My husband and I will be traveling in the UK in June. We are planning to take the train from London (after spending 7 days there) to Oxford or Bath. At that point we want to rent a car and see the Cotswolds. We plan to stay in that area for 3 days. Could someone please suggest one or two lovely inns for us? We are traveling on a budget, but a hostel isn't necessary! We would like the inns to have some of the Cotswold "charm". I would also welcome suggestions on the most picturesque towns. At this point we are interested in the Slaughters and Chipping Campden. Thanks!

Try and get to Hartwell House which is a reasonable distance from Oxford.(21 miles)<BR><BR>I think it is a reasonable diversion to experience a unique atmosphere at a cost, but not totally breaking the bank - Take a set sunday lunch or book an afternoon tea!!<BR><BR>Is truly is an experience, enjoyable and chance to just indulge!! <BR><BR>Check out the website and you will see what I mean - i'ts a place often missed, but worth the venture..<BR><BR>http://www.hartwell-house.com

I've just found my email enquiry updateing me on prices.. Thought I would share..<BR><BR>"Dear Ms Ryan<BR> <BR>Thank you for your email dated 21st August 2001. Please find attached copy of our sample Sunday lunch menu, which is priced at &pound;31.00 per person for three courses including coffee and canap&eacute;s. We serve lunch between 12.30pm and 13.45pm.<BR>Afternoon tea is served everyday between 3.30pm and 5.30pm and is priced at &pound;15.50 per person. An advanced booking is required both for lunch and afternoon tea.<BR> <BR>If there is any other queries of if you wish to make a booking please do not hesitate to contact us.<BR> <BR>Yours Sincerely<BR>Pirita Kurjonen<BR>Deputy Head Receptionist"<BR><BR>GO FOR IT!!<BR>

I stayed in what used to be Queen Elizabeth the 1st's country house when I was last in the Cotswolds some 4 years ago. It was in a little village which itself was delightful. I found it under the Mansions and Manors B&B listings. It was very central and very lovely. Perhaps it is still operating and you may like that.

Message: I live near the Cotswolds. Most of the main villages are quite close together so you'll see a lot in a short space of time. Burford and Stow on the Wold are great for antiques. Burford Church is fantastic- a little known gem. I'd also recommend Chipping Campden. Great cream teas at the little place next to the Cotswold House Hotel there and another beautiful church. Broadway is the only village that I find a little twee but it's near to Stanton and Stanway which are beautiful. Try to visit Snowshill (National Trust house)It's fascinating. Places to stay include:<BR>Old Farm Bed and Breakfast in Moreton-in-Marsh; Lygon Arms in Broadway; The Swan in Bibury; the Bay Tree in Burford (four poster beds) and many Fodorites rave about Wesley House in Winchcombe, near Cheltenham (a lovely town with Regency arcades) www.wesleyhouse.co.uk<BR>hope this helps<BR><BR>

Even if you don't stay at Wesley House , though I can recommend it, do try to have dinner there, excellent !<BR>The swan at Bibury is also quite nice. The area is small so most places can be visited while staying at a central location and driving out from there.

We stayed in Chipping Campden last summer and it was a delightful Cotswold Village. As another poster suggested, most of the villages are in close proximity. From Chipping Campden we were easily able to visit SEVERAL towns including Stratford on Avon, Burton on the Water and both Upper and Lower Slaughter (and the town Warwick Castle is in but I can't remember its name!). We stayed at the Cotswold House Hotel and it was an incredible indulgence. It might be a little steep for your budget but you can still check them out at www.cotswoldhouse.com. If nothing else, you can get a feel for the town because that website has some lovely pictures. <BR><BR>I strongly recommend your trying to find something within your budget in Chipping Campden. If you do, check the Greek restaurant just around the corner from the Cotswold House. It had fantastic food (reasonably priced) and the atmosphere was so much fun. It is a tiny restaurant (sorry, can't remember its name either!) where there was lots of dancing. The waiter and waitress would even put down their trays and dance with the diners. Oh yeah, the food was great too!<BR><BR>Have fun!!

We stayed at the Old Farmhouse Inn in Lower Swell and were extremely pleased with the service and the rooms. The only caveat is that there is really nothing else in Lower Swell - so it is extremely quiet. But it is less than a mile from Stow. <BR><BR>You can checke them out at:<BR><BR>http://www.avaweb.co.uk/oldfarmhouse.html<BR><BR>or read about our stay there on my travelogue page: <BR><BR>http://www.appleberryroad.com/webpages/uk2k/uk2kp08.htm<BR><BR>Have fun,<BR><BR>jpm

Everytime we visit England, we visit the Cotswolds. Maybe it's an emotional thing, but we love the area very much and always see something new. This past June we stayed at a B&B outside Bath --- Eagle House (www.eaglehouse.co.uk) --- for about 70 pounds. The owners were wonderful and the accommodations were very satisfactory. It isn't fancy, but I am picky about having a shower and a queen or king bed, and this fit the bill. The owners had great suggestions for pubs nearby. And there is a bus into Bath which runs every 20 minutes, although we chose to drive and park in the city. We also always stay in Stow-on-the-Wold and this time stayed at the Grapvine Hotel (www.vines.co.uk), for the first time. It was very nice, with an excellent restaurant. We paid 130 pounds for a superior room. We like Stow because eight roads meet there, so it is a good central location, although a bit busy during the day, but quiet at night. We would stay at both of these hotels again. Enjoy the charm of the people and surroundings!

