Calcot & Spa

Calcot grew out of a medieval farmstead whose tithe barn is said to date to the fourteenth century, and the hotel has kept the sprawling, low-slung shape of the original buildings. Rooms are spread across the main house, converted stables and a set of garden wings, which means the place absorbs a full house without ever feeling crowded.

The spa was one of the first serious country-house spas in the region and remains the reason many guests come: indoor and outdoor pools, a thermal area, and a long list of treatments, with a separate wing that keeps the quiet side genuinely quiet. Unusually for a hotel at this level, Calcot has never pretended children do not exist, and the Playzone and family suites make it a rare address that works for three generations at once.

Tetbury is ten minutes away for antiques and the Highgrove shop, Westonbirt Arboretum is closer still, and the 220 acres of meadow and woodland around the hotel are laced with walking routes that start at the front door.