Cotswold House Hotel

We left booking our Carnival weekend bolthole in the Cotwolds to the very last minute but were lucky enough to get a cancellation at the Cotswold House Hotel. 

From the outside it is a very traditional early 19th century house on Chipping Campden High Street, built of the ubiquitous golden stone of the Cotswolds which looks so lovely on a late summer's evening.

Inside they've kept the original features, including a swirling spiral staircase, and furnished it in a chic, elegant, contemporary style.  I have to say that I found the decor slightly unoriginal - lots of the dark purple which currently seems to be de rigueur for trendy bars and restaurants - but it was all extremely comfortable, the staff were exceptionally charming and the food was absolutely delicious.

We dined in Hicks Brasserie rather than the main restaurant as it was closer to the room (useful from a baby monitor point of view), from a menu of  exquisitely prepared old favourites with an up-to-date twist.  I surprised myself by choosing the wiener schnitzel (when was the last time you saw that on a menu?) and found it utterly melt-in-the-mouth delicious.

Equally amazing were the gardens - typically Cotswold blowsy but with modern, plantlike glass sculptures poking out of the flower beds to give them too a striking contemporary twist.

I was also amused to note that our bed was adorned with gorgeous cream merino wool cushions by Muskett & Mazzullo - available at an exceptionally reasonable price from mirrormirror.