There are a lot of buzz words flying around at the moment when it comes to luxury hotels: subterranean spas, sky-skimming rooftop restaurants, and in-room hot tubs. Calcot & Spa doesn’t have any of that, but what it does have is a genuine, thoughtful approach to families, food that wouldn’t go amiss at a Michelin starred-restaurant, an authentic passion for hospitality and bloody good beds. So good in fact, that even our 10-month old (who hadn’t quite understood the ‘relaxed weekend in the Cotswolds’ brief) whining hourly through the night couldn’t dampen our enjoyment of it.
Just a few miles from the chic emporiums and high-brow wine bars of Tetbury, this boutique hotel has woven itself into a sort of village of its own. Biscuit-hued stone places you immediately in the Cotswolds, chocolate box accommodation pepper the grounds surrounding the main manor house and the various pathways and gardens are lit by warm lighting, illuminating the hotel’s extensive rewilding efforts.
There are just 35 rooms here – split between the main house and the family-friendly suites outside of it – but the facilities lend themselves to a much larger hotel.
The spa, a multi-storey ode to relaxation, is housed in its own building and hosts a large indoor pool (plus separate children’s pool, music to the ears of both parents and childfree guests), sauna, steam room, three relaxation rooms and calming treatment rooms. The centrepiece here is the lavender-lined hot tub, nestled beside a real open fireplace, embalming guests in a heady mix of gentle, fresh floral and cosy smokey scents and offering a generous slice of laidback luxury.
Come warm or cool weather, derobing and submerging yourself below the bubbles is an inviting opportunity here and one we only too gladly accepted. “It is little wonder…,” we mused as we took a lethargic meander from pool to hot tub. “…that the spa has long held a waitlist for awaiting members looking for a coveted spot.”
Luckily, as seems to be the norm at Calcot, the hotel devised a plan to open up the facilities to more members, as well as expand the offering for wellness-conscious guests and in April this year opened The Grain Store. Tucked away behind its own golden limestone-clad courtyard, this adults-only homage to health and fitness is a vast, airy space with a slick café, a state-of-the-art gym (with pioneering pieces of equipment that even a fully paid-up luxury London gym goer couldn’t help but swoon at), a heated outdoor pool, soothing holistic studio spaces hosting yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and sound healing classes as well as a ‘spin shed’ and the UK’s first assisted stretch pod. The latter affords guests and members the opportunity to work through a deep stretch routine, guided by a trained PT, that effectively works into muscles and can vastly improve flexibility and recovery time. Is it intense? Yes. Is it effective? You bet.
And if you’re a parent reading this, thinking, “this all sounds brilliant but unrealistic for me,” think again, because as well as its wellness offering, which any sprawling spa hotel would be proud of, Calcot leans heavily into catering for all guests – big and small – most notably, with their OFSTED-approved Playbarn. With its own cinema space, arts and crafts area, an extensive dressing up cupboard and designated play areas to keep all ages entertained, guests can make use of four hours of free childcare here a day, and there’s no lower age limit either. In fact, we felt so positive about the space, that we left our 10-month old in their capable hands for the first time ever. We only managed an hour and we, of course, spent the entire time talking about her and wondering how she was, but it afforded us the time and space for a quick stress free workout and a quick dip in the aforementioned hot tub.
We needn’t have rushed though, as on our return – ready to re-envelope our little darling back into the arms of her beloved parents – we found her to be perfectly content, surrounded by toys, smiling children and doting staff. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she enjoyed the hour away more than us.
And the family-friendly facilities don’t end there, in and among the grounds there is an outdoor playground, a disc golf course, croquet, a toy teepee (open for the entire day and filled with miniature tables and chairs, toys, games and books) and, at 4pm each day, a childrens’ buffet complete with tiny cutlery and tables reserved by their name (quite the thrill for new-ish parents, I can tell you). Patient staff are well-versed in catering to the not-so-little demands of young guests here and any worry or angst about noise or mess is entirely removed.
Once the remains of a well-received spaghetti bolognese and creamy mashed potato had been removed in the bath back at our two-storey suite (complete with bath toys, a palatial shower, kid’s room with Tonie box and a separate lounge and dining space), we headed to our ‘grown-up’ dinner at The Brasserie – housed in a greenhouse-feeling space tacked onto the main manor – and the main dining space here.
If you’re already au fait with The Calcot Collection, you won’t be surprised to hear that the smorgasbord of dishes that arrived at our table were each thoughtful, flavoursome and memorable in their own right. We worked our way through Stokes Marsh Farm beef tartare and citrus & juniper cured sea trout before moving on to Cornish monkfish with foraged sea vegetables and beetroot & mascarpone risotto with artichoke crisps. We shared a pecan and white chocolate choux bun to finish off, longingly-eyed the string of quiet lounges opposite the dining room (where other guests were playing cards, joining in the low buzz of chat or enjoying a moment of peace over a glass of wine) and headed back to our suite to put the baby to bed (with special thanks to the blackout blinds provided).
Our few days over, we enjoyed breakfast in our own little garden and then packed up and were waved off by staff as though we were Lord and Lady of the manor off on a trip elsewhere (oh, how I wished this were true). As we drove out, we stopped several times to smile at other guests who we had befriended during our time here; fellow new and seasoned parents and couples who had no doubt enjoyed an entirely different experience to us. “Can we get chocolate on the way back?” I said to my husband. “Something to sweeten the return home.”
In fact, to know me now is to know the ins-and-outs of Calcot & Spa intimately too, because I haven’t stopped waxing lyrical about the place since our visit. It was truly balm for the soul, a rural antidote for wearied urban dwellers and a picturesque backdrop to make special family memories. If you needed any further reason to fall in love with the Cotswolds, this is it.
Gloucestershire, Tetbury GL8 8YJ
