Step inside Cowley Manor, a refreshed 300-plus-year-old spa hotel in the Cotswolds
Experience bucolic bliss at Cowley Manor, recently renovated by architects De Matos Ryan and interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon

Nestled within Churn Valley – a green swathe deep in the heart of the Cotswolds that’s almost surreal in its bucolic fantasy of the English countryside – Cowley Manor has been a boutique hotel since at least the turn of the millennium, but it’s taken Experimental Group to shake things up at this 300-plus-year-old country-house property.
Cowley Manor Experimental
After the international hospitality group took over the Italianate-style manse last year, it embarked on an energetic, ambitious restoration project led by London-based architects, De Matos Ryan. For starters, the seductive, tactile mood-board of Paris-based interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon’s skilfully pairs whimsical touches – such as subtle decorative nods to Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll rumoured to be a frequent visitor, by way of checkerboard-patterned rugs and rabbit head door knocks, with large windows that frame the Arcadian gardens.
The rehabilitation of the manor continues with the recent creation of a new pavilion that adds five high-ceilinged guest rooms. Cued by the materials and design of the main house, De Matos Ryan have paired locally quarried Cotswold stone with UK-grown Douglas Fir, and maple to create a garden-wrapped wing that fairly breathes in simpatico with tall arched doorways and expansive terraces. Private and apart, yet organically fused to the main house, the pavilion, the architects say, reads ‘as a secondary detached building volume that is respectful of its context’.
Equally contextual is the restaurant where head chef Jackson Boxer (Notting Hill’s Orasay and Selfridges’ Jackson Boxer at the Corner) serves up a locally sourced harvest in a grand dining room lined with antique wood wall panels, empire ceiling mouldings and playful tables that look like modular chess pieces. On the menu are resolutely British fare and Gloucestershire produce such as Hereford sirloin served up with smoked bone marrow, Cornish crab, smoked honey and trout.
Cowley Manor Experimental is located at Cowley, Cheltenham GL53 9NL, cowleymanorexperimental.com
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Fluid workspaces: is the era of prescriptive office design over?
We discuss evolving workspaces and track the shape-shifting interiors of the 21st century. If options are what we’re after in office design, it looks like we’ve got them
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This collection of slow furniture is a powerful ode to time
A serene exhibition of David Dolcini's 'Time-made' collection has fast-tracked its place into our hearts and homes
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji Published
-
Is the Pragma P1 the most sustainable watch yet?
Geneva-based brand Pragma combines industrial design with real sustainable credentials
By Hannah Silver Published
-
For a taste of Greece, head to this playful new restaurant in London’s Chelsea
Pachamama Group’s latest venture, Bottarga, dishes up taverna flavours in an edgy bistro-style setting
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
At The Lavery, Anglo-Italian cooking caters to London’s design obsessive
The former residence of Irish painter Sir John Lavery now houses an elegant restaurant where Georgian classicism meets 20th-century design favourites
By Ben McCormack Published
-
A buzzy Korean pop-up becomes a permanent fixture in East London
Chef Joo Won has turned his Calong pop-up permanent in the arty enclave of Stoke Newington
By Ben McCormack Published
-
New London restaurant Alba is a sun-soaked affair
Its name meaning ‘sunrise’ in Italian, Alba is a new Amalfi-inspired restaurant set to shine in Knightsbridge
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Now boarding Air Anya: Anya Hindmarch’s ode to aviation’s golden age
Anya Hindmarch’s new London concept store and travel accessories collection celebrate the glamour of 1970s air travel
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
La Môme London finds its home at The Berkeley hotel
All the razzle-dazzle of Cannes and Monte Carlo is wrapped up in this one fabulous dining room and terrace in London
By Ben McCormack Published
-
The new dawn of the London sandwich shop
The appeal of a quick meal between two slices of bread has long held sway in the UK. We look back on the rise of the sandwich shop and explore the new wave of London venues that are making it a more stylised experience
By Toyo Odetunde Published
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy design
There’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
By Sofia de la Cruz Published