‘The best country pubs with rooms’
The Bell, Charlbury - Daylesford has a new sibling in town – a 17th-century pub with rooms in the charming village of Charlbury, which just opened after a three-year renovation project.
The Fox at Oddington, Gloucestershire - With all the private members’ clubs popping up like porcini in the Cotswolds, a mere pub with rooms is starting to look decidedly quaint. But this is Carole Bamford’s sequel to The Wild Rabbit down the road, part of her evergrowing Daylesford empire…
‘Inside Carole Bamford’s new Cotswolds private members’ club’
… Tucked discreetly behind the Bamford Spa, the elegant new members’ club entrance features a walk-through retail space, pale oak floors and a black granite reception desk. Next to it sits The Nest, a calming space to sit and unwind.
‘Inside the cosy cottage of Soho House's principal architect’
Rebecca Haines-Gadd designed the slick Soho Farmhouse and Mollie’s Diner, but she took a different approach with her own home.
‘The best pubs in the Cotswolds’
The Bell, Charlbury The newest addition to the Daylesford group is this extremely stylish pub in the village of Charlbury, conveniently located on the train line to London. The 17th-century building is a charmer, and the interiors are spare but traditional in feel.
The Fox at Oddington A pub for centuries, this lovely countryside watering hole retains its old-world charm from its low-slung ceilings and flagstone floors to its open fires and antique timber furnishings.
‘Pack away the Peloton — Daylesford owner launches luxury health club’
‘The Fox at Oddington in Gloucestershire — a chichi country pub with rooms’
A Grade II-listed property with parts dating back to the 1600s, it was an inn since the 19th century and latterly a straight-up country pub needing a bit of love and attention. During the extensive, yet sensitive, restoration project, the Daylesford team used original, sustainable and local materials where possible. Walls are insulated using sheep wool from the farm’s flock, flooring is from reclaimed timber, and metalwork is all done by local craftsmen. The leather seats are from the farm’s hides, treated by a local tannery with vegetable tans. A living roof on the dining-room extension has been planted with perennial herbs, wild flowers and succulents, all designed to attract pollinators. The whole building is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy thanks to a mix of solar, wind, hydro and biomass.
‘Soho House and Michaelis Boyd turn derelict farm into luxury members' hotel’
Soho House & Co's in-house design team and London architects Michaelis Boyd have overhauled a run-down farm in Oxfordshire to create Soho Farmhouse – a hotel that combines English countryside style with "upstate New York cabin culture"
Soho Farmhouse occupies a 40-acre site in Great Tew, near Soho House founder Nick Jones' own home. It provides guest accommodation across a series of cabins, a cottage, a farmhouse and tents.
‘The Fox at Oddington — in The Cotswolds — is a triumphant addition to the Daylesford empire’
‘We got a look inside Carole Bamford’s exclusive new club in the countryside’
…enjoyed while gazing out the windows at lounging cows and blossoming orchards. The main gym floor is a 340-square-meter (3,660-square-foot), light-filled space with Technogym equipment, Stages Smart Bikes for spin classes…
The building itself is awash in light-colored stone from the Cotswolds and locally sourced timber. It’s what the club calls “new modern sustainable” design.
‘The 20 best spas in the UK’
18. The Club by Bamford, Gloucestershire
Best for: private downtime
The hum around Bamford’s new private members’ club, enclosed in 3,500 acres of organic farmland in Gloucestershire, is growing into a loud buzz. Part wellbeing hub, part high-end gym, fitness zone and café, The Club by Bamford might be tucked quietly behind the Daylesford organic farm shop, overlooking the gentle grazing of cattle, but this is no obscure outpost. The Club has all the trimmings of an on-point London wellness establishment (while bagging much more acreage to sprawl). Natural finishes are at the root of the design, with the softness of timber predominating, as befits the rural context, but there’s enough smart contemporary sharpness to please the original Cotswolds set.
‘Cosy Cotswolds Hospitality at The Bell at Charlbury’
The Bell at Charlbury has been painstakingly reimagined for the 21st century, while retaining its original heritage and charm. The restoration has created 12 cosy, comfortable bedrooms, beautifully kitted out with the best of Bamford, plus several snug areas, a courtyard for dining, an additional eating and gathering space in The Barn, and a garden that promises long, lazy summer afternoons.
‘AHEAD Europe hotel awards winners are "understated but rich’
The Hotel Newbuild category was won by Mollie's Motel & Diner, a new venture from Soho House that brings the classic American concept of the motel to a rural location in Oxfordshire, England, just off a major road that runs between Bristol and Oxford.
‘These are the prettiest countryside boozers for the ultimate slap-up Sunday roast for a post-stroll pint’
The Fox at Oddington offers plenty of signature Cotswold charm in the heart of a sleepy Gloucestershire village: inside its honey-coloured walls, guests gather around crackling log fires in bespoke wood and leather armchairs, tucking into dishes that proudly utilise ingredients farmed on the nearby Daylesford Organic estate. There’s always a buzz here.