Thyme
Elegant epicurean estate
Model village
Thyme boutique hotel – 17th-century cottages and refined rooms dotted throughout Southrop Manor’s 150-acre estate – encapsulates a William Blake-penned vision that’s lured London’s fashion set (a certain supermodel proved its pull by holding her nuptials nearby). With an on-site farm and fruitful kitchen garden, the hotel’s cookery school is revered among foodies, too.
Facilities
Номера
31, including two stand-alone cottages.
Checkout
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in: 4pm.
Больше сведений
Rates include the à la carte breakfast.
Also
Celeb gardener Bunny Guinness’s Olive Garden is a lovely lounging spot too.
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Возможно размещение с животными
Рестораны на территории
Спа
At the Hotel
Cookery School, spa, farm and kitchen gardens, the Baa for botanical cocktails, tennis courts, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, free bottled water, Nespresso coffee machine, kettle and a selection of teas and Bertioli Beauty bath products. The Gardener's Cottage and Old Walls Cottage both have a wood-burning stove.
Our Favourite Rooms
Set under beamed eaves, Nepeta is decorated in an earthy palette; it's dotted with antiques from Tetbury, but in such a way that it feels like you could be settled in amid your own collection. You can play chess in the freestanding bath tub, or stargaze through the shower's skylight as you scrub. If you desire rustic seclusion, check in to the Gardener's Cottage, a pretty stone cottage in Thyme's courtyard with a log burner to warm winter nights.
Poolside
Surrounded by Cotswold Stone and with Orchid House serving botanical cocktails poolside, guests can enjoy a relaxing spot for a quick dip. Open daily 9.30am to 7pm.
Spa
Head to (multi) award-winning Meadow Spa and Botanical Bothy for a little, or a lot of, pampering. In partnership with Aurelia Probiotic Skincare, Thyme have developed several bespoke therapies, using their signature Bertioli Beauty products, that'll leave you feeling rejuvenated and your skin glowing. Try Aurelia’s Natural Face Lift which uses hypnotic deep muscle rolling and pressure point massage to stimulate collagen and boost circulation. For head to toe indulgence, try the holistic body and face ritual. The spa also offers treatments exclusively for men and couples. After your pampering session, refresh with a stop at the spa's Greenhouse Water Bar, the nearby Orchid House or take a dip in the pool. Be sure to book in advance, the spa gets booked up quickly.
Packing Tips
Wellies and a casual ensemble for rambles through the farm. Clear a little space in your suitcase for Thyme’s parting gifts of Negroni.
Дети
Over-12s only in the hotel; they'll need a separate room too. Younger children can only stay in Old Walls cottage. Kids can join for lunch in the Ox Barn restaurant and the Swan has a children’s menu.
Галерея
Food & Drink
Top Table
For meals in the Swan, we like a table near the fireplace.
Дресс-код
Town to country.
Hotel Restaurant
You’ll have two to choose from: the Ox Barn and the Swan at Southrop. Chef Charlie Hibbert curates the farm-based and plant-inspired menu at the Ox Barn, where signature à la carte dishes include lemon sole and herbs, roast Southrop lamb with salsa verde, roast pork with broad beans and fresh madeleines. Despite an influx of A-listers, the Swan at Southrop has stayed true to its country-pub roots, championing localism (ingredients’ ancestry is traced on the menu) and dishing up hearty portions. Menus may be constantly changing, but you’ll always find mod Brit light bites and pub classics. Sunday lunch remains sacrosanct: slabs of sirloin and estate-reared lamb are served with traditional trimmings, but be sure to nab a table ahead of time.
Hotel Bar
The Baa (see what they did there…) has a cocktail list with culinary clout. Brit spirits and fine wines from home and abroad are served too. By day, pop in for a coffee, tea or herbal infusion, and try the excellent home-made cakes: honey and quince cake (made with home-grown ingredients), blueberry and lavender friands, and clementine and polenta cake. The Swan has real ale on tap and picks from the local micro-breweries.
Last Orders
Breakfast is served 8am–10.30am. The Swan is open for lunch Thursday to Sunday, noon–3pm and dinner Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm–9pm. The Ox Barn is open daily for lunch (noon to 3pm) and dinner (6pm to 9pm). The Baa runs dry around 11.30pm.
Planes
Bristol Airport, where flights arrive from major European destinations and North Africa, is a 90-minute drive away on the M4. International hub Heathrow, around 90 miles east, is a 90-minute drive; London Gatwick is around two hours by car. The hotel can arrange transfers from London airports from £150 for a one-way trip.
Trains
Swindon station, a 40-minute drive away, is the closest. Direct trains arrive in around an hour from London Paddington, Cardiff, Bristol, and Oxford. One-way transfers are available from £40, and chauffeur-driven Mercedes are available on request.
Automobiles
Thyme can easily be reached via the M40 and A40, or the M4 and A420. If driving from London, it's possible to stop off at Oxford along the way, via the A40. At Burford, turn onto the A361 to Lechdale; Southrop’s four-and-a-half miles down the road. On-site parking is free.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Southrop’s estate has topiary-studded gardens, wildflower-strewn meadows and a farm. Pull on your wellies and start walking, stopping to greet the resident Black Welsh Mountain sheep. Then stroll by the River Leach – in early summer, you may see swans with their cygnets. Learn how to cook a globetrotting range of dishes; and perfect your breads, pasta and pastries at Thyme’s superb cookery school. Classes are two-to-six hours in length. Pop to Cirencester (about a 30-minute drive away) on Friday to catch the weekly market and pick up some local produce to take home. Artist William Morris's country escape Kelmscott Manor is a 20-minute drive away. The house is filled with the artist's personal effects and lavish furnishings from the manor's co-owner, Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. From April to August royals and enthusiasts hoof it to the fixtures at Beaufort and Cirencester Park polo clubs. Wills, Kate and Harry have been known to attend matches, and if you’re a dab hand with a mallet, temporary membership for 15 chukkas is £250 at Beaufort, and one-to-one tuition or two-day intensive courses are offered at Cirencester. Give the hotel two days’ notice and they can fill a picnic basket with sandwiches, cakes and other goodies to take with you. Unesco-listed Blenheim Palace, the 18th-century home of the first Duke of Marlborough and Churchill’s birthplace, is a sprawling colonnaded confection of a residence atop Capability Browns’ grounds. Marvel at the palace’s grandeur, then pop into the butterfly house and solve the hedge maze. Touring the Cotswolds’ teeny villages is a must: their quintessentially British charm is rendered in golden-hued stone, intertwined with flowers, petite shops and country pubs. Bibury is perhaps the area’s most famous for good looks, Bourton-on-the-Water is known as the Little Venice of the Cotswolds, Broadway lies in a vale of the Worcestershire Hills, and Chippings Camden, Norton and Sodbury are home to gilded historic marvels.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
