With acres of green and pleasant land and rolling countryside, Cheshire is one huge English country garden. In fact, the county is home to around 20 stunning gardens, all making for a perfect way to spend a sunny day.
History buffs, meanwhile, will be in their element in Cheshire’s many ancient villages, towns and cities, one of which is the small but perfectly formed cathedral city of Chester. Home to England’s largest Roman Amphitheatre and oldest racecourse, the city’s most famous for its Chester Rows, which date from the medieval period and have been built on top of ancient Roman ruins. Whether you visit for the medieval architecture or the many cool indie shops, restaurants and bars running along the two-tiered timber-framed galleries lining the main streets, a good day and night out is guaranteed.
After something a bit more sedate? Stroll through Cheshire’s meadows and enchanting forests, explore gothic castles, meander around fascinating museums or visit one of the many sleepy villages, which whisper their secrets of style, lavish spas and sustainability.
When it comes to choosing where to stay, you’ll find all kinds of eccentric and quirky boltholes amid the county’s lush landscape. Period manor houses, now hotels, embrace unusual design features. An old school has become a pub. And old pubs are now boutique B&Bs. Whatever you’re looking for, we’ve found the best places to call home during a stay in Cheshire.
The best hotels in Cheshire are:
- Best hotel for shopping: Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa
- Best hotel for walkers: The Pheasant Inn
- Best hotel for foodies: The Bear’s Paw
- Best spa hotel: Carden Park Hotel
- Best hotel for dog-friendly stays: Cholmondeley Arms
- Best hotel for sustainability: Cottons Hotel
- Best hotel for couples: The Roebuck Inn
- Best hotel for quirky design: Oddfellows on the Park
- Best luxury hotel: The North Wing at Combermere Abbey
Best hotel for shoppers: Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa
Neighbourhood: Crewe
It may be only 24 miles from the shopper’s paradise that is Chester, but the Crewe Hall feels centuries away. 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. It’s had its fair share of royal visitors too, including Queen Elizabeth II who, in 1913, followed King George V and Queen Mary when she laid her head down in the hotel’s Royal Suite.
Among the 117 rooms, 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.
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Best hotel for walkers: The Pheasant Inn
Neighbourhood: Tattenhall
Ideally placed for quaint country views along The Sandstone Trail, The Pheasant Inn is a country pub with rooms, and 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 from the terrace. 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.
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Best hotel for foodies: The Bear’s Paw
Neighbourhood: Warmingham
Situated in the village of Warmingham – in the clutch of the 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. It even caters for weddings.
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.
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Best spa hotel: Carden Park
Neighbourhood: 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 Brasserie.
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. The cherry on top? A Bollinger champagne bar.
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Best hotel for dog-friendly stays: Cholmondeley Arms
Neighbourhood: Cholmondeley
This former school now village pub 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.
Those whose favourite holiday companion is the four-legged kind will be glad to hear the Cholmondeley Arms is completely dog friendly. Pooches 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 and dog-owners alike.
Price: Doubles from £125
Best hotel for sustainability: Cottons
Neighbourhood: Knutsford
In its previous life, this hotel was 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 on site for electric cars, while plastic water and milk bottles in rooms have been replaced with re-usable carafes.
The 138 bedrooms are mostly stripped back in style, and all are very comfortable. Some bathrooms have wall-mounted TVs, perfect for a relaxing stay. Plus, the spa features a full-sized swimming pool that you can actually swim lengths in.
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Best hotel for couples: The Roebuck Inn
Neighbourhood: Mobberley
The Roebuck Inn might look like a regular country pub from the outside, but inside you’re transported to a retro Parisian cafe with some intriguing artwork and a romantic, rustic vibe that makes the whole experience eccentric.
The six boutique bedrooms include freestanding 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 loved-up late sleepers, you can turn your breakfast into brunch and snooze together in the comfy bed a little longer.
Price: Doubles from £125
Best hotel for quirky design: Oddfellows on the Park
Neighbourhood: Cheadle
As a former mansion house, this hotel is set within 100 acres of parkland, comprising 120 acres of lawn, mature woodland and waterways. Just a heads up that the grounds are now Bruntwood Park, which 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 Victorian hotel’s 23 bedrooms, alongside original features, including BMX bike handlebars mounted above beds in mock antlers displays.
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Best luxury hotel: The North Wing at Combermere Abbey
Neighbourhood: 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 B&B rooms, which 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 on site.
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