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Located in a magnificent Edwardian manor house on Gloucester Road, in the heart of the Cotswolds, Le Spa is a premier hotel, day spa and detox retreat, all rolled into one. The Red Restaurant fits seamlessly into a setting such as this with an interior that can be termed as contemporary with a modish touch. During summer the terrace could be just the place to sip a glass of wine before a full-blown evening meal.

Smoked duck and orange salad garnished with a sweet chilli dressing, and chicken liver parfait with radish and shallot salad served with char-grilled bread could set the tone. To follow, there could be roasted pork loin wrapped in Parma ham served on a celeriac mash with caramelized apples and a sweet cider sauce, or fillet steak stuffed with stilton wrapped in smoked bacon.

Come winter and the craving for comfort begins to intensify, and Red Restaurant winter warmers such as chef's pies of steak and Guinness, and chicken and mushroom come to the rescue. The Red Restaurant welcomes non-members of Le Spa.

This ancient inn has a long history of lifting the hearts of travellers and visitors with the excellence of its victuals and warmth of its welcome. It is, of course, for debate as to whether or not the Cotswolds produces more congenial hotels and pubs with restaurants than anywhere else in Britain but I know where my money would go.

Sarah Payton and her team go in for traditional cooking, in line with everything else in the hotel and concentrate on basics rather than flowery exercises in self-expression. A starter could be selected from smoked duck with sweet onion and Pancetta tart, a poached egg and Bearnaise sauce, or black pudding and cheddar cheese with hash browns, apple puree and a mustard butter sauce, or more simply pan fried chicken livers with onion marmalade.

Braised duck legs served with Dubonnet and orange jus make a refreshing change from the more traditional breast of duck, and the roast rump of beef backed up with root vegetables, parsnip puree and roast potatoes does favours to everybody concerned. A weakness for anything to do with passion fruit would lead me to the soufflé of that ilk, even further enlivened with poached rhubarb and creme fraiche made with limes, but should that temptation fail to move you there are plenty of delightful options.

Standing beside the Ampney Brook and overlooking the village cricket green, the 16th century Crown of Crucis has adapted well to the needs of the 21st century and offers a lovely English country house hotel ambience to its guests.

All twenty-five bedrooms are decorated in an elegant style and overlook a central Mediterranean style courtyard. So, after relaxing in the home from home atmosphere, why not enjoy a traditional English afternoon tea there?

With its attractive yellow and blue décor, the restaurant offers a smart and cheerful environment to dine in. Dishes such as pan-fried pigeon breast with Parma ham and raspberry vinaigrette, confit belly of pork served with savoury cabbage, bacon and crushed potatoes with a rosemary jus, or a ginger and spring onion risotto all arrive promptly, supported by generous helpings of vegetables.

The beamed bar offers a large selection of draught and real ales alongside a list of wines, many of which are served by the glass.

Even somewhere so august as Cirencester needs its Chinese and Tanyans fills the slot with the customary style that one associates with the eclectic mixture of county and college peculiar to the town. A clever shop conversion, Tanyans offers most of the traditional Chinese dishes and strays little from that path. Expect well-prepared and authentic delights such as those enshrined in their gourmet dinner, which starts with a chef's hors d'ouevre, through prawns wrapped in lettuce to the ever popular crispy aromatic duck. Prawns with green pepper in black bean sauce, chicken with cashew nuts in yellow bean sauce, dry shredded beef and sweet and sour pork follow in steady succession, all served with fried rice, the student's universal favourite (must be something lacking in college diets).

House wine starts at £9.50 and there is, for a Chinese restaurant which to be fair do not always excel on our forms of homage to Bacchus, an erudite and interesting list, almost entirely from France, with which to toy.