the Cotswolds for all the must visit places to eat and drink during your visit. For more travel inspiration, check out our guide to the best Scottish hotels, best UK boutique hotels or best European hidden gem hotels.

Where to stay in the Cotswolds for foodies

The Bell at Charlbury, Daylesford

The newest of its stable of pubs with rooms, The Bell has all the hallmarks of a Daylesford bolthole: a commitment to local suppliers, largely British menu and cute motif (see the bell on plates, menus and staff T-shirts). The 17th-century building is home to a dozen cosy bedrooms, with a contemporary barn at the rear.

There’s more to the pub than a smart market town boozer. Discreetly positioned behind the main building, The Barn serves weekend wood-fired feasting menus – rotisserie chicken, roasts, whole lobster. In summer there’s an additional dining space in The Bell’s acre of apple orchard. The pub’s small, welcoming dining room serves classics like a half pint of prawns, soups, salads, cheeseburger, fish pie, sticky toffee pudding and crumbles, with locally farmed ingredients. Daily specials range from the luxurious, including a chateaubriand for two or whole roasted brill, to a simple porchetta and apple sauce bap. Beers on tap are from family-owned Hook Norton and Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone, Daylesford’s own cider, gins and English sparkling wine.

Exposed brick, embroidered bedspreads and reclaimed wooden furniture create a homely, rustic atmosphere. And four posters, red stripes, and crisp blue and white checks feel very British.

Rooms start at £194 per night, based on two adults sharing. Check availability on their website.

The Fox at Oddington

From £225 per night, check availability at thefoxatoddington.com

The newest addition to the Daylesford stable, the group’s pared-back aesthetic is tempered here with a light-hearted foxy theme on everything from topiary to tableware. Its airy bar and Saddle Room is built around a lively open kitchen where chefs knock out the kind of relaxed, seasonal food we could eat every day. Sustainability is built into all Daylesford does, most visibly in the pub’s living roof, planted with wildflowers and herbs, and acting as a nectar source for bees.

Chef Alan Gleeson’s menu of modern classics encourages sharing, from a half-pint of prawns and some Daylesford cheese to the full three courses. Small plates including tuna tartare with soy and ginger, and heritage tomatoes teamed with feta and mint are a promising start. A decent, tender pork chop comes with greens and apple; a simple plaice with seaweed butter and Ratte potatoes. Flatbread with lardo, anchovy and salsa verde is a must-try, as is Korean fried chicken. There’s usually a fruit tart and a dark chocolate mousse with pistachio biscotti. At breakfast, The Fox is flooded with light. Oversized plants and artfully placed saddles all echo the Gloucestershire location. Omelette Arnold Bennett, a rich haddock and cheese concoction, is served with hollandaise in a mini skillet; french toast with poached apricots is equally luxurious, as are breakfast brioche rolls.

Wood-beamed rooms are decorated with hunting scenes and local wildlife from local artists. Sheepskins, woollen rugs and quilted blankets add a cosy touch to crisp white bedding. Some rooms include a free-standing bath, showers are powerful and fragrant with sage and geranium Bamford botanical products.

Check availability at thefoxatoddington.com

Dormy House, Broadway

From £215 per night, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com

Despite the grandeur, this 17th-century Cotswolds farmhouse, transformed into a foodie spa hotel, is as welcoming as it is luxurious. There are 38 bedrooms spread across the main house and farmhouse outbuildings. Two Hot Tub Suites, in individual cottages with their own private patios, are decorated with delicate floral-printed wallpaper, upcycled furniture and Kilner jars filled with ginger biscuits. A quaint feel overall, although there are modern additions: tablets instead of books, for example.

The Potting Shed serves hearty pub-style food (think spiced cauliflower pie and double-patty burgers) in a low-key setting, while The Back Garden celebrates homegrown produce with simple, seasonal dishes. At the latter, you’ll eat at sleek marble tables, usually with a view of Dormy House’s vegetable plots.

Check availability at mrandmrssmith.com

The Wheatsheaf, Northleach

From £117 per night, check availability on booking.com

As glam as it is cosy, former coaching inn The Wheatsheaf Inn, set in a restored 17th-century Cotswold stone building, has three log fires, as well as a wood-burning stove in the snug. Get comfortable with some craft beer or a bottle of wine from the 300-strong list. There’s culinary clout too with seasonal, daily changing dishes, such as grilled whole lemon sole, grapes, capers and limes, or meltingly rare beef from Cirencester. The 14 stylish rooms here are more bourgeois bolthole than humble inn.

