Fancy a late summer weekend away? Holly Heywood has found the perfect place.
Cirencester was known to the Romans as Corinium, giving you some idea of the age of the settlement here on the River Churn. The largest town in the Cotswolds, Cirencester has all the charm you would imagine, complete with country houses, landscape gardens and the oldest agricultural college in England. For all things Roman, don’t forget to stop off at the Corinium Museum.
During our time in Cirencester, we stayed at Ingleside House. It represents the best of Gatsby-era charm and individuality. The hotel is bracketed by the Barn theatre, and the hotel’s restaurant and bar, aptly named Teatro. The hotel is a Grade II listed building, sensitively updated to enable every creature comfort. Each room in the house is individually designed, and that design extends to every detail from the deco shapes of the mirrors to the door furniture.
We stayed in one of the super king rooms, resplendent in pink and green and luxuriously furnished with accent chairs, and a vast bed with plump pillows and cloud like bedding. The focus of the room was a deep bath tub, set on a plinth and with a view of the sky. Extra bonus points were needed for the jar of bath crystals, soft robes and candlelight beside the bath.
Function isn’t forgotten in design here. The Nespresso machine trundles effortlessly from its shelf beside the desk. Milk and water inhabit a (totally silent) fridge, and biscuits beckon from a small cloche on the desk. The shower is powerful, the towels soft and the toiletries are by Molton Brown. You know that you are being pampered, but at the same time the experience is incredibly comfortable. The staff are helpful, personable and utterly unobtrusive.
After a fine night’s sleep, we were happy to enjoy breakfast in Teatro. This represented a fine exploration of local produce. The breakfast menu includes all manner of choices from granola with yoghurt to eggs and omelettes with a variety of fillings. We chose the full English, replete with scrambled or fried eggs, delicious sausage, bacon and black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms and beans. The meat products were full of flavour, as were the accompanying veggies. So often mushrooms and tomatoes seem like an afterthought, but here is Teatro they were a fine supporting cast.
The theatre is well attended, so don’t forget to check out the latest programme. On the day we visited, the cast of The Scarlet Pimpernel were out to promote their production, giving you some idea of what you might expect to see here.
We stayed as guests of Ingleside. Opinions are our own.
