Cowley Manor Experimental

Maybe it’s the fact that this thoroughly classical Italianate manor is said to be the place where Lewis Carroll first met Alice Liddell that piqued the Experimental Group’s interest. Or maybe it was Cowley Manor’s decidedly modern approach to boutique-style luxury hospitality — showing respect but not excessive reverence for its 19th-century setting. One way or another, this well-loved country-house hotel now flies the flag of its French owners, as Cowley Manor Experimental.

In typical Experimental style this means an interior makeover by the Parisian designer Dorothée Meilichzon, who has created a unique atmosphere in Cowley Manor’s 31 rooms — a mix of English Italianate country-house pomp, Parisian cool, and the occasional nod to Alice in Wonderland. Even the coziest rooms in the main house are properly luxurious, with rain showers or deep soaking tubs, while the larger ones add four-poster beds, balconies, terraces, or all of the above.

One holdover from the previous era is the lavish C-Side spa, one of the finest in the country — a masterpiece in Cotswold stone with a spectacular glass-walled indoor pool. The gardens and grounds, of course, are as majestic as ever. And the Experimental group can claim particular expertise in the realms of food and drink; here the kitchen is overseen by the highly regarded British chef Jackson Boxer, and the bar, now an Experimental Cocktail Club production, features a menu that’s tailored to its idyllic country-house setting.