Glorious rural pastures, rolling hills, honey-coloured cottages in quintessentially English villages, romantic walks and breathtaking views, rich fertile soils and fantastic local foods. You’ll find it all here in Gloucestershire. Its landscape inspired JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, but it is also home to Cowley Manor, a gorgeous (and award-winning) modern country manor set in 55 acres of grounds. The Manor’s generously sized rooms are bright and bold and filled with custom-made furniture by British designers; there is an outdoor and an indoor swimming pool, an exceptional spa, and gardens that feature natural springs, Victorian cascades and a series of lakes; perfect for some countryside romance.

Cowley Manor Review

09.05

“See you there, cheri,” Msr 2 trills down the phone as we make arrangements for our rendezvous tonight at Cowley Manor in Gloucestershire. We’re travelling separately from different parts of England and are looking forward to a romantic weekend away as well as being in the area for the National Association of Teachers of Dancing Congress, of which we are both patrons.

14:30

Traffic is dire, and although I arrive a little later than expected, Msr 2 is going to be even later; so since he is still stuck somewhere on the A419 between a Audi A3 and a Ford Focus, I park my car and head into the hotel on my own.

The first thing I clock is a huge rack of colourful wellies just outside reception. I love it. It’s cool and a reminder that Cowley Manor is in the depths of the beautiful Cotswolds countryside.

At reception, I’m greeted by the very friendly Beth. Full of smiles, she gives me a detailed tour of the hotel filling in time before check in at 3pm. She offers me cool drinks and cups of tea (or anything stronger), and I sit in the lobby until our room is ready.

14:55

Blast! I can’t get any signal to ask Msr 2 for his ETA. Still, there’s free guest WiFi, so I use my iPhone App to make the call .

15:00

Beth escorts me to our room – room 17 – and it’s magnificent. I wish Msr 2 were here to share the moment.

I spy my luggage, which was magicked away when I arrived, and glance around the rest of the room. There’s a modern four poster super-king size bed, a massive bathroom with a central bath and enormous shower with gorgeous green and gold tiling (new, Beth advises me – she wants them in her home) and a large bunch of fresh flowers, which look gorgeous.

There’s also a bottle of Taittinger chilling on ice, a host of free goodies from the hotel’s gift shop (including a Green & Spring home diffuser and a travel candle set for our pleasure), plus a full mini bar which, together with breakfast, is included in our room rate.

Then there’s the view. One of the best things about our room is its six double floor to ceiling windows that open out onto an incredible private terrace overlooking the Manor’s breathtaking grounds. It’s simply stunning.

I step outside for a better look and am delighted to find our terrace has a double love-seat with pop-up hood for privacy, pretty potted plants, a table for two, and sun loungers.

15:25

“Hello!” I beam, greeting Msr 2 who has finally arrived and found a spot in the now near-full car park (there’s a wedding this weekend). “Come in and relax with a glass of champagne.” It’s definitely time to indulge, and I whisk him upstairs to our room where we sip Taittinger on the terrace.

16:05

I want to give Msr 2 the tour I had earlier, and as we emerge from our room to explore we see the bride and groom with their families posing for photos on the staircase down to reception. Not wishing to barge though and disturb them, we wait patiently at the top but end up being invited to join them for a photo. It’s quite bizarre, but afterwards we slip away to the bar for a light lunch.

The bar is very relaxing and although the afternoon tea that’s being served does look gorgeous, we opt for something from the all day dining menu. I go for a delicious open sandwich of crayfish and avocado, and Msr 2 chooses an equally delicious Cowley Bacon Cheeseburger with fat fries, except they forget the bacon! It’s quickly rectified when we point it out, and the very amiable (and attractive) staff can’t do enough for us.

17:10

Back in our room, we check our emails, iron our shirts using a state of the art iron and board staff have brought up to our room; then shower and prepare to go into town for the event we’re attending tonight.

18:00

“Our taxi’s here,” I call out, putting down the phone to reception, who’ve helpfully booked our transport for tonight on account. It’s time for us to head off into the sunset.

22:10

We return to indulge in a brilliant three-course meal in Cowley Manor’s sumptuous restaurant. The kitchen normally closes for last orders at 10pm, but they’ve stayed open for us, and we’re glad they did. The atmosphere is romantic and peaceful, the food is delicious, and so is the bottle of Sancerre Rose we choose to accompany it.

00:10

Dressed in the ample white robes provided in our room, we sit in the love seat, sipping champagne and watching the shooting stars before taking a bath and talking for hours. It’s wonderfully romantic.

Saturday, 09:00

Breakfast has everything you could possibly wish for: continental, full English, eggs any style, yummy sausages and bacon; the baked beans are a big disappointment, sadly. They are too watery. It’s just a little thing, and overall it’s fabulous. The restaurant is spaciously laid out, so it’s not noisy like most hotels and you feel you can have a free conversation without being overheard.

09:30

Spa time! Set in the Manor’s beautiful grounds the spa really is special. We’re greeted warmly by Danni and Izzy, and they immediately put us at ease.

After looking through the large array of treatments we both decide on having the shoulder and neck massage, and choose what kind of ambiance we’d like from the spa’s music menu. It’s incredibly relaxing and a fantastic experience that we strongly recommend.

Sunday, 08:30

Saturday whizzed past. We lunched with friends here yesterday and ate out in the evening, but now it is time for me to head off to work. Msr 2 is planning to stay a little longer – he’s mooting using the spa facilities again before going home.

We really have loved it here at Cowley Manor; the staff are fantastic, it’s beautiful and romantic, and we will definitely book here again.

Reviewed by Craig Revel-Horwood and Damon Charles Scott for les Deux Messieurs.

Don’t forget to mention les Deux Messieurs when you book, or ask us to book for you.

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