Wild Thyme & Honey

If you know the Cotswolds, you'll be able to picture the honey-coloured villages with their quaint names, stone buildings and ancient inns – that quintessential England of rolling green fields and dreamy landscapes. These things all come together at the charmingly named Wild Thyme & Honey, a boutique collection of rooms and suites overlooking the peaceful brook in Ampney Crucis, a few miles outside Cirencester. And the wild thyme? It grows between the Cotswold stone and in the verges of this most cherished of English country regions.

The need-to-know here is that Wild Thyme & Honey is in fact part of a beautiful 16th-century village pub, The Crown, with both parts of the venue lovingly restored and just across the courtyard from each other, linked by reception and lounge areas. The 24 rooms and suites here have been given a serious boutique makeover – think exposed stone walls, original beams, natural wood floors and calming colours but with a burst of urban, loft-style chic. Bathrooms throughout are excellent, with thumping rain showers, while little luxuries are commonplace, so whichever room you choose you can expect a Nespresso machine, a calming pillow spray and a decanter of sloe gin on arrival. As for your accommodation, there are king-sized double bedrooms with views over the neighbouring farms and hills, or larger suites that overlook the trout-filled river. Most eye-catching of all is a very special apartment with a private terrace, hot tub and sauna, a free-standing copper tub in the bathroom, and an amazing bespoke bed fashioned from silver birch.

It's 'posh country' all right, but you are invited to tramp around the gorgeous countryside too – there's storage for muddy walking gear in all the rooms, and if you've forgotten your wellies they'll lend you a pair of Hunters. Breakfast, plus reviving drinks and meals are across at The Crown, with its open kitchen, fancy grill and locally sourced farm-to-table ethos. The menus are wide-ranging enough to be able to stick with a Caesar salad or cheese souffle or splash out on a rib-eye with all the trimmings, and the bartenders know their way around the cocktail list. Everything, as you might expect, is just so, and for a special-occasion stay in the heart of England's green and pleasant land, it's hard to beat this luxurious overnight serving of wild thyme and honey.