Printable hotel details
For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
Crudwell, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 9EP
SN16 9EP
Rectory Hotel
- Style
- Period‑detail family retreat
- Setting
- Walled gardens in Wiltshire
With its open log fires, canoodle‑friendly armchairs and all that crisp Egyptian linen waiting for you in the bedrooms upstairs, this Cotswolds boutique hotel is the perfect place to kickstart or rekindle a romance – with or without the kids in tow.
Need to know
- Rooms
- 12.
- Rates
- £105–£175, including breakfast. There’s a two‑night minimum stay over bank holiday weekends or public holidays.
- Check-out
- 11am (can be extended to midday in some cases). Check‑in, 3pm, but flexible subject to availability.
- Facilities
- Gardens with croquet lawn; library of books, CDs and DVDs; free WiFi; loaner iPod and digital camera; wellies and walking maps. In rooms, flatscreen TV, CD/DVD player, iPod dock, Arran Aromatics toiletries.
- Poolside
- There's a heated outdoor pool in the hotel's gardens.
- Children
- As befits the former home of a rector who had 14 children, the hotel is very family‑friendly. Cots and baby monitors are available; an extra bed costs £15 a night, including breakfast. Organic children’s menus. Babysitting is £8 an hour.
- Also
- Canine guests welcome.
In the know
- Our favourite rooms
- Every room has a view over the gardens; they are similarly decorated in pale, soothing colours, but all have unique details, such as a fireplace or wooden beams. Of the Deluxe rooms, we love spacious Leckhampton for its huge bed and roll‑top bath; red-hued Sudeley has a four‑poster. Standard rooms Nympsfield and Cam Peak can be combined for families. Nimlet is very sweet. Not all of the other en suites have been completely refurbished with contemporary fittings, but with the communal areas all so lovely, you should still get your fix of super-stylish interior design.
- Packing tips
- Your swimsuit, if you fancy a dip in the outdoor pool.
- Also
- Book a massage, either at the hotel or at a nearby spa. Try a game of pétanque on the lawn.
Food & drink
- Hotel restaurant
- You can’t fail to enjoy Peter Fairclough’s Modern British menu of fresh, seasonal produce – mostly organic – especially in summer, when it’s served outside. The restaurant comprises a handsome wood-panelled dining room and bright, airy conservatory.
- Dress code
- Battered casuals won’t do your genteel surroundings any justice, but things are very low‑key here.
- Top table
- The light and the views of the formal Victorial garden are wonderful, so choose a table by the windows.
- Last orders
- From Sundays to Thursdays, last orders in the restaurant is 9pm; Fridays and Saturdays, 9.30pm.
- Room service
- A full menu is available during restaurant hours, but the kitchen can usually magic up a sandwich, salad or omelette if you’re peckish at peculiar times.
- Hotel bar
- Smart armchairs, comfy sofas and Perspex tables strike just the right balance between homely and stylish. If G&Ts aren’t your thing, there’s an excellent list of wines and whiskies; the bar closes when the last guest has gone to bed.
Smith card offer A complimentary drink on each night of your stay at the Potting Shed pub, opposite the Rectory Hotel, and a 15 per cent discount in the hotel’s deli café in Cirencester, the Rectory Kitchen and Cellar
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).
Not a member? Join now
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
The Wild Duck Inn is a lovely old pub in Ewen, less than 10 minutes’ drive away en route to Cirencester (+44 (0)1285 770310), with real ales, good food and an attractive tree-shaded courtyard. Also nearby, in Tetbury, Calcot Manor (+44 (0)1666 890391) has two restaurants: book dinner for truly fine dining in The Conservatory, or drop in on its gastropub The Gumstool Inn on your way home from Westonbirt Arboretum. Adjacent to Malmesbury’s mediaeval abbey, Wisteria-covered 13th-century inn The Old Bell (+44 (0)1666 822344) has an elegant Edwardian restaurant with a classic Anglo-French menu. There are outside tables in summer, but on busy weekends you’ll need a reservation for the dining room. A few miles east of Malmesbury, gorgeous Whatley Manor (+44 (0)1666 822888) also has two excellent eateries: splash out one of chef Martin Burge’s French tasting menus in The Dining Room, or have a relaxed Sunday lunch at Le Mazot, an informal brasserie. The Rectory Kitchen & Cellar (+44 (0)1285 644700) is a foodie’s paradise, with fresh, delicious home cooking to either eat in a sweet mews setting, or to take away. Squirrel away some freshly baked biscuits for the car journey home, or a jar of Rectory lemon curd as a souvenir.
