We opened the doors to our rooms – wow – the decor is stylish but with quirky fun touches. There are firepits, festoon lights and cosy sheepskin rugs draped over the seats. Ours were located off the courtyard – and what a stunning area that is. Very handily, there are interconnecting suites for families. We settled in with a cocktail before heading to our rooms. It manages to offer olde world charm yet it has been brought bang up to date. There’s the line-up of turquoise vintage bikes all ready for guests to potter around on, the obligatory rack of Hunter wellies, and head inside the cosy bar and you’ll find blond wood beams, tasteful decor and a welcoming fire. But then you start to see that all is not what it seems.

Your first impression is of the car park. At first glance, the hotel doesn’t have the chocolate box appeal of its Cotswold counterparts and it is on a busy road. We rocked up with our kids in tow (it promises to be both chic and child-friendly: a hard combination to pull off) and a late lunchtime crowd was spilling out of the restaurant. It has been named by The Sunday Times as one of the top places to stay in the UK and has gained rather a following since it opened just over a year ago, transforming a pub, which dates back to the 16th century, into a boutique hotel. There’s quite the buzz about Wild Thyme & Honey.

Wild thyme players