Review of Lower Slaughter Manor, by Angela Moore

We arrived at Lower Slaughter Manor on a grimly autumnal day: dripping, dark and depressing. So how is it that, a mere half-hour later, I am able to gaze approvingly out the window and think thoughts of mists and mellow fruitfulness?

Staff had checked us in and whisked our bags upstairs with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of friendly professionalism. I had been settled into a very comfy armchair by a very warm fire. A pot of tea had been placed just within arms' reach and left to gently steep and steam. I cast aside all plans for brisk walks, picked up a copy of a local Cotswold magazine and buried myself in news of the latest fundraising attempts of the Stow-in-the-Wold boy scout troop. Heaven.

This instant ability to relax you is one of Lower Slaughter Manor's best attributes. It is the perfect atmosphere for a quick, peaceful break from city life - not too stuffy, like some of the tie-for-dinner classic country houses, and not too could-be-in-Hoxton, like some of the uber-hip new breed. It's a genial mix of traditional country house hotel and luxury bolthole. Because it's small - only 19 rooms - it offers the personal service levels of a proper boutique hotel. And the setting is unbeatable. Lower Slaughter is Gloucestershire's most laughably, idyllically lovely village, all honeyed Cotswold stone, ancient cottages with pin-neat rose gardens and swans drifting past on a curve of the River Eye.

It's romantic in here, too - our suite, Antoinette, has a vast four-poster, complete with a mini-step ladder so you can get yourself up there after dinner. "These bedside lamps aren't great for reading, though", I say to my husband. "Is it sherry in that decanter?", he replies. "Oooh, good bathroom," I say. "Underfloor heating, roll-top tub, rainshower. Properly fluffy towels and robes, too." "I-pod dock. Free wifi. Flatscreen," he says, approvingly. Men.

Rooms in the main house vary gently in décor: some more traditional, with pretty hints of chintz, and others classically handsome with a design twist. Pick one of the eight rooms in the Coach House if you prefer more contemporary décor. The two Garden Suites are spectacular, with private gardens and hot tubs. Take the Coach House as a whole if you want a private party - rooms can interconnect and the hotel will organise drinks parties or summer barbecues just for you.

Back to one of the drawing rooms for pre-dinner drinks, where we sink into buxom armchairs to read the menu. Yum yum: seasonal, with interesting twists on the classics, courtesy rising star chef David Kelman. I dither pleasantly over smoked quail and venison carpaccio, both locally sourced, while the sommelier gently sings the praises of a Douro Valley red to my Portuguese-wine-sceptic husband (it's delicious.) No-one bats an eyelid when I ask for no foie gras with my beef fillet. The dining room is darkly glamorous, with chocolate walls under a vast Murano chandelier. In summer, it opens out into walled terraces and lawns under spreading beech trees. I can just overhear an American couple raving over the fish. And the coffee. And the service. In turn, we rave over the individual baked Alaska, flambeed at the table. Brilliant.

Nothing left to do but to totter off to our step-laddered bed and contemplate tomorrow. Tennis? Antiquing in Bourton-on-the-Water? A spot of trout fishing, or an amble through the hills on horseback? Then I remember that I didn't finish the article about the Stow-on-the-Wold boy scouts' fundraising efforts. I left it in the sitting room by the fire, next to that particularly comfortable armchair…