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The Thistle Cheltenham can be found just minutes off the M5 and not far from Cheltenham's town centre. Surrounded by tranquil landscaped grounds, the contemporary hotel is popular among both locals and visitors not only because it carries forward the town's spa legacy with its very own steam room, spa and indoor heated swimming pool, but also since it caters for weddings and special occasions and offers modern conference facilities.

The hotel encourages guests to dine at its Burford Restaurant right through the day and into the night. With brightly decorated sofas and ambient lighting, the recently refurbished interior offers the ideal setting for an enjoyable meal. So get set to sample home-cooked British and modern European dishes that include well known favourites and newer creations. A well constructed list of classic and New World wines provides added pleasure.

For those who wish to have something lighter, Thistle's Lounge Bar offers snacks and light meals.

Taking its name from the black Hamburg grapes which suspend seductively above you as you dine in the Conservatory restaurant, the Grapevine is well sited in the centre of the town that styles itself 'the antiques centre of the Cotswolds'. So after a hard day's bargaining you may be more than usually ready for a little tender culinary care, where cheerful staff and agreeable surroundings smooth your cares away.

A smoked duck and fig salad with truffle dressing leads off a selection of attractive starters that include a terrine of foie gras and confit duck, Thai spiced beetroot soup and that sturdy favourite a Caesar salad with anchovies, smoked chicken and parmesan. The roast monkfish with confit cabbage and wild mushrooms creates a good flavour-mix, and pan-fried calves liver with crispy bacon and mashed potato are hardy favourites, though not always prepared quite as carefully as these are at the Grapevine. In the pudding department the simple chocolate and honey brulee served with coconut ice cream sets a high standard on which to complete an enjoyable meal before beginning to worry again about that antique chaise longue you 'invested' in earlier during a carefree moment.

After it was built in the early part of the fourteenth century, the creeper clad manor house of Rangeworthy has been the home of several persons of distinction. This distinguished house is today the Rangeworthy Court Hotel, renowned for its character and ever-present old world charm.

In the summer months the garden provides the perfect ambience to take in the fine British sunshine, whilst in the winter you could sit by the crackling log fire and sip on a glass of wine or a whisky-mac.

The restaurant at Rangeworthy Court offers freshly created English cuisine in the form of a delicious regularly changing hot buffet. A traditional smoked salmon rosette could give way to roasted sirloin of beef and red wine sauce with a mini herb Yorkshire pudding or a pine nut and basil crusted halibut baked in the oven and served with baby glazed onions.

Thirteen ensuite bedrooms offer modern conveniences and views of the private gardens.

This handsome 17th/18th century town house, clearly the property of some local grandee in the prosperous past, is now serving the community in other, but just as meaningful, ways. Right in the centre of the beautiful country town of Chipping Campden, with excellent shopping and crammed full of character and fine buildings, The Kings is well placed to provide the ideal haven for comfort and convenience.

In winter there are substantial log fires, in summer the gardens make a pleasant setting for al fresco meals and drinking. And should you be completing the 100 mile Cotswold Way from Bath here, where better than to afford yourself some recovery time.

In a dining room dominated by an inglenook fireplace and a large wood panelled settle expect to find modern British food served by staff who take a genuine interest in their guests. Starters of pressed venison terrine, deep fried cod and salmon rice balls or a duo of smoked Scottish salmon with grated horseradish and home cooked gravadlax with cucumber noodles are the order of the day, with usually about eight dishes from which to choose.