Over the Moon in the Cotswolds at Barnsley House
 

Check In Checkin was smoothest, warm, welcoming and fast. Arrived early, was given a pot of tea in one of the cozy lounges in front of a fireplace, ensconced in comfy chair. Escorted to room half-an-hour later. Room This large suite has it all: private walled garden, furnished terrace, hot tub, fire pit, outdoor candles and illumination. All one level, more or less, if unsteady on pins, be wary of stone pathways. Within is well furnished with appealing modern country furniture in a neutral colored setting, sculptured deep tub-for-two in bedroom with king bed. Bathroom is large, double sinks, large, lovely, wonderful shower with dual rain shower heads. Also, dining table, little fridge with gratis waters, organic juices, lemonade, beer, milk. Easy-to-use cartridge coffee/tea maker. Gratis snacks including crisps, cookies, chocolate. Gorgeous bouquet of colorful flowers, including dahlias and rudbeckia. Glass walls facing private garden.This stand-alone suite is located just off the back garden lawn behind a lichen-flecked old stone wall. Charming as hell but without chintz and antimacassars. Service Wow, wow, wow -- service was great, warm, kindly, authentic, professional, knowledgeable and swift. The best, really. Room service was so swift as to be almost instant. I think sometimes the server RAN over.Housekeeping was literally amazing. A small army turned up -- five in number with equipment and supplies, went straight to work efficiently and were done in about ten minutes. All lovely young people well trained and super sweet. The surrounding gardens are large and somewhat compartmentaluzed.. I knew there was a fuchsia out there but could not find it. Asked at reception and had detailed easy directions in my email from one of the gardeners within 15 minutes.A couple of tiny service lapses in the (otherwise terrific restaurant) but nothing that was not remedied quickly. Dining With one exception (the pork belly something), the fairly affordable meals were excellent. I enjoyed the beef, risotto, chicken, tea sandwiches, desserts, scrambled eggs, streaky bacon, etc., al so yummy. Favorite at breakfast were the exceptional eggs benedict.Forever England -- I overheard this amusing interaction at breakfast one morning. A gentleman guest politely inquired of server if he might not have his toast toasted on BOTH sides.Wine list is quite fine and mostly affordable, including dessert wines. Beer and cider. Lovely cocktails. Had the best G&T ever. Apparently Barnsley House is revered for its 85 or so different gins, even one made on the premises. Location Christ, it's the Cotswolds, just does not get better for gorgeous countryside and medieval market towns and villages crisscrossed with accessible walking paths (local Ramblers are delighted to take you walking). The local Cotswolds stone is ubiquitous in houses, taverns, buildings. Many outstanding historic renown gardens in the area -- Kiftsgate, Hidcote Manor, Painshill, Kelmscott, etc. The many villages are a complete and utter hoot, sometimes with decent shopping at twee shops. Many many taverns, inns, tea shops, restaurants, etc.Lots of adorable dogs big and small on walkies in the villages, all on leashes and well behaved. But, sad to say, dearth of cats. Hmm, maybe the dogs?Yeah, it's all pretty nice, understatement.Accessible by train and bus from London. Two-hour drive from Central London. Overall Yes, well, I loved my five days in the Cotswolds based at Barnsley House. Would I return? You betcha, already booked and deposited for BH four nights over Christmas, with three nights before at the nearby highly regarded Thyme.Barnsley House and gardens is the former home of Rosemary Verey who died in 2001. She was a much honored garden designer of the twentieth century and was award perhaps the highest of gardening awards: Victoria Medal of Honor.

The hotel has a lot of character and looks really impressive. The fireplace would be a bit rustic for my room, but of course that is also part of the character.

Has anyone stayed at or visited Thyme in the Cotswolds? I will be there three nights in December before moving on to Barnsley House for four nights over Christmas.

https://www.thyme.co.uk

offerendum, that fireplace was in one of the lounges in the main house.

Yes, we stayed there three nights - a year ago this week actually. Lots to like about this property ... the hard product is pretty flawless. We were in the Cedars of Lebanon room, which was lovely and spacious. All of the public rooms are really stunning and the grounds are beautiful. Service when we were there was very well-intended, but all the staff seemed quite green, and like there weren't quite enough of them. But everyone was lovely. There was one episode where they had a major plumbing malfunction, and we were without hot water for a good part of the day, but these things can happen and the service recovery provided was more than generous. We didn't use the spa, but other guests spoke highly of it.

