3 of a kind

Hotels in Cheltenham

HOTEL DU VIN & BISTRO

Parabola Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3AQ 0044-124-258-8450, hotelduvin.com/hotels/cheltenham

This 100-year-old hotel is in the chic Montpellier district of the spa town. It stands in a quiet tree-lined road of Regency buildings and is near the promenade with its smart shops.

The hotel was recently refurbished in a contemporary-classic design that respects original details. A spiral staircase is the centre-point of the French-style bistro where you can dine beneath a wine-glass chandelier. The restaurant spills on to a terrace and garden. There’s also a spa.

RoomsThere are 49 bedrooms comprising various sized doubles and seven suites. They come with stylish furniture, Egyptian cotton bed linen, CD player and radio (CDs can be borrowed from reception), free internet and tea- and coffee-making facilities with fresh milk. Doubles cost from £250 (€299).

THE QUEENS

The Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1NN, 0044-124-251-4754, mercure.com

This grand dame of the city was built 150 years ago and – perhaps attracted by the name – royalty has stayed here, including a prince. With its classical facade, it still retains a sense of grandeur and is now owned by the French group Mercure.

Queens is on a tree-lined street near the city centre and in the smart and lively Montpellier area. It is a mile and a half from the racecourse. Ask for a room at the front of the hotel for a view over a park.

For swimming and tennis, guests use the Cheltenham Ladies College Sports Hall, so you can check out the facilities enjoyed by the refined women of tomorrow.

RoomsThere are 79 rooms (some with four-poster beds), four of them interconnecting, one with disability access and two family rooms with a sofa bed and spaces for cots and extra beds. Doubles from £165 (€197).

THE WHEATSHEAF INN

West End, Northleach, Gloucestershire GL54 3EZ

0044-145-186-0244, cotswoldswheatsheaf.com

Horses and carriages used to be kept in the stables that come with this former coaching inn 20 miles from Cheltenham city while, reputedly, their owners (including highwaymen) would hold wild, drink-fuelled parties upstairs. It still retains its equestrian links. It is owned by Sam and Georges Pearman: he was a rugby player who trained as a chef at Langans Brasserie, while Georges was a corporate lawyer.

Six years ago, they opened the Royal Well Tavern in Cheltenham which was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in its first year and, soon afterwards, they bought the Wheatsheaf Inn and did it up. It retains the rustic feel of a traditional country pub and hotel, but with contemporary touches.

The interior is furnished in a mix of antique and vintage finds including big linen sofas, velvet armchairs and mid-century French lighting, that sit alongside contemporary pieces. The Wheatsheaf holds temporary art exhibitions with a recent one devoted to work by Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.

You’ll ideally need a car to stay here if you’re going to the races, but there are buses into Cheltenham.

RoomsThere are 14 rooms individually decorated in shades of olive, inky blues and slate greys, or covered in high camp, country-themed wallpapers, linens and velvets by Stroud-based Lewis Wood. Some rooms have free-standing William Holland roll-top copper baths, high pressure CP Hart drench showers, mohair throws and unusual artefacts picked up by the owners in Europe and Parisian flea markets. Doubles from £120 (€144)