Printable hotel details
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Barnsley House, Barnsley, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5EE
GL7 5EE
Barnsley House
- Style
- Super-stylish manor house
- Setting
- Gorgeous Gloucestershire gardens
The ultra-cool modern furniture doesn’t seem remotely out of place in 17th-century Barnsley House; this spa-enhanced boutique hotel is set in beautiful countryside, less than two hours from London.
Need to know
- Rooms
- 18, including 11 suites.
- Rates
- £295–£570, including Continental breakfast and a five per cent discretionary hotel-service charge.
- Check-out
- Midday (5pm check-out available on payment of a £75 supplement). Check-in, 3pm.
- Facilities
- Landscaped gardens, tennis court, helipad, spa, private 30-seat cinema, DVD library. In rooms, plasma-screen TV with surround-sound system, CD/DVD player, iPod dock, free broadband, mini fridge with free water, juice, champagne and chocolates.
- Poolside
- The spa – which focuses on holistic treatments – has a hydrotherapy pool.
- Children
- Extra beds (£45) or cots (£20) can be provided. Babysitting can be arranged (£10 an hour). Children’s menu available; the chef can prepare children's meals at 6pm.
- Also
- Minimum two-night stay at weekends, including bank holiday weekends. Make sure you book ahead at the restaurant and the Village Pub.
In the know
- Our favourite rooms
- Bathrooms are a big draw here, with features such as roll-top baths, twin sinks, walk-through showers and flatscreen TVs. Room 1 has two bathtubs, side by side in its bathroom; Room 2 has a Jacuzzi. Room 8 has a sitting room, and Room 7 has its own conservatory and garden. The eight new Stableyard Rooms are attractive duplexes with upstairs bathrooms and glamorous wet rooms; the suites have a rolltop bath at the foot of the bed.
- Packing tips
- CDs or iPod, tennis kit, swimming costume (for the spa's hydrotherapy pool).
- Also
- Barnsley House’s glossy, chauffeur-driven set of wheels can be booked for station or airport transfers, collections from central London, or private jaunts.
Food & drink
- Hotel restaurant
- The secret of chef Graham Grafton’s super-fresh Modern European dishes are the home-grown vegetables, salad leaves and herbs plucked straight from the kitchen garden (zucchini soup and tempura courgette flowers on the same menu = seasonal perks).
- Dress code
- Relaxed but stylish; leave ripped jeans and elderly T-shirts at home.
- Top table
- Table 4, in the bay window.
- Last orders
- Food: 9.30pm Monday to Thursday; 10pm Friday and Saturday. Bar opens late for guests. Breakfast is available between 8am and 10am (till 10.30am on weekends). Lunch 12pm to 2pm (till 2.30pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
- Room service
- Food is available in rooms while the kitchen is open (8am–10pm); they may be able to rustle up snacks out of hours.
- Hotel bar
- The largely red bar (red satin drapes, red leather swivel chairs, red stools) is open till late for guests; champagne cocktails are a speciality.
Smith card offer A Barnsley House champagne cocktail each – or a glass of champagne in the Village Pub across the road – on each night of your stay
If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).
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Smith concierge
If you’d prefer to talk to someone, or you’re having trouble booking online, ring our travel team on 0845 034 0700 (+44 20 8987 4312 from outside the UK). We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.
Local restaurants
Jesse’s Bistro in Cirencester (+44 (0)1285 641497) is a small, relaxed restaurant with its own cheese shop, serving fresh fish and meat roasted in a wood-burning oven. You’ll find it in a stableyard behind the highly regarded butcher’s, Jesse Smiths. The Bell at Sapperton near Cirencester (+44 (0)1285 760298) is good for lunch and has a great variety of ales. With two Michelin stars, Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham (+44 (0)1242 573449) serves English and French cuisine.
