Bull

Sleek, luxurious guest rooms, secret bars and communal dining spaces are all part of what sets Bull apart from other renovated 16th-century coaching inns. This is the Cotswolds, where there are quite a few of those – and plenty offer rooms for overnight stays – but none that are quite like this. Renovation doesn’t quite cover what’s happened here. This historic pub has been totally reimagined. Oak beams, stone walls and carved timbers may remain in place, but there's a distinctly contemporary feel to the new-look Bull.

It’s all the work of PR legend Matthew Freud. Some of his illustrious art collection hangs in the corridors, and that means originals by Francis Bacon, Salvador Dali and Damien Hirst, as well as some great iconic photographs. Upstairs, your idea of what to expect from a room above a pub may also be challenged. In each of the 18 bedrooms and suites a single dusky terracotta or blue covers walls and ceilings, beds are draped in long covers, and curtains hang longer than the floor. There’s a slight Renaissance painting feel to it all – sophisticated but relaxed, eclectic yet coherent. The rooms might have a stylish modern light here and a rustic milking stool there, but somehow none of it is at odds with the other. Similarly, exposed honey stone walls and beams are a good complement to the white marble of the bathrooms.

Downstairs, there are three separate restaurants. Two of them are communal in feel –  Wild, in the courtyard garden, where food is grilled in front of you on open flames, and  Hiro, a 10-seater Japanese omakase (translation: 'I leave it up to you'), where you're at the artisanal mercy of former Nobu head chef Hiromi who'll choose your 10-course menu. Behind the rustic bar, the third restaurant is a more traditional affair, where you can enjoy both snacks and full meals in a more conventional set-up – you can also eat outside in the sheltered garden, where they set up an outdoor bar in summer. There’s also a help-yourself pantry upstairs for all-day snacking.

Another thing that sets Bull is its dizzying array of activities on offer – you can have a poker lesson at a basement table (donated by Idris Elba, no less!), watch a film in their private cinema, play paddle or do a Japanese pottery class, among many other things. They even offer classes in old-fashioned photography, including use of their own dark room. It’s a veritable cultural retreat with a pleasing collegiate air fostered between guests, and is as much a place to restore as it is a place to stay.

Finally, if you're looking for the chocolate-box, picture-postcard heart of the Cotswolds, Burford is a prime candidate. Considered one of the prettiest villages in England, it's a charming setting for this cool contemporary boutique hotel, boasting historic buildings, oodles of antique shops, and plenty of eateries to try – though you'll undoubtedly find the best ones right here at Bull.