Hotel-watchers could be forgiven for thinking that the “country house hotel gone funky” was a recent phenomenon. In fact, Cowley Manor was at it back when it opened in 2002 and Peter Frankopan and Jessica Sainsbury (now Frankopan) of the Curious Group of Hotels brought snazzy colours and design pizzazz to the Italianate Cotswolds mansion and its 55 acres. But last year they sold up to Experimental, the group known for its cocktail bars and party hotels in the Balearics, Paris and London, which has introduced its own aesthetics via a £3.5 million refurb from the designer Dorothée Meilichzon, who approves every last glass and teaspoon. She’s gone for more grown-up, calmer colours, lots of boxy shapes, scalloped edges and glossy lacquer — funk to funky.
Chequerboard motifs nod to Through the Looking-Glass — Lewis Carroll lived nearby and his Wonderland is supposedly inspired by the impressive landscaped grounds; sure enough, scurrying rabbits are a common sight.
Experimental has given the hotel a foodier, drinkier focus, bringing in signature cocktails and Brunswick House’s Jackson Boxer as chef consultant. Staff were kept on through the pandemic and sale, so service is much smoother than you’ll find in many places these days.
Overall score 8/10
Main photo: Italianate Cotswolds mansion Cowley Manor Experimental
Rooms and suites
Score 7/10
Cowley Manor has 31 rooms, including three suites, split between the main house and converted stables; another five in a modern extension are due to open in late 2023. You can expect lots of four-posters, chic rattan chairs and feature headboards, and bathrooms in assertive colours such as the turquoise in room 21. Rooms are a good size — No 26 is in the entry-level category but has a huge bathroom. In the stables, the three-storey Family Tree and double-height Alpaca rooms allow space for families — it’s a grown-up hotel, but children are welcome. For more natural light go for the main house and the rooms with lake views — the “spa view” rooms also take in the car park. All rooms but one have a bath; smellies are from the organic Swedish brand L:A Bruket.
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Food and drink
Score 8/10
Make time for a pre-dinner cocktail in the club with its blue-lacquered bar, local spirits and weekend DJs. In the wood-panelled restaurant, the menu is imaginative, with unslavish respect for British ingredients — Bibury trout with horseradish and watercress; Tamworth pork chop with an intense sauce charcutière. Sides are, sigh, extra and prices are punchy — but so are the flavours, and portions are generous.
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What else is there?
Score 8/10
Twenty years ago the tennis courts were dug up and turned into a partly underground spa that looks like it was unveiled yesterday — customers will hope the expertly delivered Monu treatments keep them looking similarly youthful. The indoor and outdoor pools are excellent. Grade II listed gardens of established trees, swan-paddled lakes and Victorian cascades are worth borrowing a pair of Hunter wellies for. Tiny St Mary’s church is right next to the house, making weddings photogenically easy.
Where is it?
Score 8/10
The Cotswolds village of Cowley is tiny but offers walks and workshops with alpacas (from £25pp; cotswoldalpacas.co.uk), and a 17th-century pub that has log fires, flagstone floors and a well-stocked foodie village shop. It’s 12 miles to Gloucester and seven and a half miles to Cheltenham; head north to Winchcombe for the craft pottery and Sudeley Castle.
Price B&B doubles from £250
Restaurant mains from £16
Family-friendly Y
Dog-friendly Y
Accessible Y
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