Business Life: March 2009

Spa-spangled manor

Juilet Kinsman discovers urbane R&R in rural Gloucestershire

Biscuit-box villages, ancient manors and cosy country pubs – the Cotswolds is a pro when it comes to giving good weekend away. Kate Moss and pals are just some of the poster kids for this bucolic Heart of England destination, a couple of hours from London. And one of the hotels best armed to satisfy stratospheric sybaritic needs?  Barnsley House. Anyone who favours Balenciaga over Barbour and is desperate to decamp to the sticks without surrendering their urban sensibilities will love this hip 18-roomed home from home and a spa. Elizabeth Hurley is one A-list local who’ll attest to this.

Before the sleek spa opened last year, this 17th-century grey-stone manor-house stole headlines for its tasty this and state-of-the-art that. Now guests can follow a woodland walkway to a cutting-edge spa with hydrotherapy pool. I ask a therapist why the spa has taken the holistic rather than the beauty road. “It’s so calm and hidden at the back of those gorgeous gardens, why spoil the tranquility with a gym or people running around in tracksuits?” she soothingly suggests, as we spy some Liz Hurley beachwear for sale. That’s more the ticket.

Chilling, as it were, by the open fire in the first-floor relaxation room, we soak up incredible views over cow-studded pastures – we’re halfway to healing just by being here. Refreshing the parts other country houses cannot reach are geranium- and rose-scented massages using home-blend herbal aromatherapy oils and eucalyptus-infused steam and sauna rooms. The chemical-free, anti-aging and de-stressing sessions here ensure off-duty beautiful people have no excuse not to stay. The signature treatment is a gentle REN facial using finger-motion massage followed by a full body rubdown with monoi oil. And, if the pin-drop-peacefulness isn’t the soundtrack you crave, they’ll have you an iPod.

Fetishists for time spent in a bathrobe might find the glamorous bedrooms are just as alluring, while Rosemary Verey’s leafy grounds take some beating. 

Mod Euro fare from chef Graham Grafton spills over from the slick restaurant into the hotel-owned local pub. If guests want the full-on Hollywood experience, there is even a small cinema. Whether you insist on an actual red carpet is up to you. 

Juliet Kinsman

Juliet is editor-in-chief of the Mr & Mrs Smith hotel guides and has also written about travel for The Times through to Marie Claire. Having visited every continent as presenter of The Smith's Hotels for 2 for Discovery she found Barnsley Hosuse to be world-class. Recently she discovered romantic retreats can also be family-friendly, but worries that her toddler's first words might be "Hello, is that room service?"