The Boot Hotel

Cotswold, England

If you’re going to do the Cotswolds, you may as well do it properly, and The Boot in the village of Barnsley, just outside Cirencester, is perhaps the most proper way to do it. Set in a 17th-century building, it’s part of a boutique group that includes The Chelsea Pig in London, the Bearded Rose in Barbados, and Sark Kahvesi in Istanbul.

All the Cotswolds classics are here, from the oak timber frames to the local slate roof. You’re protected from the outside by thick stone walls, warmed by open fires, surrounded by wooden antique furniture and served beer that comes in Wentworth pewter tankards. The chef keeps the mileage down, with Buscot Park venison pies, Paddock Farm Hereford ribeye, Gloucestershire Old Spot Scotch eggs, roast Cotswold white chicken (to share). They only stray beyond the neighbouring counties with good reason: Montgomery cheese for the soufflé, Brixham crab (on toast) or day-boat cod (served in cider batter). Even drinks are local – not only beer, but also the sloe and mulberry gin – a key ingredient for their Barnsley Boot cocktail.

Six spacious rooms come with en-suite bathrooms and are perfectly kitted out with a king-size bed, flat-screen TV, mini bar, Land & Water products and a Roberts radio. They’ve thought of everything – even free-to-use bicycles to allow you to explore the area without having to bring your own set of wheels with you. Cotswold stay, completed.

Doubles from £180, including breakfast. 01285 740421, thebootbarnsley.co.uk

Words by Alex Mead.

This review was taken from the April 2023 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.