The gently rolling green hills, and postcard-perfect villages - with honey coloured stone mansions, ancient churches and thatched cottages, make The Cotswolds one of the most quintessentially English of all England’s regions. And thus, hugely attractive for visitors seeking ye olde world English charm. The popularity of this beautiful region makes it, unfortunately, one of the places in the UK you're most likely to be overcharged for accommodation. But our Gurus’ list of the best places to stay in The Cotswolds should help protect you! We've a wide range of recommendations from cheap and cheerful pubs-with-rooms to top notch luxury spa hotels, all vetted by our fussy Guru-guests.

SOME OF OUR COTSWOLDS COLLECTIONS:

• 12 of the Most Romantic Hotels in The Cotswolds
• The 10 Best Hotels with Hot Tubs in The Cotswolds
• 12 of the Best Pubs with Rooms in The Cotswolds
• The 10 Best Country House Hotels in The Cotswolds
• Best Luxury Hotels in The Cotswolds
• The Best B&Bs in The Cotswolds
• The Best Boutique Accommodation in The Cotswolds
• Best Spa Hotels in The Cotswolds
• The Best Hotels for Couples in The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds has some lovely country house hotels, but our Gurus have numerous picks in pretty Cotswolds towns too. Some of their recommendations for the best places to stay in The Cotswolds are in famed Cotswolds-charmers like Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Norton, Chipping Campden, Cirencester and Broadway.

Burford has the famously pretty High Street, which leads steeply down to the River Windrush; the vast Burford Garden Centre; and some great pubs and galleries. And it’s right on the southern edge of The Cotswolds, close to Crocodiles of the World, and one of the best places to stay in The Cotswolds if you want to explore some of Oxfordshire as well. Stow on the Wold is a lovely market town where you'll find loads of antique shops, art galleries and many independent boutiques; Cirencester is steeped in history dating back to Roman times, so a good base for those looking to learn about the region's past. Broadway is where to stay if you want to explore the northern reaches of the Cotswolds. It's a pretty market town in the traditional honey coloured stone and now full of charming tea shops, galleries and boutiques; and, if you’re at all interested in art and design, you might like to visit Chipping Campden, the birthplace of the Arts and Crafts movement founded by William Morris at the end of the 19th Century. If you prefer to stay in a larger town and drive out to the rural surrounds, we suggest you book a room in Cheltenham, a regency beauty with stylish shops and restaurants and festivals galore from jazz to horse racing.

Bill Bryson says you can't do The Cotswolds without a car. But he's not totally right, you can do a lot of it on foot, along the gently rolling hills and valleys that make up The Cotswolds Way. And we have a list of some of the best places to stay in the Cotswolds for walkers if you need accommodation ideas.

The Best Places to Stay in The Cotswolds

For a Countryside Escape

• Calcot & Spa is a great example of a genuinely family-friendly country house hotel that also works for couples. The manor house, set on an estate outside of Tetbury, was built in the 14th century, but today’s Calcot, with its 35 rooms, suites and apartments, has expanded into barns and outbuildings as well, all arranged around a courtyard of lime trees. And all around are beautiful landscaped gardens, with a range of family-friendly activities on offer. Our Gurus enjoyed the indoor pool, and outdoor hot tub next to a roaring fire. Friendly, and superbly run.
• The name makes it sound a bit gimmicky, but the Lords of the Manor Hotel is actually an elegant and understated affair in honey coloured stone, surrounded by beautiful gardens and parkland. The hotel has 26 rooms and suites, plus a Michelin starred restaurant, and excellent fishing nearby.
• Barnsley House, outside Cirencester, is the sister property to Calcot Manor, and to The Village Pub, a smart pub-with-rooms opposite Barnsley. This was the private home of illustrious horticulturalist, Rosemary Verey, and the gardens are still incredible, with a pretty hotel terrace overlooking them. The interiors are light and airy, with all the mod. cons., including an indulgent spa, and a contemporary British restaurant. There are 18 rooms and suites, decorated with the same light, airy, minimalist eye.
• The Slaughters Manor House is an elegant, but relaxed, retreat within a lovely stroll of the village of Lower Slaughter. Built of honey-coloured Cotswolds stone, this country house has been carefully converted into a 19 room hotel, retaining the impressive scale of all the rooms, but adding luxurious bathrooms and a bar that wouldn’t be out of place in a five start city hotel. Each of the rooms are unique, from the four-poster rooms in the main house to the garden suites with their his and hers roll-top baths. The restaurant is gourmet and the gardens wondrous.