Check availability on booking.com

The Rectory Hotel, Crudwell

From £120 per night, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com

An 18th century former rectory in the heart of picturesque Crudwell, recently refurbished The Rectory Hotel is all about intimate dinners, fireside cocktails and country walks followed by hearty food. Originally the rectory to the village church, this ancient stone building oozes relaxed country manor. Homemade cordial welcomes rosy-cheeked walkers into the drawing room, where you can warm up by the log fire and sink into pretty peacock feather-hued cushions.

The 18 rooms are all unique, with the first floor hosting more spacious rooms, and the second floor benefitting from exposed oak beams. The team at The Rectory Hotel has freshened up the interiors to preserve original features (little fireplaces, sash windows, panelled walls) and antiques, but add a checklist of little hotel luxuries (Robert’s Radios, tea and coffee from local roasters UE and Jeeves and Jericho). Beds are like huge armchairs, with velvet curved headboards in mustard yellow and forest green.

The kitchen focuses on refreshed classics. Unfussy comfort food includes fish pie, and pretty salads using fresh produce grown in the allotments behind The Potting Shed pub over the road (sister business to the hotel). The grill section includes flat-iron chicken with lemon, aioli and fries, Chateaubriand for two with roast beetroot, crispy shallots and wild rocket, and grilled catch of the day (turbot from Dorset on our visit, served with buttery Lime Regis new potatoes, watercress and a ramekin of Hollandaise).

The breakfast spread, taken in The Glasshouse overlooking the gardens, is impressive. Graze on homemade granola, fresh fruits, mini pastries and ham and cheese before taking your pick from the made-to-order hot menu (French toast, avocado on sourdough, eggs any style) and topping up from the DIY bloody mary station.

Check availability at mrandmrssmith.com

Artist Residence, South Leigh

From £120 per night, check availability at booking.com

In a sleepy village in rural Oxfordshire Justin and Charlie Salisbury, the duo behind quirky Artist Residence hotel group, have restored a 16th century Cotswold-stone farmhouse and opened it as their fourth property, Mr Hanbury’s Masons Arms. A community-focused pub, with five perfectly put-together bedrooms upstairs, Mr Hanbury’s is split into two areas – a cosy bar area with a classic pub menu and a more sophisticated dining room where guests can enjoy a fine dining menu.

Each of the five bedrooms here has its own unique quirks. Room number 4 boasts a ginormous free-standing copper bath to sink into with Bramley bubble bath, while number 2 has Sri Lankan tea chests as bedside tables and a window that looks out onto the vegetable patch.

Check availability at booking.com

Thyme, Southrop

From £325 per night, check availability at booking.com

Set deep in the rolling Cotswolds countryside, in the quiet village of Southrop, Thyme is exactly what you want from a rural escape. A 150-acre estate, it is home to a cookery school, pub, holiday cottages, cocktail bar and restaurant while the 15th century manor house at its heart (and various outlying barns) is now a boutique hotel. The renovation of the latter was a labour of love for its energetic, and charming, owner Caryn Hibbert and it shows. Crunch over a gravel drive and you arrive at an impressive, honey-stone Tithe Barn, home to The Baa (yes, really) with its great cocktail list. Not a bad way to kick off a stay.

Check availability at booking.com

The Swan, Ascott-under-Wychwood

From £100 per night, check availability at booking.com

This 16th-century half-timbered inn, at the heart of pretty Ascott-under-Wychwood, has been revamped by hotel gurus Sam and Georgie Pearman (the couple are also behind the spruced-up Talbot in Malton). It bears all their hip-yet-homely hallmarks, including playful, eclectic furnishings and art, sink-into beds and in-room baths stocked with 100 Acres Apothecary products made (by Georgie) from natural botanicals. You’ll also find the usual attention to detail, from swan-shaped room keys crafted at the local forge to homemade cookies in bedrooms. British to the core, it appeals to locals, young and old, and city foodies seeking a rural weekend escape.

