Luxury and family can mix, take it from me. We are just back from a wonderful stay at the Lords of the Manor hotel in the chocolate box village of Upper Slaughter in the Cotswolds.
This golden stone property was just what you imagine when you think of the Cotswolds. Even better still is its location set in several acres of countryside in one of the most picturesque villages of the Cotswolds. It has been over 4 years since we were in the Cotswolds and were really excited to be back in this most beautiful part of England.
On paper, the Lords of the Manor might be a hotel that you might overlook when travelling with kids, but let me tell you why it’s a good choice for families looking to be thoroughly spoilt when visiting the Cotswolds. The hotel invited us over for our stay to see what they have to offer families.
When our car stopped at the stunning courtyard entrance to the hotel, a gentleman dressed in country attire warmly welcomed us to the hotel. Check in was fast and efficient and we were warmly welcomed by the hotel’s staff who instantly made us feel at home.
The manor house part of the hotel dates back to 1649 and the country house feel still remains. If you like a hotel that evokes what a stay in the Cotswolds should be like, with flagstone floors, high ceilings, grand public rooms, open fires and exposed wooden beams, then the Lords of the Manor is for you. We loved it here.
The hotel has just 25 luxury rooms, all unique and all with their own sense of style.
Aside from staying in this dreamy handsome manor house, the service at the Lords of the Manor is impeccable. From the moment Andy, the valet, opened our car door to the time we checked out, all of the staff members here were eager to ensure that our stay was a memorable one.
As we settled into our new luxurious surroundings, the emphasis was very much on relaxation – there are grand fireplaces in the opulent public rooms, all of which have been recently refurbished given the interior a classy and elegant look and have managed to blend traditional design with contemporary design touches.
We headed down to the comfortable bar area for tea and biscuits before we went out to explore what the hotel had to offer.
As you would expect in a 17th century Manor House, the warren-like layout of the hotel ensures that there are lots of snug corners and areas to chill out, relax and play one of the many board games on offer. In fact this was one of the girls favourite things to do here, either playing Chess or challenging each other at scrabble – it was so nice to see them away from their iPad and technology.
We stayed in a family suite named ‘Brocklebank’ which was huge – in fact it was more like an apartment. The room must have spanned the width of the hotel, with lounge, two modern bathrooms and a master bedroom with extra beds for the children set up in the lounge. I love it when you get a separate room as it’s perfect for when the girls finally go to bed and we have somewhere to relax.
I lost count just how many windows our suite had but all of them offered the most amazing views of the hotels grounds, the village of Upper Slaughter and beyond.
The hotel manager, Michael, gave us a comprehensive tour of our room and its amenities which offered all of the comforts required for a comfortable family stay including:
- Two flat screen televisions
- White fluffy bathrobes and slippers
- High speed WiFi
- Safe
- Iron and iron board
- Coffee machine and tea making facilities
- Selection of magazines.
- Complimentary sparkling elderflower water (my personal favourite) as well as bottles of mineral water.
After a busy day exploring the Cotswolds we didn’t want to venture out again and chose to make it easy, dining in the hotel’s restaurant for our evening meal.
The stylish dining room (with views out onto the hotel’s stunning garden) was spacious and comfortable with its velvet-upholstered chairs and tables with thick white linen tablecloths in keeping with its historic location. Dining at a formal restaurant with young children can be daunting with a limited menu, but not at the Lords of the Manor.
It was really family friendly with a great children’s menu to choose from and the staff were so welcoming and friendly toward the girls.
The children’s menu offered a good range of dishes even for the fussiest of eaters and the girls selected the Spaghetti Bolognese and fresh fish goujons and fries.
To start, we chose the garden pea soup and a selection of breads for the table.
Moving on to mains, I couldn’t resist the corn fed chicken with caramelised cauliflower and samphire picked shallots and my husband chose the red wine braised beef cheek with truffle pomme puree, roasted onions and tenderstem broccoli, both of which were delicious.
To finish I chose the Valrhoms chocolate mousse which was Chambord crème fraiche, raspberry sorbet and toasted cocoa nibs and my husband had a selection of ice cream and sorbet accompanied by a honeycomb biscuit. From the children’s menu the girls chose a toffee sundae and ice cream.
After dinner it was lovely to return home to our room to find nightly turn down, one of my favourite things when staying at 5* hotels.
Given the age of the manor house, don’t expect air conditioning which could make a stay in the summer more bearable, but our room had plenty of fans to help keep it cool.
As you would expect in the middle of the countryside, our room was so quiet, so there was no outside noise pollution here apart from birdsong ensuring we all had a great night’s sleep, especially the girls whom we had to wake so we didn’t miss breakfast.
Breakfast in the dining room consisted of a small selection of continental items with hot items ordered from the menu and hot drinks served to your table. For the family market, if the hotel offered a wider range of breakfast items for children such as freshly made pancakes this would make the experience even better. Once more the level of service received during breakfast was exceptional and this high level of customer service is a credit to the hotel management because it really does make a difference during your stay.
Although there are no swimming pool or spa facilities here, the hotel offered lots of outdoor space for the girls to run around and have fun and provided lovely little trail maps to explore the area.
The benefit of staying in Upper Slaughter is that although it attracts tourists, it’s nowhere near as busy as Stow on the Wold or Bourton on the Water, providing the Cotswold chocolate box setting without the crowds.
What we liked about this setting was that the family friendly attractions (Birdland, Motor Museum, Hedge Maze, Model Village etc) of Bourton on the Water was just a mile away, which you could either walk to from the hotel or just a short drive away as was the National Trust property Snowshill Manor.
Another great option for a day out for families with younger children is Cotswold Farm Park and slightly further afield in Broadway, kids will love the adventure play park and Cotswold Chocolates.
Overall
If you plan on visiting the Cotswolds with kids then The Lords of the Manor Hotel is an excellent family friendly luxury hotel and is highly recommended.
We had such a wonderful stay and it was the perfect location for us to explore the nearby family attractions in the Cotswolds.
Prices at the Lords of the Manor start from £380 per night for a family room on a bed and breakfast basis.
We were guests of Lords of the Manor for the purpose of the review