It isn’t easy to stand out among the best hotels in the Cotswolds, but the award-winning boutique hotel Dormy House more than meets the challenge.
From the moment I walked in the door and saw the cosy sofas and roaring fireplaces, to the friendly welcome at reception and then finally, arrived at The Snug, one of the nicest hotel rooms I’ve stayed in, I knew I was in for a treat for my Cotswolds stay.
Dormy House has cosy lounges with roaring fires to welcome you the moment you arrive
Location of Dormy House hotel and spa
Located on the massive Farncombe Estate, which is perched on the hills above Broadway, one of the prettiest towns in the the Cotswolds, Dormy House was originally a 17th century farmhouse and has been owned by the same family since 1977. However while the building is charming, it is certainly not fusty or old-fashioned, and the luxury hotel spa – handily in the main building – could hardly be more modern.
Visit Dormy House on Tripadvisor
Spa hotel in the Cotswolds
As a spa hotel in the Cotswolds it ticks all the boxes. The spa contains a sleek 16-metre infinity pool, salt steam room, tropical shower, glass-fronted Finnish sauna and outdoor hot tub, and you can walk straight from your room to the spa in your fluffy robes. Overall the atmosphere is very much in the Soho Farmhouse/Pig Hotels bracket of smart, chic and professional, but it is also welcoming, friendly and casual rather than snooty. After spending the night here, I can safely say Dormy House certainly deserves its reputation as one of the best luxury hotels in the Cotswolds.
Our bedroom in The Snug – minimalist and very relaxing
Cute little room owls at Dormy House
Bedrooms in Dormy House
Our bedroom in Dormy House was one of the nicest I’ve stayed in. It was called The Snug and had a separate lounge – with a sofa, TV, mini bar and all the modern conveniences you’d expect, and a wonderful cosy bedroom in calm Scandi colours.
The bathroom was immaculate, with a massive walk-in shower and the deepest bath I have ever bathed in: a massive tin tub in which I soaked for a good hour, my magazine propped up on the soap dish stand and sipping a pre-dinner G&T while listening to music from the bedside radio.
Even the in-room iPod, which isn’t usually my type of thing, scored points because you could easily order cocktails through it – and the little room owl (above) was very cute.
The simply massive tin bath
Eating at The Potting Shed restaurant
We decided to eat in the more informal The Potting Shed restaurant at the front of the hotel as we would be having breakfast in The Back Garden restaurant (which was called The Garden Room when we were there). The Potted Shed had a relaxed, l0w-key atmosphere, with music blaring out from the walls (they did turn it down) and a friendly but casual service.
I started with wild mushrooms on toast with crispy duck egg (£8) while my guest had the potted Brixham crab with warm blinis (£9) – the crab was delicious and the wild mushrooms were divine, perfect for a cold wintry evening.
Delicious wild mushrooms
As the occasion called for something hearty and comforting we decided to push the boat out and share the 20 oz T-bone steak (£40) cooked in the new ‘Bertha’ charcoal and wood-fired oven – it was very nice but plonked down without ceremony, which was a shame and an opportunity missed and the baked beetroot we’d ordered had been completely forgotten. The seasonal greens were terrific though and after all that we were way too full for dessert.
Our porterhouse steak – tasty but lacking a certain aplomb
While the Potting Shed wasn’t the kind of place to linger long after your meal, thankfully there were no shortage of places to sit so we relocated to one of the front rooms by a roaring fire which was being well-looked after by the many staff, and enjoyed coffee and petits fours before turning in.
Back at The Snug – we had a lounge, hall, bedroom and bathroom to ourselves
Spending the night at Dormy House
The bed was beautifully comfortable, the sheets top quality and it was with a heavy heart that we headed for breakfast the next morning, knowing it would soon be time to leave our Snug and return to the real world. Thankfully breakfast, as you’d expect for a luxury boutique hotel, was excellent – you can’t fault a place which offers free Bloody Marys and Bucks Fizz as a matter of course – and came with a whole range of cooked options from dippy eggs to kippers, smoked salmon and ‘the Full Dormy’.
The Garden Shed dining room (now called The Back Garden) which serves breakfast as well as a more formal dinner in the evenings
An expansive boozy breakfast selection
There was just time for a walk around to check out some of the other rooms, some of which, like the Rose Cottage were separate to the main building. However I was delighted to see that none, in my view, were as lovely as my Snug.
Hotel information and to book Dormy House
Dormy House, Willersey Hill, Broadway, Worcs WR12 9LF
01386 852711
Visit Dormy House on Tripadvisor
Dormy House is a member of Pride of Britain Hotels group, Small Luxury Hotels and Mr and Mrs Smith and was the Small Luxury Hotels Hotel of the Year in 2017. Rooms start at £255 a night for bed and breakfast and there is a two-night minimum stay at weekends
If you like reviews of top hotels in the Cotswolds then you’ll also love reading these reviews: Cosy Cotswolds charm at the award-winning Painswick hotel; Quintessential Cotswolds retreat at Lords of the Manor, Upper Slaughter; Calcot Manor – family-friendly fun in the Cotswolds; A picture-perfect Cotswolds stay at The Manor House, Castle Combe; Whatley Manor luxury hotel and spa: a Cotswolds gem
