Relaxing Cotswolds break at Burleigh Court hotel, Stroud

A stay at Burleigh Court

Staying in a small, boutique hotel rather than one with dozens of rooms turns a hotel into more of a home-from-home experience and so it turned out with my stay at Burleigh Court hotel in Stroud, in the western end of the Cotswolds area of outstanding natural beauty.

With just 18 bedrooms – including some pet-friendly rooms with dog-themed wallpaper in the coach house next to the main building – and three acres of landscaped gardens with stunning views across Stroud valley, Burleigh Court feels like a relaxing retreat away from the real world, where you can pad downstairs to read a book or have afternoon tea by one of several open fires, have a drink or two in the cosy bar or retreat upstairs to enjoy the view from your bedroom window.

This traditional manor house hotel is set in three acres of grounds with beautiful views across the valley

The hotel is surrounded by terraces which would be perfect on a sunny summer’s day

Arriving at Burleigh Court hotel

There are many hotels in Stroud but surely few have as lovely as location as Burleigh Court, high above the town. The hotel is just a few minutes drive up a steep hill up Brimscombe Hill from the main road between Circencester and Stroud, making it located in the wilder parts of the Cotswolds: less of the gentle undulating hills near Broadway and Burford and more of the rugged, wilder  beauty of nearby Minchinhampton Common and the Slad Valley.

The hotel’s terrace is a great spot to soak up the views on a sunny day               Pic credit: Beth Harvey

Guests can park directly next to the hotel and can sit on the hotel’s front terrace and enjoy views across the other side of the valley. At the rear of the hotel there’s even an outdoor Art Deco plunge pool, open between mid-June and September, which was created by Sir Clough Williams Ellis and which would be a perfect spot for a cooling dip in the height of summer. My visit was during early Spring which meant swimming was out of the question, but long country walks, warm fires and hot baths were more in order.

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Bedrooms at Burleigh Court

The 18 bedrooms at Burleigh Court range from classic and cosy to superior and noteworthy, and are currently being refurbished into a more modern style. We spent the first night in room 5 on the first floor, one of those which had been recently renovated, and enjoyed the corner views, the smart four-poster bed and its small but smart ensuite bathroom (not all of the rooms have baths so do check in advance if that’s a must-have). The room was equipped with a TV, storage, a kettle and some retro touches such as old-fashioned bedside telephones.

Our first bedroom, number 5, had recently been refurbished in a more contemporary style and had a stylish four-poster bed

The bedroom was spacious with a desk, wardrobe, en-suite bathroom and corner windows making the most of the view

The next night – to get the full experience – we relocated to room 9, one floor higher and at the rear of the hotel, which meant views of the gardens and fields at the back of the hotel. This was one of the rooms yet to be modernised and yet it was my favourite, with tonnes of space, decorated in a traditional but welcoming style, with lovely bay windows and window seats, armchairs, fireplace and was the kind of room you could happily spend a couple of days in if the weather was on the wintry side (the only downside to this room was a small bathroom with room for a small shower only).

Our second bedroom, number 9, was decorated in a more traditional style but was definitely my favourite

Another of the individually-designed bedrooms at Burleigh Court hotel

Exploring the rest of Burleigh Court hotel

Downstairs the hotel manages to pack a lot into the available space: there’s a recently refurbished restaurant, the Oak Room, which has gained a skylight and more tables in its new layout and whose huge windows made the most of the views from the front of the building.

The Oak Room restaurant at Burleigh Court was a stylish, bright room for both breakfast and dinner

The large and comfortable lounge had an open fire which was lit just after breakfast and made for a warm and relaxing room, and was furnished with a variety of chairs and sofas and decorated with care, including an old gramophone record player.

During our stay this room was used variously by people working on their laptops, enjoying afternoon tea, having morning coffee and, in the middle of our stay, by a newly-married couple enjoying fizz and canapés in their wedding finery. The reception area has another open fire and there’s a small but well-stocked bar with a couple of seats for a nightcap.

The lounge at Burleigh Court was a popular spot throughout the day – I particularly liked the old-fashioned gramophone record player

There were several open fires at Burleigh Court hotel which made it feel very warm and cosy

The first night we arrived just too late for food so instead we headed for the Stroud Brewery which was just a few minutes’ drive away. While all the buildings looked closed on arrival, we perservered in our search for beer and food and found the excellent tap room at the back of the complex, open until 11pm. The brewery served wood-fire pizzas until 9pm and judging by the various notices on the walls, seems to host a variety of events from yoga and political meet-up to jazz nights, and was a great find on our first night in Stroud.

Breakfast at Burleigh Court

Breakfast on both days of our stay was excellent, particularly on the first morning where a charming lady looked after her as if we were members of her own family, making sure we had everything we needed, from cereals and pastries, coffee and juice, to utterly delicious honey provided by Burleigh Court’s own beehives in the garden – possibly the best honey I’ve ever had.

