Gloucestershire

The Hotel Guru
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Gloucestershire

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About Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is the ideal destination for discovering England’s green and pleasant heart, from its postcard-perfect, thatched-cottage Cotswolds towns, to the grand, architectural splendour of Gloucester Cathedral, the lush green mystery of the Forest of Dean, and the beautifully refined, 18th century mansions and manors of Cheltenham. When considering our recommendations for the best places to stay in Gloucestershire, we've plumped for historic country houses with spa conversions and gourmet restaurants, much-loved pubs-with-rooms and old coaching inns, and charming B&Bs all of which are spread throughout the county.

Some of our Gloucestershire collections:

If you’re looking for biscuit-tin pretty Cotswolds towns head to Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury, Tewkesbury, Bibury, Moreton-in-Marsh and Chipping Norton. Cirencester and Chipping Campden are market towns: Cirencester with Roman ruins and lovely Victorian architecture, and Chipping Campden with an especially graceful main street and 17th century market hall. Chipping Campden is also known for being the birthplace of the Arts & Crafts movement. Cheltenham was a famous spa town in the 18th century, but it’s now best known for the festival, and the race course. It’s also England’s most complete Regency town, with houses characterised by their intricate ironwork balconies and painted stucco facades.

Gloucestershire is awash with historic buildings, both in the towns and outside them, but if you’d prefer somewhere even greener consider visiting the Forest of Dean, the Severn Vale or the Wye Valley.

Don't forget that this region is busy year round due the never-ending popularity of the Cotswolds. If you want to guarantee a room in one of the best places to stay in Gloucestershire, you'll need to do your research and book well ahead.

The Best Places to Stay in Gloucestershire

For a Country House Hotel

Burleigh Court is a beautiful, Grade II listed 19th century manor house 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 ingredients, and there’s a lovely Art Deco plunge pool.
Tewkesbury Park is a Georgian era estate turned country house hotel, with an impressive list of facilities. Including its own golf course, tennis courts, squash courts, a health club, gym, a huge spa, and a choice of four places to eat and drink. And acres of land. They’re so welcoming of dogs that they offer special packages, which include fancy dog meals and treats. It’s ideal for families too.
The Slaughters Manor House is an elegant, but relaxed retreat within a short stroll of the village of Lower Slaughter. Built of honey-coloured Cotswolds stone, this property 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 star 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 stunning.
Cowley Manor is a devilishly hip, grown up Cotswolds retreat for urbanites, a super-spoiling, Grade II Listed country bolthole. 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 celebrated chef Jackson Boxer.

For a Country Escape

The Falcon Painswick is a pub converted from an elegant Georgian townhouse in a perfect Painswick spot. with the Cotswolds Way running past the front door. There are just 11 rooms, all individually decorated, with a combination of antiques and contemporary pieces creating a soothing impression. The pub and restaurant are lead by the seasons and local producers.
The Close Hotel is a beautiful, 16th century manor in the pretty market town of Tetbury. Its conversion into a boutique hotel has been well thought out, and many of the buildings most charming features remain untouched, including its round tower and grey stone facade. Each of the 18 rooms and suites is decorated individually, and ranges from floral themes to dark, country checks, and their Tudor origins are referenced with contemporary creations that follow the same shapes — expect antlers and beagles!
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. The Modern British restaurant is excellent.

For Romantics

The King's Head, Cirencester is a stylish, 60 room hotel right in the centre of Cirencester. Rooms and suites come in a range of shapes and sizes, some offering solid original oak beams, some elegant wood paneling and huge windows, and some with a living space. The hotel has an impressive spa with a beautiful pool, a superb restaurant, and a friendly bar too.
The Greenway Hotel & Spa is a beautiful Elizabethan manor house set in eight acres on the outskirts of Cheltenham, turned luxurious spa hotel. It looks huge, but has just 21 rooms and suites. There’s definitely a bit of horsey flair in the decor, along with chocolate leather and dark wood furnishings. The spa is worthy of inclusion in the name, and the restaurant is very good too.
Once home to the renowned horticulturalist Rosemary Verey, Barnsley House is quite rightly best known for its still-glorious gardens, but we also love its 18 low-key, contemporary rooms and suites, plus its cleverly mirrored dining room and secret spa at the bottom of the garden. Barnsley House also has its own private cinema, tennis courts, and a heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool. Bring your pets, but not your kids to this one.

Best Pubs-with-rooms

The Stump is a 17th century coaching inn turned pizza-restaurant-with-rooms, ten of them, including some family-sized suites, and one dog-friendly one. The dining room spreads across the ground floor pub space, and out onto the terrace, where you can eat your excellent pizza, or pasta, in the Cotswolds sunshine, accompanied by beer from a local micro-brewery. The rooms are decorated with artfully mismatched furniture and dramatic teal coloured walls.
Built in the 17th century, The King's Arms is an old coaching inn on the main road between Cirencester and Bristol. In its recently refurbished state it’s become a stylish place to stay, as well as great value. There are just six rooms and two cottages, all decorated in masculine tones, with large printed artworks and white linens. They’re super doggy-friendly here, and provide your four-legged friend with a bed, treats and even a special dog beer!
There are a handful of British inns on The 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). Inside the Heritage Listed building are 13 stylish guest rooms with exposed stone walls, and huge oak beams, but a contemporary colour scheme and lovely bathrooms, some with indulgent 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.

