Burford House

SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED, this Tudor house with its low ceilings, leaded windows, old beams and log fires stands proud in a pretty Cotswold town bursting with antique shops and tea rooms. But there's nothing twee about these luxury lodgings, whose rooms are ravishingly styled with a mix of old oak furniture, books, family pictures and porcelain.

Expect Tudor-style four-posters and plenty of cushions. Shiny bathrooms are designed for spending time in, with roll-top tubs, power showers and an array of bubbles positively encouraging steamy goings-on. We loved Sherborne, with its tub for two.

There are only eight bedrooms here, so breakfast is an informal rather than a starchy affair, with a feast of local fare. If you're peckish later, light lunches and wicked teas are also on the menu. Think freshly-baked granary bread and delicious home-made cakes, locally smoked salmon and aged farmhouse cheeses.

Wicked teas and damson gin

It's also well worth staying in for the evening, when the honesty bar – stocked with home-made damson gin, quince vodka and a dozen malt whiskies – comes into its own.

But it's the hands-on touch and attention to detail of hosts Ian Hawkins and Stewart Dunkley that makes this stylish abode so special, with hand-written menus, a resident cat, vases of fresh flowers and classical music creating a relaxed sense of ease. If you can tear yourselves away from the bedrooms, the garden is awash with flowers. (Betrothals are apparently rife here).

© Room for Romance