Barnsley House

A dipped-in-golden-syrup Cotswold country house meets disco glitterball. Barnsley has those beautiful Rosemary Verey gardens, proper stone fireplaces and knockout bathrooms (stay in Room One and you can lie side by side in twin baths). The food is worth driving for; a mammoth DVD collection is a rainy day’s dream; and champagne kirs have just the right kick. There in the shade of grandfatherly trees, with Laurie Lee views of cows grazing, is the spa, a mellow little nook with exactly the right amount of know-how: great massages, Ren facials, powerful shiatsu. You’ll see just as many men wandering about zombie-style as women. Oh, and Elizabeth Hurley – who lives nearby – sells her bikinis here.