For Families

No. 38 The Park is a beautiful Georgian townhouse, close to the Cheltenham Racecourse, which has been converted into a 13 room B&B. The rooms are all very different, with a range of interesting original artworks, design and vintage pieces, and tonally coloured wallpapers, paint and fabrics. It’s definitely elegant, but your kids and dogs are most welcome too, and they provide babysitting services, and special dog beds, bowls and treats. There’s an honesty bar in the courtyard, and the art-filled sitting room.

For Exploring The Cotswolds

Beaumont House is a five star hotel converted from a 19th century country house on the outer edge of Montpellier, so it’s an easy option for exploring both Cheltenham and the Cotswolds. There are just 16 rooms and suites, in a range of styles that run from simple to opulently African themed. Most of the rooms are spacious, and all have generously sized bathrooms. There’s also a lovely garden which you can see from the pretty breakfast room.
The Hare and Hounds Hotel is a gloriously traditional country house hotel outside Westonbirt, just two miles from Tetbury. Built from pale Cotswolds stone, and packed with charming original features, this hotel has 42 rooms and suites — mostly arranged around a sunny courtyard. The fine dining restaurant and friendly, country pub are popular with locals as well as visitors, and it’s surrounded by a large garden. The suites have hot tubs, and the restaurant has 2 AA Rosettes, so it’s ideal for a luxurious and romantic break.
The Painswick is a beautiful 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. Plus there's an excellent restaurant with a gastronomic tasting menu that's not to be missed!

For the Forest of Dean

Three Choirs Vineyards is a working vineyard set on a hundred rolling acres of Gloucestershire’s prettiest rural land. It produces around 300,000 bottles of wine a year, and litres of beer from its own microbrewery too. Essentially the accommodation here is a restaurant-with-rooms, set on a hill overlooking the wines. The food, and wine, take centre stage, with the rooms arranged above the restaurant, or in cabins down by the lake. The decor is simple and cosy. Perfect for foodies and wine lovers, of course, but also great for walkers and fisher-folk.

For the Cheltenham Races

Ellenborough Park is a wonderfully rambling, 16th century manor house made from honey-coloured Cotswold stone, and surrounded by lush gardens. The Southam location is ideal for Cheltenham Racecourse, and the hotel offers many way to celebrate any wins, from a meal in the fancy, wood-panelled 3 AA Rosette restaurant, afternoon tea in the lounge, cocktails in the bar, or a spa treatment. On race days they run a chauffeur service to the race course.
Large and grand, the Queens Hotel is a central Cheltenham classic. Rooms are spacious and beautifully proportioned, from the chequerboard-tiled reception area, to the lounge with its double height windows and ceilings, and its 84 rooms and suites. The sash windows, marble fireplaces and arched doorways are all original, but the contemporary colours and retro furnishings, give it a fresh look, as well as a luxurious one.
No. 131 is a beautifully grand, Georgian townhouse hotel in the heart of Cheltenham, with just 11 carefully decorated rooms and suites: think generous proportions, elegant colour schemes, original artworks, and an individual collection of antiques and design pieces in each room. The bar is chic, and the restaurant pleasingly gourmet.
Cheltenham’s Hotel du Vin has been converted from a Georgian townhouse in fashionable Montpellier, and offers the classic Hotel du Vin treatment of fantastic food and drink, and moodily romantic rooms and suites. The huge beds and bathrooms are here, as is the buzzing bar and a bistro-style restaurant.

For Walkers

Built in the 17th century, The Ragged Cot is charming stone inn, in a spectacular spot in Minchampton, overlooking around 600 acres 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, others are more contemporary. Our favourites have garden views.
The Ebrington Arms in Chipping Campden, is an atmospheric British village pub, with five rooms, a nice little restaurant, and owners who brew their own beer. The decor lets this lovely old building take centre stage, with exposed stone and beams and old fireplaces, paired with simple, solid furniture in pale wood, and creamy colours. The location is perfect for exploring, and the hearty food will help fuel your adventures.

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

If you’re arriving by air the closest airports will be Bristol Airport, if you’re heading for the area around Cheltenham, or Birmingham International Airport, which is the closest airport to Chipping Campden. If you’re travelling from London by train, you’ll probably depart from Paddington, with direct trains between London and Gloucester taking about an hour and 45 minutes.
If you want to hire a car we recommend you visit our online partner, Rentalcars.
Gloucestershire 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, plus there’s racing in Cheltenham; in spring the Cotswolds are lit up with daffodils; in summer there’s sunshine, festivals and plenty of buzz; and in autumn the changing colours are spectacular. Summer is the most popular season for visitors, and the most expensive.

Still not sure where to stay?

Refine your search to one of Gloucestershire’s centres: the best places to stay in Cheltenham, Cirencester, Chipping Campden or Stow-on-the-Wold
or one of Gloucestershire’s beautiful areas: the Forest of Dean or the Cotswolds
Refine your search by the kind of property you’re looking for, and only consider Gloucestershire's best pubs-with-rooms or Gloucestershire's most romantic hotels
Alternatively, you could contact one of our friendly Gurus for personalised advice.

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The best hotels in Gloucestershire

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The Bell

Stow-on-the-Wold (Stow on the Wold)

Easy-going and comfortable, The Bell ticks all the boxes. Great rooms (some in Stuart House across the road), excellent food served in the restaurant and an atmospheric pub combine to make it a great base for a weekend away in the Cotswolds.

Local exploring - A great base from which to explore Stow and the surrounding Northern Gloucestershire countryside.
Great walks - The surrounding area is full of wonderful walking routes such as the Cotswolds Way.
Restaurant

from £99 for 1 room, 1 night including taxes & fees