I'd love to recommend the tiny hamlet of Monkton-Farleigh and the B & B, Fern Cottage. Loved both.<BR>http://www.visitus.co.uk/bath/hotel/fern.htm J.

We stayed at the Lamb Inn in Burford last July. I would recommend it. Built in 1400s and nice people. We used that as a base to tour and it worked out fine as everything pretty close together.

Looking over some of these responses one would think the posters didn't even read your message - just saw "Cotswolds" and went from there. You said "We are traveling on a budget, but a hostel isn't necessary!" Well some of the suggestions are among the most expensive places in the area. The Lygon Arms is fabulous but one of the most expensive country hotels in England, The Swan in Bibury is less expensive but still waaaay over a budget rate, and the Bay Tree and Grapevine are also all expensive.<BR><BR>There are hundreds (not an exaggeration) of B&Bs in the Cotswolds and &pound;30 a night per person will get you a very nice en-suite room in almost any village. Somewhere along the Burford, Stow, Moreton-in-Marsh axis would place you in a convenient location for Oxford, Stratford, Warwick and the north and south Cotswolds. <BR><BR>I would not rent my car in Oxford or Bath - rates are higher there than at LHR, and bot cities are very difficult to drive in. So travel out to Heathrow by public transit and pick up your car there and you will be less than an hour drive from the Cotswolds.

Went in November of 2001 - stay away from places like Burford, Chipping Camden (which we liked the best), etc. Just do as day trips. Stay in Painswick - at the Painswick Hotel - lovely hotel, sweet rooms - not rock bottom but fairly good buy. Wonderful town - the Falcon Inn is a great pub/restaurant and the March Hare a wonderful Thai restaurant. I research thoroughly for my own trips (I'm a travel professional) and this was a great choice.

just in case you're wondering where Monkton Farleigh is, it's just a bit outside Bradford-on-Avon. Great location for all of Wiltshire. From Fern Cottage (great price, great people), we drove into the Cotswolds, into Exmoor, down to Lyme Regis, to Stonehenge, couldn't have selected a more perfect location! J.

I stayed in Fairford which is on the edge of the Cotswolds. Also nearby was Lechlade, a large town that I'm sure has plenty of places to stay. They are only a short drive from the main attractions, and if you travel the back roads you will have a really enjoyable drive. Passed thru North Leach which looked very nice

Thank you to all those who responded. We are giving Fern Cottage in Monkton-Farleigh a look!

S: Monkton Farleigh is a great village - BUT not convenient for the Cotswolds. it is just outside Bath and is a wonderful base for Bath, Chippenham, Wells, etc. But if you want to see the Cotswolds you must realize it is a Looong drive. About 75 miles to Burford for instance. Count on a 2 hour drive each way. And Burford is in the southern Cotswolds so add 20-30 more minutes to get to the central or northern cotswolds. <BR><BR>I am not trying to talk you out of Monkton Farliegh - there is a TON of stuff to see near there. But trying to drive up to the cotswolds each day will be a real drudge. Maybe stay there one or two days and then pick something farther north for one or two days.

We rented a house through the Landmark Trust in Tewkesbury, which while not "in" the Costwolds is fairly close to everything. One of the main attractions in Tewkesbury is the Abbey there, which dates from about 1100. We could drive to the Chippings, Upper and Lowers and just about everywhere else in less than an hour. Even went over to Hay-on-Wye for the afternoon. <BR>Some of the Cotswolds villages are tiny, so consider that if you want some variety in where you can go to eat.

My family and I visited the UK last August and spent three days in the Cotswolds to start our trip. THere are plenty of quaint places to stay...and your option of Chipping Campden is a perfect base. (not many places to stay in the slaughters...I think they are outside of town and it is more fun to be in a town to walk to dinner, etc.) I would NOT recommend the Cotswold House in Chipping Campden. I noticed that someone did recommend this hotel. We spent almost $300 per night..and the ammentities were nothing as described on their website. We mentioned this after checking in...and were then treated very coldly thereafter. And, the morning that we were leaving for London...we had no hot water in our rooms! We could not take a shower! They said this sometimes happens in the country. It would have been nice to have something done...other than a casual..oh, we're sorry. It's no fun traveling all day with no shower. The best thing about the place...the breakfast. Aside from that ...very overrated. Did anyone else have such an experience? Did we get taken? We were sick when we visited other towns and saw much nicer places at more than half the cost. You might even go without reservations and rent a room on the spot...this way you can see it first. Stow on the Wold is another great town to base yourself..we would probably stay there the next time. Good Luck...

Just returned-spent 2 nights at The Kettlehouse B&B in Chipping Campden-WONDERFUL place.