On the fringes of the Cotswolds, it's all 'contemporary cool' alongside exposed stone and rustic wooden furniture within boutique hotel Wild Thyme and Honey, which stands alongside The Crown at Ampney Brook. Together, they form part of Grosvenor Pubs and Inns, but are a very personal project for founders Jason and Shara Myers. Our inspectors loved the bedroom decor with 'oversized headboards, concrete hanging lights like cowbells.' All rooms have posh toiletries, an espresso machine, a decanter of sloe gin. While the A417 passes right by, rear-facing suites with an in-room bathtub overlook a brook with river pretensions. A honeymoon apartment has a four-poster made from tree trunks, a sauna, a hot tub by the water's edge. The welcoming residents' courtyard is a good place for a pre-dinner drink, or go to the inn proper, 'not your atmospheric old village inn with cosy corners, but with large, open spaces and an open kitchen which dispenses fantastic food'. 'From the first taste of the sourdough served with truffle butter, we knew we were onto a winner. The three-roast dinner had the best Yorkshire puddings ever.' In the morning, fuel up on the full English before an amble round the Ampneys (you can borrow boots and brollies when it rains).