The best boutique hotels in the Cotswolds from dog-friendly stays to Michelin-star menus
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Cosy rooms, locally-sourced dishes and private cinema screens, here are the best boutique hotels the Cotswolds have to offer. For cosy weekends in the countryside, it doesn’t get much better than the Cotswolds. England’s largest National Landscape (the new name for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty or AONB) has been attracting visitors for centuries to its green landscapes and charming villages of golden Cotswold limestone, but these days many of its historic coaching inns and country manors have been reimagined as the very best boutique hotels.
![[Seek out the cosy bar at the Double Red Duke]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/16/newFile-9.jpg)
So what exactly makes a boutique stay? While it’s usually defined as having fewer than 100 bedrooms, the best of ‘boutique’ is more about an intimate, welcoming atmosphere – staff who know your name, a unique style and luxe touches such as locally-made toiletries or even a bag of treats for your dog. In the Cotswolds, old inns and country piles have kept their beamed ceilings and stone fireplaces but whipped their bedrooms and bars into shape as more modern spaces. Bedrooms often have big comfy beds and pleasing mixes of modern art and antique treasures. Some of the best boutique finds champion the brilliant local ingredients on offer in the Cotswolds too, from The Painswick’s six-course Taste of the Painswick menu to Le Manoir’s Michelin-starred feasts, straight from the garden.
![[For elegantly decorated bedrooms, head to The Manor House]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/06/14/newFile-1.jpg)
This boutique inn offers 13 plush bedrooms in the main house and six more affordable options in a modern annexe - our pick are the ground-floor garden rooms, complete with free-standing baths and patios. The inn’s communal spaces somehow make centuries of history feel rather cool. Sit out under red-and-white striped parasols with a cocktail in hand or hole up in the Duke’s cosy bar and restaurant for steak and – if you’re lucky – a spot of live jazz on some Sundays.
![[The Pig in the Cotswolds’ menu has menu items that are locally sourced]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/02/16/newFile-3.jpg)
