Recently, Rowley and I were invited to stay at The Old Swan and Minster Mill in the Cotswolds. Now owned by the De Savary family, these gorgeous old buildings have been sensitively and beautifully restored and with some modern features to suit our desire for home comforts, it is the most wonderful retreat for a country house party, a wedding weekend or simply a night away from city life.
We were met by friendly, welcoming and unpretentious staff who showed us to our room before inviting us for cream tea, our room was lovely with complimentary local beers, fruits and a decanter of home made sloe gin! The uneven floors and expanse of history blended perfectly with the modern shower and flat screen TV to ensure our stay was perfect. A cream tea with butter at perfect temperature may seem a tiny thing to comment on but attention to detail is what this place does best, thoughtful and customer focused is what sprung to mind at every stage of our visit, including the penguin hot water bottle to warm our toes at bedtime!
Amber De Savary spent the morning showing me around officially and talked me through the plans for the Spa and the Great Hall, this will be built over the Windrush River and will have a glass dancefloor so revellers can watch the water under their feet! As we checked out after a long relaxed sleep, a wonderful breakfast of locally sourced produce and a walk through the country lanes, I bumped into famous entrepreneur and owner of the Old Swan and Minster Mill Peter De Savary who was a joy to chat to, he told me some amazing stories about Madonna's wedding in Skibo Castle which the family owned at the time and of a golf club wielding Japanese business man who thought his hot water bottle in his bed was an unwanted animal visitor!
Our stay here will be in our hearts for a long time, I cannot say enough how welcome and relaxed we felt, Rowley told me it was the nicest place he'd ever stayed in and I tend to agree. If you have a big guest list and not sure what to do with all those distant relatives, halve the list and book everyone here for the weekend, get to know your guests again and spend quality time with them. We think weddings should last longer than a day and this the perfect place to do it! Call us if you want to know more about our stay, I'll be promoting this venue well as it's truly wonderful and a breath of fresh air in luxury retreats.
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