Tucked away in the sleepy village of Crudwell in the Cotswolds, The Rectory feels like the kind of place you imagine when you picture an English countryside escape. With its French château-inspired architecture, sprawling grounds, beautiful gardens, and cozy interiors, it has an effortlessly romantic country-manor feel.

And, honestly, it ended up being one of the highlights of our entire trip.

Why We Chose The Rectory

We actually found The Rectory for a pretty practical reason. We had been staying in Bath before heading into the Cotswolds, and we wanted somewhere that would make a good home base without adding a long drive to our itinerary.

Crudwell ended up being a great location for what we wanted. It gave us the peaceful countryside experience we were looking for while still allowing us to get in the car and explore other Cotswold villages during the day.

There was also an added bonus: The Rectory is part of the Hyatt family, so we were able to book our stay using Hyatt points. Getting to stay somewhere this beautiful with points made the experience even better.

First Impressions

Our first impression was basically: wow.

The Rectory was even more beautiful than we had envisioned. I don’t think I fully appreciated from the photos just how grand the arrival would feel. There’s a beautiful entrance and fence along the road, and the property has such a lovely presence from the street.

It immediately felt less like a traditional hotel and more like we had arrived at a beautiful English country home.

Once inside, that feeling continued. The property has a very relaxed, lived-in elegance that makes you want to slow down and stay awhile.

The Room

One of the things that stood out to us was the size of the room. Compared with some of the other hotels we stayed at during our trip, our room at The Rectory felt incredibly spacious.

It was also extremely comfortable, and one of my favorite things was being able to keep the windows open during our stay. We visited in autumn, and having that cool countryside breeze coming through while looking out toward the gardens made the room feel especially cozy.

The little details also made the room feel much more special than a typical hotel room. There was a French press for coffee, an old-fashioned radio, bubble bath, bath salts, hand cream, and other thoughtful touches that fit perfectly with the character of the property.

It was the kind of room where you actually wanted to spend time rather than simply use it as a place to sleep.

The Grounds

The Rectory has quite a large property, and there are so many different areas to explore.

There is a pool, expansive grassy areas, and plenty of space that would be wonderful for families traveling with children or guests bringing a dog. But one of my favorite parts was the back of the property.

From there, you get beautiful views of the church, along with tables where you can sit outside, have lunch, read a book, or simply enjoy the surroundings.

There’s also a lovely lily pond that adds to the peaceful atmosphere.

Inside, the property has the same feeling. There are little nooks throughout the hotel where you can sit with a drink, relax, or get lost in a book. It doesn’t feel like every space has been designed simply to be walked through. Instead, there are places that encourage you to actually stop and enjoy them.

Breakfast

Breakfast was another highlight of our stay, especially because it was included with our room.

There was a great spread of pastries, yogurt and toppings, fresh juices, and even alcoholic drinks like mimosas and Bloody Marys.

Then there were the hot breakfast options, including a full English breakfast and Eggs Benedict, among others.

It was the kind of breakfast that made it very easy to linger a little longer than planned.

One morning the service was a little slow, but it wasn’t enough to take away from the overall experience. With the beautiful setting and variety of food, breakfast still felt like a special part of staying at The Rectory.

The Potting Shed

While we didn’t eat at the hotel’s main restaurant, we did have dinner at The Potting Shed, which is located just across the way and is also owned by the hotel.

We absolutely loved it.

The restaurant is cozy and inviting, the food was wonderful, and the staff were fantastic. It had a completely different, more casual atmosphere than the main hotel, but it fit perfectly with the overall character of the property.

If you’re staying at The Rectory, I would definitely recommend adding The Potting Shed to your plans.

The Little Details

One thing I really appreciated about The Rectory was how much information they gave us when we arrived.

They provided a printed guide with nearby footpaths, things to do in the area, information about the history of the hotel, and even the drink menu.

Those details made the stay feel more personal and helped us get a better sense of the surrounding area without having to figure everything out ourselves.

What We Loved

Honestly, we loved almost everything about our stay.

The property was beautiful, the room was spacious and comfortable, breakfast was excellent, the grounds were peaceful, and there were so many cozy places throughout the hotel to sit and relax.

But more than anything, I think it was the atmosphere that made The Rectory special.

After spending our days driving around and exploring the Cotswolds, coming back to this quiet country manor felt like exactly what we wanted from the trip.

There wasn’t anything major we would change. One of our breakfasts was slower than we’d expected, but aside from that, our stay was nearly perfect.

Would We Stay Again?

Absolutely.

In fact, The Rectory ended up being the highlight of our trip.

We originally chose it because of its convenient location and the fact that we could use Hyatt points. We expected it to be a nice place to stay while exploring the Cotswolds.

What we didn’t expect was to love the hotel itself as much as we did.

The Rectory isn’t just a convenient base for exploring the Cotswolds—it is somewhere I would genuinely recommend building part of your trip around. It’s peaceful, beautiful, full of character, and has that rare feeling of making you want to slow down and enjoy where you are.

For us, it was the perfect combination of a beautiful English country manor, a comfortable home base, and a place we actually looked forward to returning to at the end of each day.

And sometimes, those are the hotels you remember long after the trip is over.