For Spa lovers

Barnsley House, near Cirencester

Hot on the heels of Babington House and its Cowshed spa is the rural-glam 17th-century Barnsley House, and its stunning new spa.

Built within a sunken garden which spills out on to a field, the spa features exposed Cotswold stone - interior dry stone walls, no less - but has been vamped up by glass chandeliers and modern water features.

There are floor-to-ceiling windows and smart furniture, a sauna, a steam room and a relaxation room; while outside, there is a warm hydrotherapy pool complete with back-pummelling showers. The treatment list on offer is pretty serious, as I discovered during my 45-minute upper-body massage - a rather pleasant spinal dislocation that focused on my recurring sciatica. Treatments use REN Clean Skincare products and homemade Barnsley House oils.

And while the walk from the spa to our chalet was a long and chilly one, through the horticultural delights of original owner Rosemary Verey's box-hedged garden, my shame was saved by Barnsley's unrivalled seclusion. Alongside the spa, this has to be the hotel's ultimate USP.

Even when it opened five years ago, with just a handful of bedrooms in the main building, Barnsley House was barely visible from the road. Despite the numerous extensions, which included converting the stables into discreet two-storey suites and the building of our super-luxurious stone-walled chalet with its own rill and garden, none detracts from the original house and gardens, which are both Grade II listed.

The guests aid and abet Barnsley's solitude by keeping a low profile (dining was a quiet, stuffy affair), but it was still disappointing not to see anyone popping back to London from the private helipad.

Judging by the stack of Tatlers, Barnsley House does attract a certain type, so it's not surprising that when Liz Hurley got married last year in nearby Sudeley Castle, she hired this hotel for her guests.

· 01285 740000; barnsleyhouse.com; doubles from £290 including breakfast, suites from £340
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For hipsters

Cotswolds88, Painswick

'We've had boutique hotels; what we're moving to now is the lifestyle hotel,' says Marchella De Angelis, managing director of Cotswolds88. 'I mean a hotel which will home in on who you are and suit your lifestyle. It will be more of a niche thing - I mean, if I'm a Goth, I don't want to hang out with people in tracksuits.'

It won't surprise you that at her hotel, the niche is neither Goth nor shellsuit. Guests are moneyed middle-youthers who have grown up partying in London and New York, and though they are now more into country weekends than clubbing, still want to feel they are somewhere hip and part of the scene.

The decor certainly spurns the conventional hotel wisdom that you should try to please as broad a cross-section as possible. The largest wall of our bedroom is covered in bespoke wallpaper depicting the heavily made-up face of performance artist Leigh Bowery reproduced 1,000 times. His face is reflected in the mirrors too, so he's constantly staring back at you.

Throughout the hotel are wonderfully eclectic touches - a wedding dress hanging in a stairwell, an outlandish Murano glass flower, an old antelope-skin rug cut up and turned into a fabulous headboard, a bright yellow leather sofa, a 1920s turtle shell.

Most of the art and furniture is Marchella's own, collected during her career as an interior designer and co-founder of the super-stylish London bar Lounge Lover, but, amazingly, all these psychedelic, Art Deco and vintage touches fit together and seem perfectly at home in the late Palladian stone building.

However, there are downsides to such individualism. 'Hello and welcome to my hotel,' says an card left in the room, and at times it feels as if this is all about the owner rather than the guests. Little notes on windowsills repeatedly exhort you to be careful and not to knock over any of the artworks.

The leather-bound welcome book is basically a list of grumpy admonishments - more reminders to be careful, notes about the dress code ('casual elegant') and warnings that 'wind jackets are not permitted', 'children are not permitted in the bar', 'keys should always be handed in to reception', 'TV and lighting remotes must not be removed from the room'. Do they really think people paying £200 a night are going to steal the remotes?

Feeling slightly put out by all this hectoring, we head out for a stroll round Painswick. Next to the hotel is St Mary's Church, built in 1480 and famous for the 99 yew trees that grow in peculiar shapes in the churchyard. As if this wasn't perfectly quaint enough, as we pass, the annual Clypping Ceremony is going on - local people hold hands to form a chain around the church, literally embracing it, and sing a special hymn in a tradition dating from 1321. After that, we head up the hill to the Rococo Garden, where the tearoom serves delicious homemade fruit pies and chocolate courgette cake.