Best Country House Hotels

• Burleigh Court is a beautiful, 19th century built manor house with a Grade II listing, and a picturesque location in the heart of The Cotswolds. There are just 18 rooms and suites, including six pet-friendly rooms located in the coach house, and a family suite with bunk beds. Dogs and kids will love the three acres worth of mature gardens which surround the manor too. The restaurant has 2 AA Rosettes, and a menu based on locally sourced goodies, and there’s a lovely Art Deco plunge pool.
• Buckland Manor is the kind of place you might expect to run into Miss Marple taking tea. A traditional old manor house in peaceful grounds, outside Broadway, on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, with 13 graceful rooms. Here men are expected to don a jacket and tie for dinner, where you'll also be able to take advantage of their impressive wine cellar.

Best Pubs-with-Rooms

• The Five Alls at Filkins is a glorious country pub, loved for its great food - with Italian accents, lovely gardens and rustic bar and dining areas - there are two. There are just nine rooms, simply decorated in pale greys, and seagrass flooring. Great for families, and much loved by walkers.
• The New Inn at Coln is a 17th Century coaching inn, in the heart of Coln St. Aldwyn, with comfortably contemporary interiors, an award winning restaurant, and a selection of Gloucestershire's best ales. The 13 rooms and suites have individual themes and decoration - with a good range of colours and moods. Our Gurus sat out on the sun trap terrace and enjoyed their AA 2 Rosette-wining meal.
• The Village Pub in Barnsley, is a gastro pub with six welcoming rooms, some with four-poster beds. The Village Pub is brought to you by the owners of Barnsley House, which is just across the road, and has beautiful facilities that pub guests are also entitled to use.

For the Charm of a Cotswold Village

• The Lygon Arms is on a main road, running right through the centre of Broadway, which is a particularly charming town on the northern edge of the Cotswolds. This hotel has a very grand look about it, with a long, low and historic facade in honey-coloured Cotswold stone. Within are 86 rooms, suites and apartments, created from a maze-like hotch-potch of different architectural styles and periods. This is a fun place to try to get lost in, full of snugs, nooks and hangouts, painted in sultry shades. The Lyon Arms offers a choice of food and drink, from the bar, the formal, wood-panelled dining room; or the bistro, with its Mediterranean dishes. The decor is comfortably contemporary, with with some charming old features.
• The Painswick is a beautiful, 18th century Cotswold stone mansion in the very pretty wool town of Painswick. There are just 16 rooms and suites, all spacious and individually decorated in a range of styles, from contemporary chic to antique country house. The dining room is beautiful, the drawing room is beautiful, breakfast is a culinary treat, and the service is warm and welcoming.
• The Manor House Hotel has been converted from a 16th century manor house in the centre of picturesque Moreton in Marsh. There are 35 rooms and suites, some with their own private hot tubs and one with its own private garden! There’s also an award-winning fine dining restaurant and a less formal bar and brasserie.

For Couples

• The Swan Hotel is a 17th century coaching inn with wonderful views over the River Coln. In winter its cosy lounges crackle with fires, and in summer the gardens are resplendent with colour and scent. There are 22 rooms and suites, individually decorated with antiques and fabrics that range from plain damask to chintz, florals and gingham. And the Modern British restaurant is excellent. Because this inn has been providing understated luxury and warm service since before The Cotswolds became a holiday destination.
• Cowley Manor is a devilishly hip, grown up Cotswolds retreat for urbanites. It is hard to imagine anyone turning up in tweed with a grinning tongue-lolling muddy spaniel, designer dogs only at this super-spoiling, Grade II Listed retreat. Cowley has 55 acres, two pools, a gym and award-winning modernist spa, a sun-trap of a terrace, a ‘lifestyle shop’, and a menu in the restaurant by chef Mark Hix.
• Russell’s of Broadway is a chic little restaurant-with-rooms in the postcard perfect village of Broadway. It has seven large rooms with charming original features, like high, beamed ceilings and exposed stone walls, but everything else is comfortably contemporary, in a contemporary colour scheme. The superb cuisine is modern European.

