Sluttery Travels: Cranbourne House Country B&B

Last weekend I had the pleasure of sampling one of the delightful Bed and Breakfast’s from EnjoyBedandBreakfast.com in the lovely Cotswold town of Bourton-on-the-Water. Cranbourne House is a small country bed and breakfast which has all the comforts of a country home but with sweet added luxuries along with it.

But before I even took my trip I faced the tough decision to choose which Bed and Breakfast to visit. The choice available on EnjoyBedandBreakfast.com is vast, I felt like a kid in a sweet shop browsing through all the gorgeous littly B&B’s. I was torn between Bournemouth, the Lake District and a place called Grendon Underwood. Who knew there were so many idyllic places to stay in the UK? But the Cotswolds won out for me partly for its locality and partly because, well it’s the Cotswolds! It’s where Midsummer Murders are filmed, right?

The stunning 1920's Cotswold stone building that is Cranbourne House has been renovated to a really high standard. It has a warm welcoming interior with stunning period features and most of the furniture is vintage or antique. I stayed in the Chedworth room which was filled with gorgeous antique French furniture and one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in. 

The breakfast is always a key part of my enjoyment of a B-and-B and Cranbourne House was sure not to disappoint. We sat at handsome antique dining room tables in the breakfast room where a large sideboard held an array of cereals, fruits, juices, yoghurt's and jams. The choice of cooked breakfast was between a Full English Breakfast featuring sausages from the local Adam Henson’s farm, and smoked trout with scrambled egg. Both were delicious and particularly satisfying when you know most of the ingredients are locally sourced. 

But probably the most enjoyable part of my stay at this wonderful B&B was how attentive, thoughtful and helpful the hosts Shona and Graham (with their gorgeous dog, Choco). They went out of their way to share their knowledge of the area, make recommendations of day trips offering us their own maps and guides. They had booked a local restaurant for us to eat at and took time every morning to chat to every guest over breakfast and take an interest in their day. This is what makes B&B’s so special. The personal and earnest approach from the owners can really make you feel at home. 

Prices at Cranbourne House start from £110. Other B&B's on Enjoybedandbreakfast.com vary in price, depending on

I was a guest courtesy of the nice people at Enjoy Bed & Breakfast.

Sluttery Travels: The Hotel on the Park, Cheltenham

This isn't a particularly easy hotel to find online. Simply known as 'The Hotel', doing a Google search wasn't exactly coming up trumps. But I'd seen one photo that convinced me that the search was worthwhile and it turns out that the hotel is also The Hotel on The Park. This is the photograph that convinced me to keep searching:

TELLY BATH! You'd stay in there for hours, shrivelling up like a happy little prune watching old films. Snazzy bath not enough for you? Fiiiiiine. Take a look at the rest of the hotel.

Oooh, those chairs are lovely.

That bed looks so comfy. I wouldn't ever encourage you to jump on hotel beds, but I don't think you'd need much encouragement at all.

Monochrome not your thing? Here's a look at another one of the 12 bedrooms. That quilt is so pretty.

And if you've managed to drag yourself out of the telly bath (why? why would you do that?), that's what the rest of the hotel actually looks like. I definitely want to come here. Or put a TV in my bathroom.

Rooms start at £155 per night via Chic Retreats and includes breakfast, champagne and chocs and Acqua di Parma products. Goodness, it's like they don't want you to leave the room. That's absolutely fine with me.

Sluttery Travels: Ellenborough Park

Horses, booze, good food and soft furnishings - pretty much the fail-safe recipe if you want to make a hotel that pleases me. My young man and I nipped down to Cheltenham at the weekend to check out the luscious honeycomb fortress that is Ellenborough Park, a stately with a scandalous history (hoorah!) set in stunning Cotswold countryside next to Cheltenham Racecourse (hello ponies).


Yum, right? Thanks to interior designer Nina Campbell it's easily as gorgeous on the inside. Check out this mural on the main staircase for starters.

Gorgeous. Let's have a quick perve over some of the other features.



So this is the sitting room: beautiful lighting and jewel colours that brought to mind my beloved Sharpham Park when in its prime. There's also a little hidden away balcony on the next level up with extra sofas, and a further hidden away room. Copies of The Field and Horse and Hound were littered around along with piles of board games, a wonderful drinks table, and - glory of glories - a harp, which I, er, may have played later that evening after a couple of Blackberry Sidecars.

