Accommodation in The Cotswolds

Ken (BTW, great name!),

I stayed at The Old Stocks Hotel in Stow-On-The-Wold on my last visit to the Cotswolds. The room was very comfortable, the staff great and the food was terrific (large portions, as I recall). It's a very old building and comes with the classic RS "creaky floors", but the room was very comfortable. Watch for the low beams though!

I used Stow as a "base" for touring some of the other towns. It has some nice restaurants and stores, and I'd definitely return there on a future visit.

Happy travels!

Part of the charm is to be right in the village. To me, the smaller, the better which makes a B&B a good choice. This approach also reduces the chances of tour groups locating where you want to stay. In addition to RS, study tripadvisor.com and google for sites like this one: http://www.cotswoldsbedandbreakfasts.com/.

Yes, smaller is better in the Cotswold villages. We especially liked The Vine in Stanton. It is very charming with great breakfast and price is nice. Lots of good hiking among the sheep and perfect scenery. Nearby in the hamlet of Ford is the Plough which is excellent for dinner--a pub but more of a restaurant menu.

Thank you all for the information!! We are planning to rent a car at Heathrow to tour The Cotswolds, and spend three nights in the area, then go to London for 2 to 3 days. Is it better to return the car before London since it sounds like one does not need a car in London, and it might be expensive (and/or difficult) to find parking. However, there are four of us, and a car might be useful to get around and to return to the airport for the trip home. Any advice? Thank you again, Ken

When my wife and I were there in the summer of 2008, we stayed in the Dragon House B&B in Chipping Campden. They only have two rooms, so it was very personable. Chipping Campden was great. We didn't travel around to all the different villages, but we did take a hike on the Cotswold Way which starts in CC. Anyway, we loved it, but I can't compare it to anything else in the area.

We drove once in London ( picked up car at Marble Arch and headed to Bath) and that is something that will never be repeated! Turn the car in at Heathrow and take the tube into London. Driving in London is extremely nerve wracking and would be expensive with no drive zones and parking.

Ken, return your car before going into London. You don't want to drive in London. If you drive in London you will have to pay a £8 per day congestion fee, if not paid there is a fine and it can go up to £160.00.

Take a look at Lords of the Manor. http://www.lordsofthemanor.com/ And yes, don't even think about driving in London. Driving in the British countryside isn't too bad. I even learned how to shift with my left hand....

We stayed at Beaumont House in Cheltenham in fall 2006. Spectacular rooms and breakfast with rates far below the manor mentioned above. Cheltenham is a larger town without the charm of smaller Cotswald towns, but is convenient to the entire area.

We wanted to stay at The Chance in Chipping Campden for a month instead of the three days that we did. I think that's the height of a wonderful stay. They've only got two rooms available in their fairly new home; very friendly and helpful hosts, but never intrusive. They had a bunch of travel books to use, but they themselves gave us a ton of good information. Also, the BEST breakfasts with an array of fresh fruit, cereals, yogurt, etc. to go along with the traditional cooked breakfast. Chipping Campden is just the right size with restaurants and pub offerings and the picturesque buildings and thatched homes. From there we hit a lot of towns - Stow, Snowshill, Broadway, Stanton, Stanton - and very close to Stratford upon Avon.

We stayed with Charlie Grant at Warwick House and it was the best! - London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire,GL56 0HH - 011 44 1608/650773 - http://www.snoozeandsizzle.com

Thank you all for your input, Ken