For Walkers

• Built in the 17th century, The Ragged Cot is charming stone inn, in a spectacularly spot in Minchampton, overlooking around 600acres of land owned by the National Trust. As well as the pub, which has been updated so that it’s now light and airy, with a large conservatory and courtyard area, the inn has nine rooms. Throughout there’s simply chosen decor in shades of grey with yellow accents, some rooms have well chosen antiques, some are more contemporary. All have all the mod. cons., and out Gurus’ favourites have garden views.
• The Trout At Tadpole Bridge is a charmingly positioned rural inn, with its own, private, back garden mooring onto a section of the Thames. As well as being convenient for canal boating and fishing, this pub has a 2 AA Rosette restaurant, making it a wonderful stop for foodies too. Upstairs the inn has six rooms, decorated in a classic country style that fits with the pub, the lovely old building, and the location. Ideal for a relaxed country break.
• The Bear of Rodborough is a stylish, rural hotel set on Rodborough Common, near Stroud, owned by the National Trust. it has 44 rooms and suites, decorated with country flair: think oversized headboards in chic fabrics and a Farrow & Ball colour scheme, and an elegant restaurant serving modern British classics. There are great room choices for both dogs and families, but be warned, cows roam freely on Rodborough Common

For Great Value

• The King’s Arms in Didmarton, near Stroud, is a traditional 17th century coaching inn which has been stylishly converted. There are just six rooms decorated with antiques, four-poster beds, BIG George Stubbs murals and sheepskin rugs. Downstairs, the pub serves great British pub fare and real ale.
• There are a handful of British inns on Hotel Guru claiming to be the oldest, and The Porch House in Stow-on-the-Wold is one of them, it’s been an inn since 947. Which is certainly impressive whether it’s the oldest or not! Inside the Heritage Listed building are 13 stylish guest rooms with exposed stone walls, and huge oak beams, but a contemporary colour scheme and all the mod. cons., including lovely bathrooms, some with fancy roll-top baths. The pub and restaurant have been sympathetically updated too, and while there are still low beams and cosy nooks and crannies, the effect feels comfortably historic, rather than ancient.

Prefer a Private Apartment or Cottage?

• If you'd prefer the privacy of a self-catering option then browse through the wide variety available online with our partner, Booking.com.

Travel Information

• Want to fly to The Cotswolds?

• The Cotswolds roll out spaciously, and your closest airport depends on where you’re staying first. Birmingham International Airport is the closest airport to Chipping Campden and Broadway, Heathrow is closed to Burford, and Bristol Airport is closest to Bath and Cirencester. There are reasonable links by train and bus between Cotswolds towns but it’s definitely easier if you have access to a car.
• If you want to hire a car we recommend you visit our online partner, Rentalcars.
• The Cotswolds is one of those destinations where every season has something to warrant a visit. In winter it’s quiet, perfect for bracing walks and sitting by a roaring fire in the local pub. In spring you’ll see the daffodils, in summer there’s sunshine and plenty of buzz, and in autumn the changing colours are spectacular. Summer is the most popular time for visitors.

Still not sure where to stay?

• You could refine your search by town of village, and search for just the best places to stay in Burford? the best places to stay in Cheltenham? Chipping Campden? or Stow-on-the-Wold?
• Or you could refine your search by the type of accommodation you’re looking for? and consider just The best country house hotels in the Cotswolds? or The Cotswold’s best pubs-with rooms? The most romantic hotels in the Cotswolds? or even the best hotels with pools in The Cotswolds?
• Or you could contact one of our friendly Gurus for personalised advice.

Weather

Monthly Weather in The Cotswolds