At the fancy-yet-friendly The Fish Hotel you can choose to hole up in a treehouse, a soft-hued hotel suite complete with wood burner or a shepherds hut with your very own hot tub in the garden, all scattered around a sprawling estate minutes from the photogenic village of Broadway.
Review: Shepherd’s huts at The Fish Hotel
Choose your Fish fighter – hotel suite, lofty treehouse or snug shepherd’s hut? I stayed in the latter, and can attest that these are no ordinary shepherd’s huts – more shepherd’s holiday pads, complete with snug sitting areas, cloud-like double beds, tempting tin baths to soak in and your own little garden complete with a private hot tub. The huts are dotted about their own leafy glade, but they’re a short walk from the hotel’s modern, light-filled Lodge, a dining/lounging space you can head to for brekkie in the morning or a lazy cocktail before bed. I made a beeline for Hook, the hotel’s seafood restaurant. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a landlocked Cotswolds restaurant promising a coastal-inspired menu, but it delivered a wonderful fresh, informal menu perfect paired with white wine. They also do hotdogs you can grab for an informal lunch.
It’s tempting to just lounge about your hut or pour yourself another bath, but the best of the Cotswolds is on your doorstep. The Fish can provide you with walking maps and Muck Boots so you can head out on country trails – try a walk to Broadway Tower, an 18th century folly with sweeping views. The surrounding Farncombe Estate offers clay pigeon shooting, falconry or even a spot of duck herding if you fancy some organised fun.
Once you’ve tired your legs out, head back to your hut. There’s your own bubbly outdoor bath to relax them in, perhaps with bubbly by the glass as well – you can order it straight to the tub. I can’t really call The Fish’s huts a glamping stay – they feel more like a plush suite very far removed from the soggy socks and sleeping bags of camping trips, and would be warm in any weather thanks to wood-burning stoves plus underfloor heating and a rainfall shower (in a surprisingly spacious ensuite). My secret top tip if you’re booking for two? Stay in Boaty McBoatface, a hut hidden in its own grove with its own little lake to punt about on. It’s posh enough to be a honeymoon escape.
Shepherd’s huts from £395 per night, hotel rooms from £260 per night, The Fish Hotel
