No 131

The slightly sleepy Cotswolds town of Cheltenham might not be the first place you’d think to look for a lively and self-assuredly stylish boutique hotel. But that’s just what you’ll find in No. 131, a grand Georgian villa facing the town’s Imperial Gardens, once derelict but lovingly restored over the space of several years by restaurateurs and hoteliers Sam and Georgie Pearman. They’ve got a way with restaurants, and No. 131’s is no exception, serving contemporary (and painstakingly well-sourced) English classics in a number of attractive spaces, from elegant private dining rooms to a cocktail bar, formerly a garage, with a retractable roof and outdoor heaters for fair-weather al fresco dining.

But, as essential as the tables may be, the rooms are anything but an afterthought. They’re a mix of country-house charm and urban-industrial chic, and they’re as stylish as the restaurant — which is to say, quite stylish indeed. And, though they don’t hammer you over the head with opulence, they’re quietly as comfortable and luxe as most any we’ve seen, with comforts old and new alike, from Nespresso machines and Apple TV movie libraries to hand-knit hot-water bottles and extravagant bathrooms furnished with 100 Acres bath products. In short, they’re better than they strictly need to be — which, in our world, is high praise indeed.