Back at the hotel, the food is also great, and as eclectic as the decor; the chef used to work for Mick Jagger so had to cook whatever style he fancied that night. The menu ranges from beef fillet to sushi, halloumi and palm heart, and the pricing is similarly random. The beef is a hefty £26.50, but the delicious organic red wine is only £15.

So, on one hand this is probably the most pretentious hotel in Britain, certainly in the Cotswolds - 'Here, people come to be; the vibe is soulful hip,' says the infuriatingly complicated website - but style lovers will be in heaven, and this is one hotel you certainly won't forget.

· 01452 813688; cotswolds88hotel.com. Doubles from £170, including continental breakfast
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For aristocrats

Thornbury Castle, Thornbury

For most people, a castle is something you are dragged to on school trips, an untouchable monument to an alien way of life to be stared at from behind a red rope. So from the moment you enter Thornbury Castle, it all feels rather magical. The hotel's castle credentials rival anything in the National Trust register - parts of the building date from the 16th century, Henry VIII slept here (you can even book into his bedchamber), and you're allowed to wander round wherever you damn well please.

And Thornbury doesn't disappoint. The decor treads the fine line between kitsch and comfort, featuring full-blown castle-tastic suits of armour as well as the luxury of a top-class country hotel. The Tudor bedchamber features arrow slits, but they're now fully functioning windows. The Duke's Robe Room bathroom is reached through a secret door, opened by twisting a cross on the wall (apparently, this is David Starkey's favourite room). But once you've chortled at the theatricality, you're lost in admiration for the sumptuous Jacuzzi bath within.

Sure, there are four-poster beds bigger than many a London studio flat; yes, there are vast fireplaces in many of the 26 bedrooms, but the lasting impression is of comfort and cosiness rather than daunting aristocratic splendour. The complimentary sherry and homemade biscuits certainly help you to settle in.

This knack of undercutting grandness with homely charm also works a treat in the three dining rooms. Chef Paul Mottram uses seasonal and often locally sourced ingredients (including vegetables and herbs grown in the grounds) to create interesting versions of traditional fare - West Country lamb with Madeira broth; English beef in truffle jus. The English cheese board is a thing of great beauty - and our waiter's in-depth knowledge helped us to make the most of it. You must also try the white wine from the castle's vineyard. It would be rude not to when it's so tasty.

Thornbury lacks some of those lavish touches that most hotels provide. The TVs are not flat-screen, there's no mention of internet access, and there's no spa. But if you'd rather check emails than relax in the castle library, more fool you. Not only does Thornbury offer everything you'd hope for from a castle, it also makes you relax. It's hard to think of anywhere that puts the 'home' more firmly into 'stately home'.

· 01454 281182; thornburycastle.co.uk. Doubles from £155
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For romantics

The Dial House hotel, Bourton-on-the-water

Just under two hours after I leave the office and dash to Paddington station on a chilly Friday evening, I am deep in the Cotswolds, sinking into a sofa in front of a lively fire and cradling a glass of Pinot Grigio. The Dial House Hotel is slap in the middle of Bourton-on-the-Water, a village made to grace postcard covers - there is a stream running alongside the high street and a tourist attraction on every corner (model village, check; cryptic maze, check).

But this isn't the place for an annoyingly twee weekend break. Which is a relief, because my companion was not initially convinced by the prospect of a romantic weekend in a place where the nearest Starbucks is a serious drive away.

Actually, the Dial House offers something rather different. It is a 17th-century country house converted into an intimate, contemporary hotel. Yes, it is cute and cosy, but the rooms strike an attractive balance between urban boutique hotel and rural getaway, equipped with wi-fi access, elegant patterned wallpaper and four-poster beds. The deep bath really belongs in a Premiership club's changing rooms, and you can gaze across the perfectly striped lawn of the restored garden while enjoying a soak.

Food is the biggest selling point. The modern European cooking is delicious and unfussy, the ingredients locally sourced and seasonal. I devoured the scallops as if I'd been living on rations over the winter. We swapped plates during dessert because both looked so inviting, but the baked vanilla rice pudding came out on top.

In the morning, after a stroll round the garden, we decided to hit the village, which was lovely. But it didn't take long to 'do' Bourton, so after a couple of hours we jumped into a car and headed off to find a familiar coffee chain. Who says romance is dead?

