ARC Painswick

Bedrooms are spread over the top two floors of this three-storey property. There are nine in all, some designed for two people, others for up to four, with a flexible arrangement so they can suit four single friends as well as a couple with two children. They all have en-suite bathrooms and balance thoughtful modern lighting and furniture with the age-old bones of the building, with leaded windows, wooden floors, exposed stone and beams, especially on the third floor, combining well with the contemporary additions. An optional ground-floor bedroom and shower room can be created in place of one of the lounges for guests requiring level access.

All the sociable spaces occupy the ground floor, where the old walls blend with modern whitewashed ones as seamlessly as the indoors flows into the property’s two outdoor courtyards. One of these has a fire pit, the other the pool, outdoor seating, a pizza oven and barbecue. In cooler weather, the sunken seating of the cinema room, overlooked by the private bar, holds more appeal. Or perhaps you’ll simply cosy up in one of the lounges which all have open fires and original artwork on the walls. The artwork changes with the seasons and is carefully curated by the creatives who own and designed this holiday home, along with a handful of other ARC properties. Your experience here can be curated too, through their online Lobby service which guides you on services in the house and all sorts of activities nearby.

You don’t have to go far for those. There’s a lovely pub, The Oak, next door, and many more eateries and drinking dens in town, which itself is awash with architectural highlights. There’s St Mary’s Church with its 99 yew trees, the Rococo Gardens with its 18th-century follies and the half-timbered medieval Painswick post office. The town is midway along the Cotswolds Way too, offering a central spot from which to head out on lovely scenic walks. It's worth remembering ARC has a wonderful sister property in Padstow, should Cornwall tickle your fancy.