Worthy Travelers

There is a Cotswold-stone golden glow to the facade of three Georgian houses that combine to form this 28-room luxury hotel.

Looking down on Chipping Campden’s slanting yesteryear high street, the elegant hotel is within yards of the town’s covered market. It was the tradition of the market, or the chipping as it was known in medieval times, that gave the town its name.

Mid-20th century, historian G. M. Trevelyan declared that Chipping Campden had the finest high street, preserving the past, that remained in Britain. Take away the cars and you could film Thomas Hardy scenes of milkmaids and shepherds.

The welcome

With a few minutes of free parking permitted in front of the Cotswold House Hotel & Spa, the hotel recommends dropping off luggage first. Then making the two minutes drive to the car park at the rear of the hotel.

It is a surprisingly long walk back to reception, through the hotel’s lengthy gardens divided into charming secret spaces by box and yew hedges.

Once back at reception, we are checked-in and guided through meandering corridors to our room. Getting lost is part of the Cotswold House experience. Luckily, sooner or later, you’ll be back at the spectacular cylindrical, spiralling staircase.

The room

Our ground floor junior suite has French windows that open out onto a screened patio, with table and chairs. Although we are just yards from Chipping Campden’s busy High Street, the tucked away suite is blissfully quiet.

Free-flow design leads the eye from the king-size-bed, with statement taupe headboard, through to a lounge dominated by an aubergine sofa and armchair. As well as a large free-standing…

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