MADAME
Located in the charming village of Chipping Campden, in England’s Cotswold region, just a 2 hour drive east from London this charming village with its honey-coloured stone buildings, and historic 400 year old market hall is home to a very chic boutique hotel; The Cotswold House Hotel.
Centrally located this fine Regency fronted house has been a hotel since the 1930’s and with its beautiful columned entrance and elegant spiral staircase leading from the grand hallway, makes for a warm and special welcome. The Drawing Room is a quiet place to sit and relax in luxurious décor.
The hotel was expanded in the 1960’s by acquiring the adjoining building, Montrose House, which dates back to 1650. There are some beautiful original features to be found in both properties.
With just 28 cosy rooms, all offer a contemporary design with a twist of country-chic.
Our room was more of an apartment located in the garden of the House.
The Cottage Rooms are built of traditional Cotswold stone and have the added feature of exposed wooden beams, making you feel you are stepping back in time, while having every modern amenity to hand.
With the perfect mix of soft blue and white decor, highlighted the warmth of the ancient exposed beams.
With your own front door, the hallway was complete with chair and coat rack while the stairs took you up onto the landing with a chaise longue and magazines to read while passing the time of day in comfort.
Turning into our room we were up into the roof eaves and the big bright room offered soothing décor in pale blue and white. With a fabulous old chest of drawers, big wardrobe and seating area with mini bar, TV and desk, all necessities were catered for.
On the other side of the landing was a huge bathroom, beautifully decorated in warm beige tiles with a large hand basin, elegant bath with traditional taps and a large shower.
Settling in took no time and with a dinner reservation at the hotel’s Bistro on the Square restaurant that evening, there was time to explore the village.
Chipping Campden is full of small individual shops run by very friendly locals. From small food stores selling local produce including honey and chutneys, to antique shops, bookshops and home stores. Even the Tourist Office was a small yet packed Aladdin’s cave of information.
There are also many craft shops selling a wide range of crafts, jewellery and gifts. This is still thankfully still a very traditional English high street.
Be sure to visit Sam Wilson Luxury Homeware and Interiors as well as Frankie Doodle gift emporium; you will be inspired by both!
The rest of the town is a protected conservation area and has a variety of interesting places to see including St. James Church, Campden House Gateway, Grevel House, Banqueting House and the Almshouses.
Back in the hotel and dinner in the Bistro on the Square. This region has become a centre for locally distilled gins of which the hotel has become famous in offering 80 varieties! In the summer months the Pavilion Terrace becomes a popular Gin Garden.
In the relaxed atmosphere of the cosy bar and restaurant, the Elderflower Mojito slid down easily by the open fire.
We enjoyed a beautifully presented and delicious 3 course meal; the grilled goats’ cheese, walnuts, roasted onion, and balsamic glaze, decorated with beetroot was delicious, as was the flat iron chicken, roasted butternut squash, sweet potato, spinach, pumpkin & chilli dressing.
With just enough space left for desert, the warm chocolate brownie, with gooey centre and vanilla ice cream was the perfect end to a really fabulous yet simple meal.
For a more upmarket dinging experience, choose to eat at the hotel’s other restaurant ‘Fig’, which offers an a la carte menu and a 7-course tasting menu combined with a variety of global wines.
This part of England is a well-known tourist hotspot but what makes it special and a real treat is staying in the Cotswold House Hotel, where a local warm welcome greets you.
MADEMOISELLE
Need a little get away from your normal London City life or want to see something else that the UK has to offer? Then the Cotswolds is your answer.
The small town of Chipping Campden is, I would say, a very traditional English cosy town that would make a perfect Christmas scene in a movie. The small cottages and big country houses with their yellow brick stone brickwork makes such an idyllic scene.
As we arrived in the rainy Cotswolds we decided to have a look around in the shops to hide away from the wet outside.
These small, individual shops are a must see if not for the town! The shops were so lovely and had beautiful household products, gift ideas as well as jewellery. I could have definitely brought a number of items from each shop.
After exploring the shops and walking down the streets, we checked into the hotel and rested before heading to dinner.
We stayed at the ‘Cotswolds House Hotel’ which was right in the centre of the town and walkable to all shops as it was on the Main Street.
The part of the hotel that we stayed in was external from the main hotel building; It was like we had a mini house but without a kitchen. It had stairs that lead to the bathroom and bedroom.
The bedroom area which was also a sitting area, was very nice and open. They had comfy seats as well as on the landing they had a lounge sofa, a chair and a variety of magazines to choose from.
One thing I did notice was how uneven the flooring was, it was like it was sloping down (nothing to worry about) but it definitely emphasised how old it was which reflected the Cotswolds.
Getting onto the bathroom, which was so spacious and had a big mirror with a separate bath and shower. The choice of soaps was from the White Company which, not surprisingly smelt amazing!
Moving on to the evening we headed down to the bar which was small and in the same area as dinner - there wasn’t much of a separation between the bar and the Bistro restaurant. I ordered a refreshing but tangy ‘Mango Daiquiri’ that I enjoyed whilst waiting for my food to arrive.
For starters I ordered salmon with cream cheese, caviar and capers which was topped with a crisp bread. The cream cheese was very light and complimented the salmon well.
For the main I had chicken with butternut squash and spinach topped with pumpkin seeds, this was my favourite part of the meal because the chicken was soft and juicy and I love butternut squash!
Finally for dessert, I ordered apple crumble which was presented on a big dish even though the actual crumble size was in a smaller dish with some ice-cream (less than one scoop - wish I had more!)
The next morning, we had a buffet breakfast with choices of cereal, pastries, yogurt etc. But you could also order a variety of English breakfast and eggs, as well as toast. Although the pastries and yoghurt were tasty, I felt they were a bit lacking in the range of things you could choose from.
After breakfast we headed out and explored more of the surrounding towns around Cotswolds, which were similar but different from the area we were staying in. Again, in each town they had charming independent shops.
Overall, The Cotswolds is a cute area to visit but I would definitely recommend going either in spring or at Christmas because then you will really feel like you have stepped into a traditional English setting!
February 2020