Our bedroom

Even though we were only there for a night, 10 minutes walking around our room made me feel like I'd been on holiday for a week. I loved the restful, pretty wallpaper, blinds and free wi-fi, while himself oohed over the wallmounted flatscreen TV, iPod dock and plethora of very chi-chi shoe shiners, umbrellas and torches squirrelled away in the wardrobe.

Our bathroom

I squealed with joy and mirth when I saw that loo - a bona fide thunderbox! As well as that lovely roll top bath, his and hers sinks, and loads of fluffy towels, there's a very powerful waterfall shower and plenty of Penhaligon's Raquets goodies.

Speaking of goodies, the spa at Ellenborough Park is absurdly wonderful. Designed by the architect rather than Campbell, it's lots of rich reds which prove relaxing rather than sexy. I had a great full-body massage with Hannah, who along with Vicky were the most welcoming and talented therapists. My boyfriend spent an hour blissed out in the sauna and hydrotherapy pool then we both staggered into the steam room for a five minute blast before having a wander round the grounds and admiring the stone work.


The Tudor Room, where we had dinner, needs more work. Scallop and noodles was fine for a starter, but my main course version was seriously rubbery, and an omelette had a very odd powdered taste to it. If we'd only eaten there we would have been very disappointed.

Happily, we'd paid to have lunch in the beautiful dining room, a palace of rich wood, stone and perfectly-judged furnishing. Snug sofas and lovely tables with lots of happy mothers being treated to Mother's Day lunch were a great surrounding for very good lamb and leeks (Welsh chef, terrific). The German sommelier recommended a 2004 Riesling that knocked our socks off. £24 for two courses or £30 for three was very good value for top quality food in a first-class environment.

Speaking of first-class, we loved the boot room, stocked with Hunter wellies, thick socks and leather boots you can borrow to go on walks - it smelled gorgeous.


Ellenborough Park is blessed with good looks, excellent staff and strong detailing that can only blossom as newness, and powdery omelettes, are rubbed off. The hotel is running introductory offers, including £150 for an overnight stay with breakfast in a traditional room, and £295 for Celebration and Relaxation breaks.

Kat was a guest of Ellenborough Park

Design Porn: Lakes by Yoo, Cotswolds

Towards the end of last year, three of the Domestic Sluts were lucky enough to be invited to The Lakes by Yoo in the Cotswolds. And stunning property and holiday home development that puts nature before people. But they do this without compromising on design. Each home is created from the bottom up just for you and designers from Jade Jagger to Philippe Starck will take your ideas and (in the case of the Domestic Sluts) make you wish you never had to leave.


The homes are in a 650 acre plot of land, surrounding six lakes. You don't feel like you're in a holiday complex (although you have neighbours and there are fun things to do in the summer). In fact, you don't even notice the other homes. That's the point. You're meant to see 'nature first, people second'.


And while the views are stunning, the interiors are just as beautiful. Snug, sexy, cosy. We didn't move from that fire all night, and I could have slept all night in that globe chair.


And the details around the home are just as pretty. In fact, every inch of the home is covered in pretty things. Of course the best thing about it being your home is that you get to decide what goes in it. You've got complete creative control over how your home is designed, and which plot you want. Lakes By Yoo will be developed over time so homeowners won't come back to find lots of building work going on around them. There were houses being built when we stayed and we didn't even notice.


If I had a bath like this, I'd be very happy indeed. Always wrinkly, but always happy. We even had a little friendly swan who came to say hello when we arrived:


If you're in the market for a second home (or in the market to buy us one), Lakes By Yoo is an amazing haven. The home we stayed in over the weekend was delightful. The fact that the site is only 90 minutes from London makes it even better. So do the bunnies they've got in their pet room. Actually, the bunnies might just swing it for me. Interested? You could pay anything up to £4 million for a home (you're designing it after all), but you'd be very happy with one around the £800.000 mark as well. Hope over to the website to find out more. And to see videos of the bunnies.

Thanks to Lakes By Yoo for letting us play house in the Cotswolds!