Seasonality and creativity drives head chef Adam Abbott, previously of The Wild Rabbit in Kingham. You only have to look at his pork pies, made using rare-breed meats from Herefordshire’s Huntsham Court Farm, to see that he doesn’t compromise on quality. Vegetarians will be happy here, too – starters might include broad bean hummus topped with spiced aubergine and grated hazelnuts, served with a platter of mixed sourdough breads from nearby Chipping Norton. From the choice of mains, try The Swan’s signature smoked haddock Monte Carlo and a wholesome vegetables-and-grains bowl.

Drinks are local where possible. On tap at the bar is Bobby Beer, Cotswold Lager and Pearson’s cider. Local brewery Hook Norton rules the roost when it comes to beer, and for vodka, there’s Black Cow from Dorset.

Check availability at booking.com

Sign of the Angel Inn, Lacock

From £115 per night, check availability at booking.com

Dating back to the 15th century, this former coaching inn sits in the heart of Lacock village. With its rough stone walls, well-worn tiled floors, moody oak-panelled snugs and imposing inglenook fireplace it’s a cosy setting for some hearty West Country food and an early night. Out at the back, a garden leads to a stream and a paddock.

West Country ingredients are put to good use in the regularly changing, seasonal menu from the 2 AA rosette kitchen. Expect local game in the autumn, hunks of blushing lamb in the spring and plenty of veg, potato and pastry all year round. Whenever you visit, though, expect to kick things off with homemade bread, slabs of cold, salted butter, oil and balsamic vinegar and a little canapé – on our visit a comforting offering of sliced white enriched with blue cheese, brown flecked with rocket and lemon, and mouthfuls of pressed rabbit, apple and fiercely pickled red onions.

There are five bedrooms at Sign of the Angel and each is comfortably chic. With little else to do in the village after dark – there’s only one other pub within walking distance – prepare for an early night. At the foot of our sink-into bed, topped with duck down and feather pillows and fringed with a homely grey blanket, thick, large towels beg to be used after a long soak in the tub.

Check availability at booking.com

The Bell Inn, Lechlade

From £67 per night, check availability at booking.com

There are plenty of contemporary-chic gastropubs in the Cotswolds but not all manage to retain the laid-back feel of a village boozer after their Farrow & Ball transformations. Happily The Bell, a 17th-century inn in pretty Langford, on the fringes of west Oxfordshire, does.

Its combination of rustic, wood-fired comfort food, stone-flagged dining rooms, and affable service, makes it a congenial space to unwind. Eight stylishly simple bedrooms mean you can settle down to sample that cooking, relaxed in the knowledge you don’t have to drive anywhere afterwards. Digest with a stroll to Langford’s pink-towered Saxon church across the fields, then enjoy an early night.

Check availability at booking.com

Barnsley House, Barnsley

From £309 per night, check availability on booking.com

Once the home of renowned garden designer Rosemary Verey, the gardens of this luxury hotel remain a highlight. Produce picked by the chefs take pride of place in dishes such as tangy Barnsley House pickled beetroot, creamy goat’s cheese curd and candied hazelnuts.

Amid such ultra-local provenance it’s easy to be caught off-guard when you discover that head chef, Francesco Volgo, is Italian and that the house speciality is vincisgrassi, a rich mushroom and truffle oil lasagne. Wandering up to bed after dinner there were two surprises in store: a packet of Little Gem lettuce seeds on the pillow instead of chocolate and, in the fridge, a handful of fresh mint for tea – reminders that outside the window was a fruitful English country garden.

Check availability on booking.com

The Wild Rabbit, Kingham

In the heart of the Cotswolds on the Daylesford estate, The Wild Rabbit is a modern British inn serving seasonal, hyper-local food and offering 12 bedrooms (all, like the inn itself, named after creatures found in the English countryside). There are also two cosy cottages just a short walk away and, as of late 2018, three more opposite the inn.

While it attracts an out-of-town crowd, at its heart The Wild Rabbit is a country pub, albeit one with Hugo Guinness block prints on the walls and tea lights flickering on farmhouse-style tables. It acts as a kind of sociable living room for the locals (the notice board was calling out for village bakers on our visit), with squidgy leather sofas taken up by blush-faced walkers escaping the cold, shaggy dogs lounging in front of the crackling fire and families wrapping their hands around mugs of hot chocolate and hot buttered rum.

