The Vines

The Vines sits in the hamlet of Black Bourton, tucked just off the Burford Road on the western edge of the Cotswolds. The building is traditional Cotswold stone, with climbing vines on the facade and a position directly next to the medieval St Mary's Church. Rooms are spread across three buildings: the main pub building, a 12-room annexe, and The Olive Cottage, a five-room self-contained block with its own hot tub. The rear meadow and tree-lined gardens give the whole place a country-estate feel without the country-estate price tag.

There are 26 en-suite rooms in total, ranging from standard king doubles to family rooms and ground-floor rooms with private patio access. The restaurant runs an a la carte menu alongside daily specials and a wine list of over 36 bins. The bar is the social hub, and breakfast is a help-yourself spread plus a cooked option served in the main dining room. Weddings and private functions are well catered for: the dining room seats 70 for a sit-down meal, rising to 120 for a buffet, and the meadow can take a marquee. The hotel holds a civil ceremony licence through Oxfordshire County Council.

Black Bourton is a small hamlet roughly two miles from Bampton and about eight miles from Burford, making The Vines a practical base for exploring both. Burford, Lechlade, and the Cotswold Water Park are all within easy reach. There is a large, secure car park on site. The hotel is part of the GR Hotels group, so booking is straightforward through their website. If you are after somewhere quiet, well-positioned and unpretentious rather than boutique or destination-led, this does the job well.