Our story

We travelled just 13 miles away to Painswick, Gloucestershire for a one night Cotswold Spring getaway! The Painswick Hotel is place that we had heard a lot about from a number of friends, with the weather starting to warm up again, we felt it was the perfect time to take in a relaxing short-break and check out the serene surroundings and experience what the hotel had to offer.

Upon arrival, the Hotel Receptionist greeted us with a big smile and courteous welcome. Whilst checking-in she offered us a room-upgrade knowing that one of us had a birthday. We raised our eyebrows a each other in silence, what amazing service, and we had only been in the hotel for 5 minutes.

The Receptionist took us on a brief tour of the hotel facilities. Glancing around, we were swept away with the mix of traditional and contemporary decor and relaxed pace of life that graced every guest-space. We arrived at the door of the Georges Suite. The Hotel Receptionist opened her arms and expressed with a smile “and here is your room”. We were both once again speechless. The door had opened onto a living space that was almost as big as our own flat!

Our accommodation
We both admired the seemingly effortless interior design of our room, everything was in perfect harmony, symmetry and complimentary to the rural surroundings. The tables, seating an lighting were a combination of boutique style mixed with contemporary artworks and modern facilities, it was Cotswold heaven!

People mention bathroom goals, but our room had the pinnacle of dream bathrooms. A roll top bath, heated towel rails set within an ornate old English interior and it had the most beautiful tiled floor with interlocking design. We were so inspired we decided that when we move house, the first project we are committing to is replicating the Georges Suite bathroom.

The view from our private balcony looked out onto the green, rolling hills of the Slad Valley, the air was chilly on the day we visited, but the atmosphere was so peaceful and quiet we took in the view with a glass of wine, the hotel provided a blanket for guests so even though it was slightly chilly we were wrapped up warm enjoying the moment… It’s the little things, as if the hotel staff thought of everything.

We enjoyed another drink in our spacious room and watched some television on the two linked screens (bedroom and lounge area), not because we wanted to, but just because we could, we then headed down to dinner.

The food
During our stay we ate both dinner and breakfast at The Painswick. Dinner was wonderful, we both really enjoyed the chef’s take on the Chicken Kiev, the portion seemed huge, but it did leave us wanting more. Each dish, starter, main and dessert was carefully put together and beautifully presented. At breakfast the next morning we were treated to a breakfast buffet. The layout made us feel as though we were in country house kitchen, the spread as plentiful. The chef had also made some organic juices served on the island in the middle of the restaurant, we do recommend trying them if you get the chance.

One special mention though, has to be the bar area at the top of first flight of stairs as you enter The Painswick. For such a small bar, it’s got literally anything you want, any bar that serves Frangelico, soda-water and fresh lime earns immediate respect. The bottle arrangement in front of the bar window makes the room glitter in multi-coloured light and it’s the kind of place you want to keep secret from the rest of the public. It has a real speak-easy feel about it.

When did we go?
We visited The Painswick in April, the hotel was relatively quiet at this time of year. The air (as mentioned) a bit chilly, but on the whole we like this time of year, everything feels fresh. In and around The Painswick during the Spring, you’ll notice the song-birds make their return, being woken by the dawn chorus is certainly a millions times better than being woken by emergency-service sirens and supermarket haulage as we frequently are at home.

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