THE FACTS ABOUT HOTELS WITHIN REACH OF BRISTOL

England

CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY WHATLEY MANOR This Cotswold manor house sits in 12 acres of landscaped gardens and flowering meadows. It has been converted into a beautiful 23-room hotel, with two restaurants, a cinema and a spa, Aquarius, that features a La Prairie centre. Whatley Manor, Easton Gray, Malmesbury, Wiltshire (01666 822888; www.whatleymanor.com). Doubles from £325, 30 miles from Bristol. BARNSLEY HOUSE This Cotswold-rectory-turned-nine-bedroom hotel, which opened in July 2003, once belonged to horticulturist and author of The Englishwoman's Garden, Rosemary Verey, so naturally its country garden is stunning. The interior has vaulted walls, oak-floors and B&B Italia furniture. Barnsley House, Barnsley, Cirencester, Gloucestershire (01285 740561; www.barnsleyhouse.com). Doubles from £250, 40 miles from Bristol. HURST HOUSE Despite, or perhaps because of its isolation, the four-room Hurst House in a little seaside village in South Wales where Dylan Thomas wrote Under Milk Wood - has become a hugely popular weekend retreat. Part-owned by actor Neil Morrissey and musician Billy Bragg, the hotel has a restaurant run by an ex-Orient-Express head chef and a bar with a grand piano. Hurst House, East Marsh, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, South Wales (01994 427417; www.hurst-house.co.uk). Doubles from £100, 119 miles from Bristol. CONTEMPORARY STATELY COWLEY MANOR Accommodation at this beautifully designed 30-room contemporary hotel is spread between the main Italianate manor house and the stable block. There's a restaurant, bar, a billiard room and a sunken spa with heated indoor and heated outdoor pools plus 50 acres of Victorian gardens to roam in. Cowley Manor was featured in The Hot List 2003. Cowley Manor, Cowley, nr Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (01242 870900; www.cowleymanor.com). Doubles from £220, 45 miles from Bristol. BABINGTON HOUSE This converted early-Georgian mansion is the sister hotel to private members' club Soho House in London. Its 28 rooms are divided between the main house, coach house and the stable; the lodge has three additional bedrooms. There's also a large spa called the Cowshed - no prizes for guessing its former use - a screening room, a variety of rooms to dine in and a children's club. Babington House was voted best UK Leisure Hotel in The Readers' Travel Awards 2001 and was featured in our special feature UK Boutique Hotels Part II. Babington House, nr Frome, Somerset (01373 812266; www.babingtonhouse.co.uk). Doubles from £235, 40 miles from Bristol. CHINTZ STATELY LUCKNAM PARK A Palladian manor house six miles from Bath, this antique-filled, 41-room hotel has an award-winning restaurant, spa, tennis courts and its own equestrian centre, which makes good use of the hotel's 500 acres of listed parkland. Lucknam Park Hotel, Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire (01225 742777; www.lucknampark.co.uk). Doubles from £215, 15 miles from Bristol. CONTEMPORARY TOWNHOUSE HOTEL KANDINSKY A Georgian townhouse in Cheltenham's coolest neighbourhood, Montpellier, has become this 48-room hotel. The interior mixes Regency furniture with Chinese dolls and Indonesian objets d'art and there's a cocktail lounge in the basement. Incredibly central, the hotel is also just a short drive to the Cotswolds. Hotel Kandinsky was featured in our special feature UK Boutique Hotels. Hotel Kandinsky, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (01242 527788; www.aliaskandinsky.com). Doubles from £90, 43 miles from Bristol.