The cooked options on the breakfast menu were divided up in themes ranging from The Scots (porridge) and The English (full English) via The French (French toast with bacon and maple syrup) to The Garden – either avocado with poached eggs on sourdough toast, or truffled scrambled eggs on toast – or The Sea, which was a choice of poached haddock and eggs or smoked salmon with scrambled egg.

Breakfast at Burleigh Court hotel was excellent and a great start to the day

Having two breakfasts was a real treat and so were the excellently-cooked breakfasts themselves, from the deliciously light and tasty truffled eggs to the smoked salmon and the full English – great starts to both days.

Foraging at Burleigh Court

Burleigh Court has an admirable ambition to be more than just a hotel to sleep and eat in, and is working hard on providing some memorable experiences for its guests. Staff are on hand to advise on local walks, mountain biking and nearby activities on offer including wine-tasting, horse-riding, shopping and family-friendly experiences and the hotel is also running a series of wild food foraging trips with its local kitchen gardener and foraging expert Emanuelle Paulson (see end of review for dates and prices).

Emanuelle grew up in the local area and works hard on growing herbs, salads, and vegetables in the Burleigh grounds for its restaurant and bar.

Burleigh Court’s kitchen gardener and foraging expert Emanuelle Paulson took us on a tour of the local plants and wildflowers

My partner and I were lucky to spend the morning with Emanuelle learning all about the wildflowers and plants which grew in Burleigh Court’s gardens and in the nearby hedgerows and beside the lanes surrounding the hotel and we both found it fascinating – not only to discover just how many different types of plants and flowers you could find in a relatively small area but how you could soon start to distinguish them from one another.

We discovered everything from wild garlic and hazelnuts to cow parsley, common sorrel and the toxic Lords and Ladies plant and were expertly advised throughout by Emanuelle whose love for nature shines through her enthusiasm for the natural world. We sniffed and sampled as we went along, while being warned ‘Don’t munch on a hunch’ and I would highly recommend this foraging tour if you have time during your stay at Burleigh Court.

Exploring west Cotswolds

Burleigh Court is ideally situated for a lovely tour around the the west Cotswolds, and we were determined to do it the leisurely way, leaving no picturesque country pub unvisited. Thus we drove north through the Slad Valley to the village of Slad itself, made famous by Laurie Lee and his book Cider with Rosie, and had a pleasant drink in his old local, the Woolpack, with traditional interiors and stunning views of the valley.

The Woolpack pub in Slad is a lovely traditional pub in a beautiful part of The Cotswolds

From Slad it was a lovely amble along country lanes to Sheepscombe and the Butchers Arms pub, which served us an excellent lunch of fish goujons and homemade pate, and finally we ended up in the lovely and very sought-after village of Painswick. I stayed at The Painswick hotel a few years previously and it was lovely to explore Painswick’s narrow winding streets again and its impressive churchyard with its 99 yew trees, and enjoy a final drink by the roaring open fire at the charming low-ceiling’d pub, The Oak.

After all that exploring it was a delight to return to Burleigh Court and raid its collection of quizzes and board games before dinner in the hotel’s restaurant.

Dining at Burleigh Court

The dinner menu at the Oak Restaurant at Burleigh Court hotel

Starting dinner with a cocktail in the lounge was a great idea and the menu looked very promising, with five starters and six mains to choose from, sourced mainly from local, seasonal produce. Sadly the meal didn’t live up to the expectations set by the rest of the hotel, but there are plans to improve the restaurant up to 3 AA star status, which will hopefully iron out any lingering issues.

We both decided to have two courses at £32 (three courses is £45). Stephen’s starter was sous-vide pig’s cheek, with ham hock bonbon and burnt apple puree, which was on the small side but quite tasty. For my main course I had the salted and oven-roasted skrie cod with braised fennel, samphire and chorizo, which sadly was extremely over-salted, while Stephen had a tiny portion of 32-day dry aged Longhorn beef loin which had a £5 supplement.

On the upside, the service was excellent, the restaurant and garden outside very romantically-lit at night and we finished off by taking our cheeseboard desert up to our room.

The main course of a 32-day dry aged Longhorn beef loin was little on the small side but the staff kindly topped up the dish

My main course of salted and oven-roasted skrie cod with braised fennel, samphire and chorizo

The cheese platter which finished off our meal at Burleigh Court hotel

We ended our stay at Burleigh Court with another lovely walk around the gardens – where we bumped into Emanuelle, who was planning her next round of planting – and purchased several jars of the delicious honey before heading home.

Hotel information and how to book Burleigh Court 

Burleigh Court, The Roundabouts
Brimscombe, Stroud
Gloucestershire
GL5 2PF
01453 883804