Good Hotel Guide Review
Opened to give visitors to Carole Bamford’s Daylesford Organic farm shop somewhere to stay, this wisteria-draped, Cotswold stone, 18th-century Tollgate Inn quickly earned the moniker the ‘poshest pub in Britain’. A decade after it was stripped back to the bones and refurbished, it has now become a ‘bit of a Cotswolds institution’, says a Guide insider. A modern take on a traditional country inn, with exposed stone and oak timbers, it is as organic as you please, with bespoke furniture by local artisans. Sustainability is the watchword here, as it is at sister inn The Fox (see Oddington). Rustic-chic bedrooms in pale (not wishy-washy) hues – from mini Mouse to Rabbit, in the eaves, with handmade four-poster and separate sitting room – have an espresso machine, home-made biscuits, Bamford bath products. Three ground-floor garden rooms are dog friendly. There is a bar and terrace menu, while ‘delicious local and seasonal produce’ is served in the dining room from an open kitchen. Maybe wild-garlic dumpling, morel, broad bean; Cornish turbot with sweet cicely, gnocchi, lobster bisque; roast fillet and braise of pork, ember-baked kohlrabi, picked mustard seed, apple.
Hotel details
Address
Church Street
Kingham
Chipping Norton
Oxfordshire
OX7 6YA
England
Telephone
Bedrooms
8. 4 on ground floor with step up, bathrooms not adapted, plus 28 in self-catering cottages spread across Kingham, Daylesford Farm and Daylesford village.
Open
all year except 1 week early Jan. Food served Wed–Sun.
Facilities
bar, restaurant, private dining room, front and rear terrace, in-room smart TV, EV charging at Daylesford Organic, parking, restaurant and bar suitable for wheelchair.
Background music
relaxed, multi-genre in restaurant, bar, back terrace.
Children
all ages welcome. 1 family room. Cots £15 a night, extra beds £45.
Dogs
allowed in designated ground-floor bedrooms, in bar, on terraces, not in restaurant (£15 a night, bed, bowls).
Credit cards
Amex, MC, Visa.
Prices
B&B doubles from £175, singles from £150. À la carte £60, 5-course tasting menu £75.