The Slaughters Manor House

The Slaughters Manor House is a 17th-century Cotswold stone manor in the centre of Lower Slaughter, set in five acres of formal gardens beside the River Eye. Andrew Brownsword Hotels runs it as a 19-bedroom country house hotel with a cocktail bar, a croquet lawn, a tennis court and a billiards room, and its restaurant is led by executive chef Nik Chappell, who trained as a fine artist before he cooked.

The house can be taken whole. Exclusive use covers the Manor, the Coach House and the grounds, with all 19 bedrooms and suites, and seats 86 at dinner or holds 120 for an evening reception. On those nights the restaurant, a pale panelled room with arched windows onto the garden, is cleared to become a private dance floor, and the Pink Lounge, with its plasterwork ceiling and open fire, is the house's own suggestion for a live band or a DJ.

Smaller occasions stay in the rooms off the hall. The Pink Lounge seats 22 and is licensed for ceremonies, and the Oxford Room, which looks over the gardens, takes 22 for a private lunch or dinner. Menus for private dining are written for the group, with wines chosen by the sommelier.