Choose between 12 calm, airy bedrooms above the pub, or, for larger groups, take your pick of the cottages, scattered in the surrounding village of Kingham. All showcase Daylesford’s signature pared-backed country style (think exposed beams, sash windows, duck-egg blue stable doors and lots of muted shades of cream, taupe and stone) but peppered with luxuries; if you’re taken with the decor you can buy everything from the egg cups, chopping boards, throws and toiletries at the Daylesford shop in Kingham (and online, here).

No 131, Cheltenham

From £120 per night, check availability on booking.com

Stay in the Cotswold oblong’s northern corner at No 131 in Cheltenham. An elegant Grade-II Georgian hotel with a restaurant and handful of quirky rooms (ours had a free-standing tin bath and a knitted cosy on the teapot), it’s part of the Cotswolds-based Lucky Onion group, a clutch of restaurants, hotels, pubs and b&bs owned by Julian Dunkerton.

Much of the restaurant’s produce is sourced from local farmers and producers (order eggs for breakfast and they’ll have come from Cackleberry Farm in Burford). Our lunch of Wiltshire lamb fillet with merguez sausage, caponata and tzatziki, fregola primavera (a vibrant spring green) and beets was a riot of colour and flavour.

Check availability on booking.com

The Painswick, Painswick

From £171 per night, check availability at booking.com

With affordable room rates and a playful aesthetic (note the neon sign in the reception area), this is designed as a younger, more affordable addition to the Calcot Collection’s properties (and, possibly, a Cotswolds riposte to The Pig hotels).

Bedrooms are decorated in muted natural shades, lounges come with open fires and mountains of cushions, a lawn is perfect for sprawling on sunny days, there are two treatment rooms for facials or massages and, in the hallway, scrolls of printed walking routes and a stack of help-yourself wellies invite guests to tramp out into the neighbouring Slad Valley (of Laurie Lee fame).

Check availability at booking.com

The Churchill Arms, Paxford

From £100 per night, check availability at booking.com

Set the SatNav and, whichever way you approach The Churchill Arms in Paxford, you’ll travel along winding roads, lined with thatched cottages, through sleepy Cotswold villages. Your destination is equally quaint – a honey-hued pub dating back to the 17th century but re-opened after a sympathetic refurbishment earlier this year. You’re made to feel at home as soon as you step through the door of this family-friendly hostelry. Stand with the traditional inglenook fireplace on your right and choose from the bar, on your left, or a cosy dining room on your right (reached across a flagstone floor).

The pub’s owner and head chef, Nick Deverell-Smith, is a local boy and grew up eating here with his family. But while he is clearly passionate about this pub, Deverell-Smith also brings the kind of depth to his cooking that can only be won through stints in Michelin-starred kitchens.

Book into one of the pubs two, simply furnished, bedrooms and you’ll find walls painted in muted, chalky colours, original beams, hardwood floors and soft, white cotton sheets. Sit and take in the view over rolling fields from the cushioned window seats or relax in the bath after a long walk.

Check availability at booking.com

Pineapple Spa, Stow-on-the-Wold

From £689 for seven nights, check availability at holidaycottages.co.uk

With its quirky interiors, this unique Grade II listed holiday cottage set in the rolling hills of the Cotswolds has an open log fire, free-standing copper bath and a garden with views of the stunning countryside. This quiet and cosy holiday cottage makes for the perfect weekend away.

Check availability at holidaycottages.co.uk

Minster Mill, Minster Lovell

From £150 per night, check availability at booking.com

Set amidst 65 acres of leafy grounds on the banks of the River Windrush (which powers most of the estate via an on-site hydropower turbine), Minster Mill offers a genteel but slick sprawl of honey coloured Cotswold stone buildings to hole up in. Its sister property, the Old Swan country pub with rooms, is just around the corner if you fancy a smidge less formality and a hint more tradition.

Light-filled rooms are generously sized and decorated in tasteful neutrals. Scandi-esque touches include pastel-hued wool blankets on the beds and Danish-style loungers. Find L’Occitane toiletries in the plushly modern bathrooms, Cotswolds-made lager, chocolate and crisps in the mini bar, and a room service menu that ranges from Oxford rarebit with brown sauce to rhubarb trifle.

MasterChef: The Professionals 2017 semi-finalist Tom Moody is behind the pass at the hotel’s restaurant, which serves polished seasonal plates using produce from the hotel’s vegetable garden. A must-order is the butter-soft veal sweetbreads dressed in beef fat (all the meat and fish is British), with velvety caramelised cauliflower purée and crunchy walnuts. Aged loin of Cotswold lamb, blushing pink, spiked with salty hits of anchovy and feta, is another winner. Pre- and post-dinner tipples, from crisp fino sherry to champagne and classic cocktails, can be found at the hotel’s chic gold-accented Mill Bar. There are also champagne and Cotswold cream teas to try.

