Southrop COTSWOLDS Go
Why book just a room when you can have an entire village at your fingertips? That’s the concept behind this postcard-pretty new refurb: cookery school, hotel, cottages, farm, restaurants, pub… the owners have cleverly restored a set of historic buildings on a vast estate in the heart of the Cotswolds into a veritable hamlet of loveliness. Rooms are divided into ‘cosy’, ‘elegant’ or ‘divine’ categories but span three properties, the best of which is The Lodge.
Set away from the main hub, it’s achieved that style du jour of Thyme, A Cosy Double room costs from £325 per night, B&B;thyme.co.uk being stunningly (authentically) old on the outside, yet modern on the inside – there’s even underfloor heating. Go for the English Rose suite: it’s got a wonderful Regency vs art-deco feel with floor-to-ceiling windows, pink walls, gilded drinks trolleys and gold mirrors (oh, and an Insta-worthy roll-top bath strategically placed underneath a chandelier).
Southrop COTSWOLDS Go Photo Gallery
The exciting part, though, is that this whole venture has recently just peaked with the opening of a new spa, an al fresco pool and the hotly anticipated Ox Barn restaurant, headed up by ex Quo Vadis chef Charlie Hibbert. The feel at the latter is more NYC brasserie than creaky country barn, and the food is just as current: seasonal, small but artfully formed British dishes, such as guinea fowl with radishes from the kitchen garden braised in aioli.
THE LUXE TOUCH
The pool may be outdoors, but don’t let that put you off if the sun isn’t shining or you’ll miss out on the best pre-breakfast swim you’ll ever have. The water is bath-warm, and if you get the place to yourselves, it’s pure magic.
