Bruern Cottages

About

In the heart of the Cotswolds, between Chipping Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold and Burford, Bruern Holiday Cottages are one of the few holiday rentals to welcome guests just as a hotel does - for a single night or for eight weeks, both during the week and at the weekend. Even though Bruern is self-catering, you are not expected to entirely provide for yourself on your first night, so when you arrive, there are essentials like milk, butter, eggs and sausages waiting for you, along with a few little luxuries like champagne, homemade cakes and local artisan cheese with biscuits. Twice National Winners of VisitBritain’s England for Excellence Award, and current holders of EnjoyEngland’s Gold Award for quality, Bruern Holiday Cottages set a new benchmark for self-catering when Judy Astor first started converting the properties in 1992, at one time comprising eight of the properties holding VisitBritain’s top grade awards, has compared with only 132 for the whole of the rest of Great Britain. Bruern offers the comfort and attention to detail of a good hotel, combined with the privacy, independence and space of home, amidst the civilised ease and style of English Country House living. However, there are four things that really set Bruern apart from other self-catering holiday rentals. Firstly, it is a paradise for children, with three playgrounds, a play cabin, a wendy house, who, toy cars and bicycles for every child and in every size - and above all other children. Lastly, there’s a games room with, pool, table tennis and table football, for older teens (and maybe older-than-teens), for whom the above are a little too babyish. Secondly, there is the decor, which eschews the monotonous orthodoxies of minimalism, being unashamedly English Country House style – the atmosphere is elegant yet comfortable, and all the properties have log fires, and canopied or four poster beds. Thirdly, the gardens, which are a blend of formal and informal elements, feature topiary, cutting gardens with box hedges, gazebos, little orchards, statuary, a wisteria tunnel, and a vast hundred yard herbaceous border. There is barely a square foot of the entire estate that has not been planned out with a passion for landscape and an eye for detail. In 1999 Bruern’s gardens were even awarded a marking of 100 out of 100 by VisitBritain that neither we nor anyone else has ever bettered; and nor will it ever be bettered, unless the laws of arithmetic change. Finally, there is the indoor swimming pool, gym and spa, which looks out on to a separate Italianate garden and terrace, with a classical portico to sit beneath in the shade. Cited by Tatler in 2009 as one of the “101 best spas in the world”, here you can book reflexology, massages, pedicures, manicures and facials. All in all, Bruern is a place that is simply unique – over eighty percent of our business comes from returning guests, and of new guests the majority come from personal word-of-mouth recommendations. We haven’t had a review score on TripAdvisor of less than 5/5 (Excellent) in 3 years – if you read the reviews, you’ll see why.