Check availability at booking.com

Where to eat and drink in the Cotswolds

Stroud Farmer's Market

Kneading up a storm in Painswick, near arty Stroud, is Israeli baker Ori Hellerstein, whose Nelson loaves have a cult following. Named after Nelson Mandela, they’re packed full of pumpkin, poppy, nigella, sunflower, sesame and linseed, plus yogurt and golden syrup. The result is heavy but healthy with a sweetness that goes perfectly with cheese or smoked salmon. Make a beeline for his stall at the award-winning Stroud Farmers’ Market where you can find him every Saturday from 9am-2pm (fresh-n-local.co.uk).

Also at the market is Hobbs House Bakery, of Fabulous Baker Brothers fame, though their lardy cakes, the local sweet and sticky spiced fruit bun, weren’t quite as moreish as those at Huffkins in Burford. Fill your bag with red wine and fennel salami from the Cotswold Curer, yogurt from Jess's Ladies Organic Farm Milk and a bunch of multi-coloured carrots.

Jolly Nice café

At Frampton Mansell, on the road between Stroud and Cirencester, the Jolly Nice café and farm shop is a gourmet pit-stop set up by Rebecca Wilson in a disused filling station. There’s a deli, a butchers selling meat from the family farm’s rare breed Shorthorn cattle, a meadow for summer picnics and a wood-burner-warmed yurt to retreat to in winter with one of the kitchen’s Jolly Nice burgers: a brioche bun piled high with salad, cheddar, smoked bacon, caramelised onions, rapeseed mayo and ketchup, the burger’s key ingredient – Shorthorn beef – still shines.

Definitely leave space for Harriet’s ice cream, though. It all started with an ice-cream maker picked up at a car boot sale on her 15th birthday. The journey to the filling station was a meandering one that involved a mobile ice- cream parlour and years of experimentation. Today, flavours range from brown bread, rhubarb and custard to chocolate and crystallised bergamot. My choice? Pistachio and orange blossom.

jollynicefarmshop.com

The Royal Oak, Tetbury

Husband and wife team Richard and Solanche Craven have refurbished The Royal Oak in the Cotswolds to breathe life back into Whatcote’s village pub. The kitchen focusses on British wild food ‘shot to order’ by gamekeepers, and works with local suppliers, along with others in Scotland and Cornwall, to create seasonal dishes. Try pig’s head and black pudding lasagne with cider reduction; fallow buck with salt-baked turnip; or rabbit wellington with mashed potato and farmhouse cabbage. Comforting desserts include preserved pear with hogweed and ‘cobnut bits and bobs’, and South African wines (a nod to Solanche’s heritage) feature heavily.

The Cravens are committed to retaining the local-pub ethos in the bar and have sourced beers and lager from DEYA in Cheltenham, Clouded Minds near Banbury and Warwickshire’s Purity. The gin cabinet also boasts Countess Grey from the Cotswolds (check out our favourite British gins here).

Where to eat and drink in Cirencester

Asian flavours are also on the menu at Made by Bob in Cirencester (foodmadebybob.com). Ciren is a real foodie hub with a cluster of gourmet hangouts that includes Jesse’s Bistro (jessebistro.co.uk) – the meat sourced from the adjacent butcher’s shop at the front – and Jack’s Coffee Shop (@jacks_shop). But the town’s hottest table is arguably Bob Parkinson’s fuss-free restaurant and deli a couple of streets away.

Cotswolds born and bred but returned from a stint in London, Parkinson is passionate about Asian cooking. His restaurant in the town’s old Corn Hall has a huge open kitchen and is a great place to grab lunch. On the daily changing menu you’ll often find geng jeut, a fragrant and clear Asian broth bobbing with chicken, shiitake mushrooms, coconut and deep fried garlic; and a real winter warmer – geng paneang, a rich red beef curry sprinkled with peanuts and Thai basil. There’s also a strong Italian influence – think grilled bruschetta with marinated peppers, artichoke, mozzarella, capers and basil oil – with Sardinian ingredients sourced from London-based Stefano Chessa.

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