The Painswick hotel

With its easy charm, luxurious rooms, seasonal menus and first-rate service, the beautifully sited Painswick hotel is the perfect stopover spot for weary travellers reports Alexandra Henton

The Painswick

Good for:

• Luxury
• Stopover
• Fine dining

On a sporting pilgrimage, whether it is towards Gloucestershire for Badminton or south for the trout, finding somewhere decent to stay on route can be a challenge. I’m a great believer in trying to make the journey as enjoyable as the destination. This probably comes from spending my formative years subjected to a series of highly eccentric family holidays with jet-setting parents who (a) seemed surprised to have children in tow and (b) were the opposite of stoic when it came to travel delays. The journey was never pleasurable, more a feat of endurance.

Now, under my own steam, I revel in the itinerary plotting involved in getting to my destination (although nurture wins when it comes to going home – in a ‘oner’ and as swiftly as possible remains the overriding mantra here). An outstanding discovery on a sojourn south is The Painswick, an elegant Georgian Palladian house turned boutique hotel nestled in the buttery-hued Cotswold village of the same name, half an hour from Cheltenham.

It was an overnight stay prior to racing that saw us negotiate the twisting roads of Gloucestershire and the particularly narrow lanes of Painswick – useful to note for those driving decent-sized 4x4s – to arrive slightly careworn and in no mood to brook anything not up to scratch (maybe this apple did fall a little closer to the tree). But any travel frayed tempers were banished on entrance. The hotel exudes a calm charm and the sort of easy welcome desired when travelling. Choosing between heading straight to our room or making a stop at the cocktail bar was the most difficult decision we had to make during our stay, although not scoffing all the homemade biscuits in the room before dinner ran a close second.

The hotel has 17 bedrooms and suites split between the house and the garden wing. The latter are all dog friendly and replete with dog beds, bowls and treats. Our room channelled modern country elegance and luxury with a bed that elicited the best night’s sleep I’d had in a hotel for some time and a great bathroom with a roll-top bath.

Comforting luxury aside, the most cheering experience was yet to come. The food at The Painswick hotel, presided over by head chef Jamie McCallum, is what turns it from a stopover to a destination. Tasting menus can be a little exhausting, yet McCallum’s seasonal, considered iteration was fresh and restrained, delivered with excellent, unobtrusive service and accompanied by a well-judged wine flight with several new suggestions that made it on to our ‘buy a case’ list. Post dinner calls for nothing more than to sink into a welcoming sofa, nightcap in hand.

The best overnight stays are those that send you on your way like a favoured but distant relative: with a proper breakfast and some sweet treats for the car. The Painswick hotel is such a place, a perfect stopover and one well worth a detour.

DON’T MISS: The beautifully restored Rococo Garden, designed for the owner of Painswick House in the 1740s, is a must visit. Hotel guests can organise tickets from reception.

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