Here you'll find wholesome inns with slick makeovers or well-loved locals given box-fresh bedrooms and a proper pint by the fire
Harriet O'Brien Destination expert
Harriet O’Brien is an award-winning author, freelance travel writer and contributing editor to Conde Nast Traveller magazine. Her work has taken her from Amsterdam to Amritsar, Belgium to Burma and of course numerous places in Britain. She lives in the Cotswolds as the Telegraph's hotel and destination expert – which she says "ranks in my top five most beautiful places in the world".
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It would be impossible to go far in the Cotswolds without coming across an inviting old inn. Genial emblems of a district rich in bucolic history and timeless good looks, the region’s pubs for the most part present an appealing mix of tradition and contemporary foodieness. Think crackling fires in stone fireplaces, ancient wooden benches worn from centuries of sociability, classic ales from breweries such as Donnington and Hook Norton, and dishes based on local produce, much of it given a twist by seriously creative chefs.
Happily a great many Cotswold pubs also offer comfy bedrooms – some cosy and characterful, some super-swish – to which to retreat to after a relaxed dinner. From Clanfield’s Double Red Duke, with its sublime fire cuisine to The New Inn at tucked-away Coln St Aldwyns, here is our pick of 10 of the best.
How we review
All our reviewers are either resident destination experts or travel writers that specialise in hotels. Often they will have stayed at a hotel many times and so can see how it has changed for better or worse over the years. They know what makes a great hotel in that particular destination and will compare it contextually against local competition. When our reviewers first visit a hotel, they stay for at least one night, eat one meal in addition to breakfast and will experience all of the facilities on offer. Whichever category of room they stay in, they will see the entry-level rooms in order to assess them.
After their stay, our reviewers then give the hotel six scores out of 10, rating its location, style and character, service and facilities, rooms, food and drink, and value for money. The average of these scores then determines the overall score. Our experts then select reviews for curated lists like this – the best hotels in a particular destination for families, for instance – together with the Telegraph Hotels team.
A manor house built for a wool merchant in the 1600s, this handsome venue morphed into an inn and today is a place of kick-back cool with a first-class reputation for its fire cuisine. The cooking here is an impressive performance art – you can sit at a counter and watch the action in the open kitchen. Mains are for the most part grilled over wood – steaks, cod with coco beans and shrimp butter, or haunch of venison with pickled blackberries. The 19 bedrooms have been individually devised with panache and offer striking feature wallpaper, boldly coloured bedheads and the occasional piece of vintage furniture.
From £ 156
per night
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The best hotels in the Cotswolds
This 17th-century inn has a down-to-earth vibe and makes a snug setting for some seriously good and reasonably priced food. There’s an emphasis on game in winter and fish in summer, with frequently changing vegetarian options and snacks or small plates (anchovy and flat bread, scampi and the like) always available. You dine in a parlour painted soothing sage green, its walls hung with striking sketches, or in the blue-panelled bar area next door. There are eight smallish bedrooms, all lovingly furnished with antique and auction finds, which add a sense of care and character – there’s a rocking chair in one, a large patrician desk in another.
From £ 99
per night
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This 16th-century coaching inn has been making waves since it was refurbed and relaunched in 2023. Upscale minimalism strikingly emphasises the age and heritage of the building, with the bar and dining room featuring bare floors and simple wooden furniture, uplifted by a few leather chairs and softened by candles and crackling fireplaces. The 10 bedrooms have a similar stripped-back look – albeit some with four-poster or canopy beds. The menu is equally minimalist, giving little clue to the serious quality of the dishes – happily the front-of-house staff are well-versed in explaining the finer points of "pork chop, crushed peas" for example.
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This pub spills onto the expansive green of picturesque, honey-stone Bledington, with an old-fashioned see-saw just off its terrace; the village is in glorious walking and cycling country. The Kings Head is an appealingly meandering property offering a generous sense of space and plenty of snug corners. The oldest part dates back to the mid 1600s and there's a modern accommodation wing at the back. Décor is stylishly rural, with flagstone floors, rugs and old settles, and with a fireplace in one room, a wood burner in another. Good honest brasserie-style dishes based on seasonal ingredients are presented with flair.
From £ 185
per night
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This 18th-century inn is today a sanctuary of eco-elegance and gourmet cuisine. It sits opposite the village green of pretty Kingham and a few fields away from sister enterprise Daylesford, the organic estate and farm shop of Carole Bamford. Service takes the property to an altogether different level from other Cotswold pubs with rooms. In the restaurant, staff will give you enthusiastic chapter and verse on ingredients (all organic) and cooking techniques.
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This appealingly stylish old pub is set in a quiet lane on the outskirts of Ilmington, a pink-brick and golden-stone Warwickshire village. The pub dates back several centuries and has evolved from a collection of barns. There are snoozy leather armchairs in front of a big stone fireplace, and hunting pictures on the walls. All eight rooms have a sitting area; one has a four-poster, another a canopy bed decked in tartan. The food is a treat, from grilled quail with English corn, to fillet of John Dory with prawns, runner beans and crab bisque.
From £ 182
per night
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The Lion is a 16th-century coaching inn turned rustic-cool pub with rooms. Set in the heart of Winchcombe, which is regarded as the ‘walking capital’ of the Cotswolds, it makes a fine base for hiking weekends and touring ‒ and serves good brasserie food. A modern makeover has cleverly given the interior of this historic property a cosy yet light and bright look. It's a place of bleached wood, exposed stone walls and rugs on flagstone floors. The well-priced menu includes mains such as courgette and charred corn orzotto, and tender pork belly with dauphinoise potatoes.
From £ 254
per night
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In the heart of one of the Cotswolds’ prettiest villages, this comfy country pub offers good food, quirky-chic interiors, a sunny terrace and a proper (if small) bar area. It’s the sister enterprise to the Pig in the Cotswold hotel across the road and its pleasingly select menu is partly based on what’s available from the ample veg garden there: think heirloom tomato tart with red onion, and trout with beans and radishes. All shapes and sizes, the six bedrooms have feature headboards, beautifully made shutters and seriously strong monsoon showers.
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Very rural yet easy to reach from nearby Cirencester, The Crown is a 17th-century inn with a wonderful setting in the Golden Valley, so-called for its spectacular autumn foliage. The main building, complete with wonky old beams, three fireplaces and much exposed stone, was originally constructed as a cider house. It creaks with atmosphere and is very much the real deal: a proper pub and the haunt of locals. With 12 comfy bedrooms in a peaceful annexe, it’s also a popular venue for visitors from further afield. This is an excellent base for walks, with hearty comfort food on the menu to enjoy in the evening.
From £ 145
per night
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Dating from the 16th century, this ivy-clad inn exudes rustic-stylish appeal. Step inside to open fires, lots of old settles, flagstone and wood floors and a buzzing vibe. On one side of the main building there’s an open kitchen and a bar area for those popping in for a pint; on the other is a series of restaurant rooms, one of which has a dedicated Negroni bar. Dishes range from gourmet burgers to small plates and hearty mains such as venison haunch. Set around an adjacent courtyard are 14 beautiful bedrooms some sporting four poster beds, some furnished with antique finds.
From £ 185
per night
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