· 01451 822244; dialhousehotel.com. Doubles from £120 including breakfast
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For history lovers

The Wild Duck, Ewen, near Cirencester

I wanted the real deal - people in wellies and Barbour jackets, roaring fires and tankards of ale supped by ruddy-faced types. Promising traditional comfort in a creamy stone building dating back to 1563, the Wild Duck seemed the perfect choice. Arriving at night weary from the city, we are immediately greeted by the tranquil restfulness of the quiet Cotswold village of Ewen. An owl hoots as we stumble across the car park.

We wander into reception, which is more a comfy sitting room with roaring fire and magazines. A man surveys the room and says: 'I haven't been here for 25 years.' The manager asks if it's changed. No, he says: 'It's still roomy and pokey at the same time.'

The Post Horn bar and restaurant has red walls, antique furniture and beamed ceilings decorated with hops, making a cosy ambience in the depths of winter. The inn has a selection of wines and real ales and a fantastic range of food. Our meal was unpretentious, but well-presented and mouth-watering; the baked Camembert starter was a favourite. During the week there is often live music: acoustic guitarist Vince Freeman regularly plays, as did local band the Duke Spirit before they were signed up.

A wrought-iron gate in the garden leads to a lane, and the Thames National Trail is handy for blowing away cobwebs. With its rambling apple tree, secluded garden, friendly cat, wooden mushrooms dotted around and higgledy-piggledy portraits of royalty and the Beatles, the Duck really is a perfect escape from modern life.

· 01285 770310; thewildduckinn.co.uk. Doubles from £125 a night, including continental breakfast
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FOR PARENTS

Calcot Manor, Tetbury

An appreciative hush descended on the three girls in the back of the car as we drove into the grounds of the Calcot Manor hotel, with its array of Cotswold stone buildings and secluded courtyard gardens. 'It's posh,' announced Molly, 11, Eve, eight, and Elsa, six, approvingly. Their approval rating rose as we parked next to a very large and very sleek Bentley, which turned out to be part of that day's wedding show at the hotel.

As the obliging assistant manager showed us round, it became apparent that Calcot Manor is something of a Bentley itself. Like the car marque, the converted barns and stables that make up the hotel are beautiful and traditional, yet have been made over to suit more modern tastes. And it is expensive: a one-night stay for a family of five can cost £400. But just look at what you get for your money.

We arrived shortly after lunch on Sunday and kicked off by borrowing bikes from outside the spa and embarking on the trail that runs round some of the hotel's 220-acre estate. Having learnt to ride a bike only a few months earlier, Elsa was on the final downhill stretch of the two-mile circuit when she braked overenthusiastically and sailed spectacularly over the handlebars. Unsympathetic to their sister's plight, Molly and Eve played on a superior outdoor playground while my wife, Claire, and I administered to Elsa and her bruised ego.

Next stop, the swimming pool. With the outdoor pool closed for the winter, we went into the spa to discover the staff (polite, friendly, knowledgeable), the changing rooms (plush) and the pool, all blue lights and ceiling soaring heavenwards like a cathedral. Leaving the children and me to splash, Claire went for an hour's Guinot express facial with back, neck and shoulder massage. 'Classy,' she purred afterwards.

With time limited - and to the children's disgust - we had to pass on the Playzone, a cavernous kiddie cornucopia on two floors, and head straight for high tea in the Gumstool Inn, an upmarket pub inside the main hotel building: excellent service and children's whims accommodated with a smile.

Back to our family suite - large adult room, Molton Brown-stocked bathroom and children's room - to settle the kids down with a couple of DVDs and point out the intercom linked to reception. Then dinner in the Conservatory: sole, steak and much more, again with wonderful service. And if breakfast hadn't been so rushed - it was Monday and the children were already in their school uniforms - it would have been the best experience of the lot.

The hour-long journey home to Wiltshire was largely silent. Our brief Bentley experience was fading fast. In its place? A Ford Galaxy.

· 01666 890391; calcotmanor.co.uk; one night midweek in a family suite costs £332, plus £25 per child, including breakfast and an allowance of £40pp towards dinner. The hotel's Playzone includes an Ofsted-registered creche
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