Local bars
The Potting Shed Pub is the charming grade II-listed country pub in the village of Crudwell (+44 (0)1666 577833), yards from the Rectory Hotel, where you can get an even more laidback serving of this hotel’s excellent seasonal dining. Young, friendly staff serve quality British produce to well-heeled locals (young and old) in stylish flagstone-floored, sage-walled surroundings. Chef Ed Sargent’s menu celebrates a love of Slow Food with tasty roasts and rib-sticking stews; and make sure you leave room for the yummy desserts – a modern take on classics.
Worth getting out of bed for
Westonbirt Arboretum (www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt) has one of the world’s most spectacular tree collections. You can happily spend a day kicking up leaves and gazing at the neck-crickingly tall redwoods. Take a picnic – and binoculars. Malmesbury Abbey (www.malmesburyabbey.com) is the oldest abbey in England, and ambling around the town there is a pleasant way to while away an afternoon. Go for a helicopter ride or aerobatic flight at nearby Kemble airfield, or try your hand at piloting a light aircraft. Your partner can join you in the plane’s cabin if you book a one-hour trial lesson, or there are instructed return trips to the Isle of Wight (stopping for a civilized lunch). For details, contact the Flying Club Kemble (+44 (0)1285 771025; www.theflyingclubkemble.com). If you're feeling inspired by Rectory Hotel's vintage-chic pieces, roam around in Stow-on-the-Wold which is the Cotwolds' epicentre for antiques – but equally worthwhile is a pokeabout in the dusty shops of Burford, Cirencester, Moreton-in-Marsh and Tetbury. There's also horse riding and clay-pigeon shooting available near the hotel.
Diary
March The Cheltenham Festival and Gold Cup (www.cheltenham.co.uk). August If it’s flared nostrils and shimmering fetlocks you’re after, head to the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park (www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk) for daredevil displays of dressage, showjumping and cross-country riding.
For a full list of bars and restaurants in Cotswolds, click here
Cotswolds, United Kingdom
- Number of people
- 2-110
- Licensed for weddings
- Yes
Wow factor
The hotel's size makes it ideal for intimate weddings. The beautiful walled garden, dotted with contemporary sculpture, is a great venue for drinks receptions in the warmer months, and the handsome panelled dining room is warm and inviting on grey days, seating up to 60.
Need to know
For exclusive use, the entire hotel must be booked by the wedding party. The hotel can organise a marquee for larger receptions of up to 110 guests.
Inspiration
The hotel refuses to put together a wedding package because it prefers a bespoke, tailormade approach. Everything from the flowers to the wedding cake can be arranged, and the happy couple is encouraged to treat the hotel like their own home for the duration of the wedding.
Click here to view more wedding hotels in United Kingdom
Cotswolds, United Kingdom
- Best for
- Babies and up – children of all ages warmly welcomed.
Recommended rooms
All rooms have space for an extra cot (no extra charge); most have space for an extra bed as well (£15). Nympsfield and Cam Peak can be turned into an interconnecting suite.
Activities
There is a large garden to run around in, and there are child-sized croquet and cricket sets to keep them entertained outdoors. Ask at reception for details of local family-friendly attractions, such as farms you can visit and where you can interact with the animals.
Swimming pool
There is an outdoor heated pool. It doesn't have a lifeguard, so children must be supervised by their parents.
Meals
Children are allowed in the restaurant at all times; sittings in the evening start at 7pm. There is a dedicated children's menu with dishes like Gloucester Old Spot sausages and mash, and penne pasta with home-made tomato sauce. Everything on the menu is organic, locally sourced, GM-free and low in salt. Staff are happy to heat up milk and baby food, and will store your baby food in the kitchen's fridges and freezers.
Babysitting
Babysitting can be organised at £8 an hour. Please give at least 24 hours' notice.
Baby-listening
There are baby monitors to borrow, and they can be taken into the restaurant and bar.
No need to pack
High chairs are available in the restaurant, and there's a changing table in the downstairs cloakroom. You can even borrow a digital camera; memory cards are available to buy at reception.
Also
Every room has a TV and DVD player, and there is a selection of child-friendly DVDs to borrow.
Click here to view more child-friendly hotels in United Kingdom
©2008 Mr & Mrs Smith