Mr & Mrs Smith

My knowledge of Cheltenham extended to knowing this Gloucestershire destination had a racecourse and a vague inkling it was a spa town. It was on this Mastermind-winning knowledge that Mrs Smith and I ventured two hours out of London to get to know this Cotswolds city better. Car parked outside a modern block of flats towards the end of residential Pitville Circus, and Nick appeared to welcome us warmly and give us a tour of the two-bedroomed apartment. An underwhelming entrance hall was little indication of the sleek design that awaited inside. ‘Ooohs’ and ‘ahhs’ spilled from both of us when greeted by a contemporary chandelier worth about £4,000 as we walked in – noises we continued to make when we spotted the deli basket kindly left for us.

The Cheltenham Suite is an unexpected pocket of Milan in Gloucestershire, with its designer labels and luxurious comfort. Super-king beds shrouded in Egyptian cotton and gleaming Gessi bathrooms with rain showers are just some of the extravagances. As for relaxing, with a BPA International sofa with a home theatre system on its lap, its practically unavoidable. The luxury doesn’t stop there. Every detail has been carefully thought over – the Wenge floor is made with sustainable hardwood, Lolli e Memmoli lighting dazzles throughout, Graham & Brown wallpaper is art in itself, and the Effeti kitchen with natural-stone counters and warm porcelain tiles beckons you to spend time in there unleashing your inner Jamie or Nigella. Did we mention the Jacuzzi bathtub?

A lover of all things technical (OK, I’m a geek), my inner nerd got its biggest kicks from the wall-hung Sony Bravia TV and music jukebox. Heck, there's even an iPod dock in every room soundtracking every corner. Snooping some more and we found an iMac. As I started to talk 5.1 systems, Apple Macs and digi boxes, Mrs Smith's eyes glazed over and interrupted my technobabble with the suggestion of heading into town.

Nick had lavished us with some local recommendations and so we hopped in the car and headed to the Montpellier district of Cheltenham to poke around its boutique shops and eateries. Sadly, it being a Sunday we missed out the Beehive Pub – the only Cheltenham establishment featured in Michelin's ‘Eating out in Pubs’ guide I'll (and they'll) have you know. No matter, a quick Googlemap detour to Montpellier Walk led to enough opportunities to stop for a leisurely bite, the best of which we found at the Gusto deli which gushes a fantastic range of Italian food and drink. Fed and watered, Mrs Smith and I took a look at the shops at the Courtyard which prides itself for ‘speciality shopping’: code name for design stores.

Town-life thrills sated, the trees and nature a short drive out of Cheltenham begged to scratch our countryside-craving itch. A long walk later and we were back in our luxury apartment for more deli takeaway treats. As for that king-size bed – it had been calling us like a siren for quite some time...

Reviewed by Daniel Honey