The only thing we didn't love was the food in Ox Barn. Breakfasts were fine (if unexciting, and slow to arrive), but the dinner menu just seemed disjointed and none of the flavors on the plate (of which there it felt like there were one or two too many) seemed to work together. It was more an issue of conception than of execution, I think. I gather the property used to operate a historic pub, The Crown, on site, but it's been closed since the pandemic. We did eat well nearby, however, and I highly recommend The Bell Inn, in Langford and the Lamb Inn, in Shipton Under Wychwood, both extremely high-quality gastropubs. If you're planning to drink, ask the staff at Thyme to line up a driver for you, as both of these restaurants are a 20-minute or so drive away and the roads can be dark and narrow.

We'd happily return to Thyme.

Thank you, jkirk, reassuring. Looking forward to this holiday respite.

Best in the Cotswolds

https://www.travelandleisure.com/hot...swolds-6834680

Well, my Thyme stay was a bust
 

Check In Check-in was swift followed by escort to room which was in a small row facing garden, trellises, fountain, etc. A property tour was offered but I was too wiled out by 11-hour flight from SFO and subsequent snafu meeting up with arranged car service at Heathrow. Suffice it go say not in the best mood. Room Expensive, £750 (plus vat, serbice, blah blah fees), room was small yet sweet. Had the slipper tub which is de riguer these days. Nice shower. Comfy bed. Tea/coffee maker. NO MINI FRIG!! ...?? Thermos of milk delivered daily. It was an OK room but nit for £750/night. Service Service was ok if a little snooty. Dining Breakfast was fab. Dinner was too foodie for me and no beef unless you wanted the two-pound roadt meant to serve three plus. Location Large, old estate with lits if buildings including a chapel. I did not get around much as it rained constantly and I was terrified of slipping and falling. Flat, very flat terrain. Nice, picturesque black sheep. Gardens not at their best i. mid-winter nor did I expect them to be. Overall i was distincly underwhelmed for the money soent for my four nights. Still cranky about this. Return is out of the question.

Sorry to hear about your Christmas break, especially after you switched from Barnsley House to Thyme. Not surprised, though. Very few UK hotels deliver at this time of year and the weather usually adds to the depression.

Oh, no worries, I was four wonderful days over Christmas itself at Barnsley House and it could not have been better,. Barnsley is a treasure.

Countryside with almost 2 year old
 

My wife and I are looking to travel to London and the English countryside this summer (August). We'll be traveling with our son, who will be almost 2 at the time of the trip. We're looking at staying 3 nights or so in the countryside. We enjoy good food, good drinks and spending time outside. As we'll be traveling with our son we'll probably keep it pretty low key and relaxing. The property needs to be welcoming to families and hopefully will have babysitting services so we can get away for dinners/activities.

As of now the options we're considering are:

Coworth Park - Looks like an interesting property that's family friendly close to London/Heathrow. Any recent stays here?
Four Seasons Hampshire - We're quite loyal to Four Seasons and they've been great with our son on past stays. Property is also close to Heathrow/London.
The Newt - Reviews seem quite positive albeit further from London/Heathrow. Not sure how family friendly it is. Website is quite limited in terms of info thus unsure if they offer babysitting, etc.

Any insight would be much appreciated.

Also consider Beaverbrook. Much smaller than the others, service has improved substantially since opening, and a unique place. Very family friendly. 20 min from Heathrow.

I hear FS is good with families. Cowarth park didn't impress too much but haven't been back in a while.

They have a great pool area for kids, at least the big kid thought when visiting a few years ago. With the new room product it should be very nice.

Thanks. Not sure Four Seasons works for our dates unless we do the countryside before London.

Will take a further look at Beaverbrook.

Any recent stays at Heckfield place? The comments from a couple years ago weren’t too promising. The design looks great and seems like they’re fine with kids.

I wouldn't recommend Heckfield with kids.

Coworth Park has an indoor pool only.... I would say it is extremely family friendly, but they tend to offer The Stables area as the family type rooms.
You could also look at The Grove Hotel. They have indoor and outdoor pools + a kids club that I know welcomes very young ones. Kids club at an additional cost