Local bars
Lively Montpellier Wine Bar in Cheltenham (01242 527774). With polished-wood tables and chairs, crackling fires and exposed beams, The Village Pub (+44 (0)1285 740421), across the road from Barnsley House, is not only a wonderful place to nurse a pint (or a Pimm’s), but also does fantastic food, courtesy of gastro-savvy chef Richard Burkert. On Tetbury’s Cirencester Road in a converted jail, Trouble House Inn (+44 (0)1666 502206) has earned a Michelin star for exceptional country-pub grub, such as rabbit and tarragon pie. Just outside Cirencester in Ewen, 16th-century Wild Duck Inn (+44 (0)1285 770310) is a step-back-in-time treat, with oak panelling, an enormous fireplace and ancestral oil paintings hanging on the walls. There’s real ale on tap and a killer wine list, but the big draw is the canopied courtyard with an ancient apple tree at its, ahem, core.
Local cafes
Deli-café The Rectory Kitchen & Cellar at 2 Templar Mews off Black Jack Street in Cirencester (01285 644700) is a foodie’s paradise, with locally sourced produce and fresh, delicious home cooking. Eat in or take away for future enjoyment. Squirrel away some freshly baked biscuits for the car journey home, or a jar of the Rectory's lemon curd as a souvenir.
Worth getting out of bed for
Grab a pair of gumboots and a walking map from reception and explore the countryside (if you’re really keen, ring ahead and reserve wellies in your size). A walk through Coln Valley, just 10 minutes away by car, is very enjoyable. Staff can also arrange fantastic activities from rowing along the Thames with a picnic hamper to side-saddle riding lessons. Have a picnic and watch a game at Cirencester Park Polo Club (+44 (0)1285 653225; www.cirencesterpolo.co.uk) or Beaufort Polo Club, favoured by the Prince of Wales and his sons (+44 (0)1666 880510; www.beaufortpoloclub.co.uk). Horse-riding and fishing can be organised by the hotel. Try ballooning with Balloon Flights, Cheltenham (+44 (0)1242 675003; www.hot-air-ballooning.ltd.uk), or clay-pigeon shooting at Chatcombe Estate Shooting School (+44 (0)1242 870391).
Diary
March Cheltenham Festival kicks off Britain’s horse-racing calendar, and hosts the Gold Cup (+44 (0)1242 537642; www.cheltenham.co.uk). April/May Badminton Horse Trials (+44 (0)1454 218272; www.badminton-horse.co.uk). August Gatcombe Horse Trials at Gatcombe Park (www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk).
For a full list of bars and restaurants in Cotswolds, click here
Cotswolds, United Kingdom
- Number of people
- 2-120
- Licensed for weddings
- Yes
Wow factor
The hotel's helipad is ideal for making grand entrances and exits.
Need to know
Weddings are only held on Thursdays, and wedding parties have to book the hotel in its entirety. There are 18 rooms in the hotel, and it has an additional seven rooms in The Village Pub across the road. Wedding parties can also have sole use of the hotel spa for a further fee.
Inspiration
Barnsley House has hosted many weddings, each of them unique and tailor-made to suit the couple's wishes. The manicured gardens at Barnsley House look beautiful all year round and make an idyllic setting.
Click here to view more wedding hotels in United Kingdom
Cotswolds, United Kingdom
- Best for
- Well behaved babies and children of any age.
Recommended rooms
An extra cot (£20) or bed (£45) can fit into every room, though it's a snug fit in the Superior Rooms. Stableyard Suites are on two floors, with a living area at the top (the stairs are steep). The three Junior Suites have separate living areas.
Activities
The huge garden is great for romping around, and is home to an old-fashioned tree swing. Children are welcome to use the tennis court (rackets and balls are available) and croquet lawn. Staff can organise horse riding, and recommend a day out at the nearby Cotswold Water Park.
Meals
Children are allowed in the restaurant at all times, and can have an earlier meal from 7pm, or room service from 6pm. The two-course children's menu costs £10 and includes plenty of fresh, organic favourites including chicken with mashed potato, fish and chips, and homemade ice cream. Staff are happy to heat bottles and baby food, and prepare packed lunches.
Babysitting
There is a babysitting service available at £10 an hour. Please ask when you book your room.
Baby-listening
Bring your own monitor and reception staff will listen in while you dine (monitors don't work in some of the new Stableyard rooms).
No need to pack
There are high chairs in the restaurant, and in the pub across the road.
Also
Every room has a DVD player, and there is a large selection of child-friendly DVDs to borrow. Every room has a fridge, handy for storing milk and food.
Click here to view more child-friendly hotels in United Kingdom
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