With acres of green and pleasant land and rolling countryside, Cheshire is one huge English country garden. But amid this lush garden, eccentric and quirky flowers grow. Historic manor houses, now hotels, embrace unusual design features. An old school has become a pub. And old pubs are now boutique B&Bs. In Chester you’ll find a Roman Amphitheater and a good night out guaranteed. And in the surrounding fields and meadows, sleepy villages whisper their secrets of style, lavish spas and sustainability.
The best hotels in Cheshire are:
- Best for royal style: Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa, Booking.com
- Best for exploring the city: The Townhouse, Booking.com
- Best for rural views: The Pheasant Inn, Booking.com
- Best for food: The Bear’s Paw, Booking.com
- Best for spa lovers: Carden Park, Booking.com
- Best for dog-friendly stays: Cholmondeley Arms, cholmondeleyarms.co.uk
- Best for sustainability: Cottons, Booking.com
- Best for boutique stays: The Roebuck Inn, Roebuckinnmobberley.co.uk
- Best for quirky design: Oddfellows on The Park, Booking.com
- Best for luxury: The North Wing at Combermere Abbey, Booking.com
One of Crewe Hall’s 17 rooms
(Crew Hotel)
Neighborhood: Crewe
In one of Crewe Hall’s 117 rooms, our current queen has followed King George V and Queen Mary, who stayed here in 1913, and laid her head down in the Royal Suite. Set in 35 acres of Cheshire parkland and built by The Earl of Crewe, this Jacobean stately hall dates back to 1615 and retains many authentic features. The four poster rooms, suites and feature rooms display original fireplaces, lavish drapes and leaded windows, while the classic rooms and family rooms offer a more modern setting. Only 24 miles from Chester, but feels centuries away.
Price: Doubles from £75, suites from £175, B&B
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The Townhouse is in a prime spot in Cheshire
(Ginger Pixie Photography)
Neighborhood: Chester
The Roman city of Chester may have the largest intact amphitheater in the country, but when the sun goes down there’s a party atmosphere within the walls of the town centre. At the Townhouse they’ve embraced this. Of their 19 rooms, one is a two bedroomed apartment, named The Amphitheater Apartment, which sleeps up to eight guests, and one is ‘The Roman Vault Party Pad’, which sleeps up to 10 people and comes with karaoke and a beauty bar. It’s the perfect place to get ready for a night out in Chester. The Townhouse also has a ‘secret garden terrace’ if you want to enjoy a quiet breakfast.
Price: Doubles from £89, Roman Vault Party Pad from £199
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Soak up the sunshine on The Pheasant Inn’s terrace
(Pheasant Inn)
Neighborhood: Tattenhall
Ideally placed for quaint country views along The Sandstone Trail, The Pheasant Inn is a country pub with rooms that dates back to around 1650. Bare stone walls and wooden beams are the vibe, as you might expect from an old pub, but the 12 rooms are deserving of the hotel’s five-star status and are far more luxurious than you’d at first expect. The real star of your stay though, is the view. You can see for miles over The Cheshire Plain and North Wales and it’s an inspiring spot to eat lunch or enjoy a drink.
Read our full review of the Pheasant Inn
Price: Doubles from £85, Suites from £130, B&B
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The Bear’s Paw is loved by foodies
(Bear’s Paw)
Neighborhood: Warmingham
Situated in the village of Warmingham, in the clutch of market towns of Crewe, Sandbach and Middlewich, The Bear’s Paw is a village pub turned boutique hotel. Its 17 rooms are surprisingly spacious for a village pub, but this isn’t really a village pub; it’s a small hotel with big ideas. They even cater for weddings here. The menus are extensive and dishes can be modified to suit dietary requirements. Try the rillette for starters and the duck for main. Prices are very reasonable for such good food.
Price: Doubles from £75
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Step into Carden Park for a country estate with some serious charm
(Carden Park)
Neighborhood: Nr Broxton
Much more than a hotel, Carden Park is a country estate that features two golf courses, a vineyard, tennis courts, children’s adventure playgrounds and a sprawling spa that reaches both indoors and outdoors. The vast hotel has 196 rooms and three restaurants, including the AA Rosette awarded Redmond’s Restaurant. The spa garden is pulled straight from the pages of a luxury retreat handbook, and whether you get the weather for it or not, the three hot tubs, Scandi style sauna, hydrotherapy pool and fire pit make this adults-only wellness area a joy. There’s also a Bollinger champagne bar, the cherry on top.
Read our full review of Carden Park
Price: Doubles from £149, B&B
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This hotel is a top choice for those with their four-legged friend
(Cholmondeley Arms)
Neighborhood: Cholmondeley
This former school now village pub is pretty unique. Cholmondeley Arms uses its space brilliantly. The blackboard with specials chalked on it and hockey sticks on display keep the nostalgia of the building while not being too on the nose. The six bedrooms are located in the Headmaster’s House and the design is rustic and charming. And if you love your pooch, Cholmondeley Arms is completely dog friendly. Dogs are allowed in all areas of the bar and for an extra £10 charge your dog can stay the night with you. There’s also a suggested ‘pub walk’ around Bickerton and Brown Knowl, a nice touch for walkers.
Price: Doubles from £85, B&B
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This jazzy setting is perfect for an eco-conscious retreat
(Cotton’s Hotel & Spa)
Neighborhood: Knutsford
In its previous life this hotel was once a jazz roundhouse. Now a country retreat, Cottons has well and truly left the 1950s behind with its eco-friendly approach to hospitality. There are E chargers onsite for electric cars, and plastic water and milk bottles in rooms have been replaced by reusable carafes. The 138 bedrooms are mostly stripped back in style, and very comfortable. Some bathrooms have wall mounted TVs, perfect for a relaxing stay. The spa features a full sized swimming pool that you can actually swim lengths in.
Price: Doubles from £135
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Hotel room with brunch included? Sign us up
(Roebuck Inn)
Neighborhood: Mobberley
The Roebuck Inn might look like a regular country pub from the outside, but inside you’re transported to a retro Parisian café with some intriguing artwork and a cosy, rustic vibe that makes the whole experience eccentric. The six boutique bedrooms include free-standing tubs on bare floorboards and shabby chic furniture beside regal sleigh beds. The Roebuck also operates a ‘pub hub’ bottle shop and sells hampers from the premises. But best of all for us late sleepers, you can turn your breakfast into brunch and snooze in the comfy bed a little longer.
Price: Doubles from £130, B&B
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Oddfellows is a one-of-a-kind spot for a staycation
(Oddfellows on The Park)
Neighborhood: Cheadle
As a former mansion house, this hotel is set within 100 acres of grounds – now turned public park. Bruntwood Park is open to the public, so on your evening stroll after dinner you won’t be alone. There are some interesting design features inside the hotel’s 23 bedrooms alongside original features, including BMX bike handlebars mounted above beds in mock antlers displays.
Price: Doubles from £155, B&B
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Your own personal butler will bring breakfast to your room
(North Wing)
Neighborhood: Nantwich
This converted abbey already has a good reputation for its holiday cottage lets, but now the north wing has been renovated to offer two bed and breakfast rooms that further that good name of Combermere. These rooms scream luxury, with original abbey doorways and windows arching in a gentle yawn to frame the grounds and woodlands beyond the hotel. The Salamanca Room has a vast bathroom with a freestanding bath right in the centre. Breakfast, and anything else you need, is provided by your own personal butler, but be aware there’s no restaurant for dinner service onsite.
Read our full review of The North Wing at Comermere Abbey
Price: Doubles from £140
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