Cowley Manor Experimental – Cotswolds, England
Where English country-house heritage meets Parisian playfulness.
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● A 19th-century Italianate manor reinvented by Experimental Group, with Dorothée Meilichzon bringing her unmistakable mix of colour, pattern and playful sophistication to the English countryside.
● Subtle Alice in Wonderland references run through the interiors, from chequerboards and rabbit motifs to exaggerated proportions, inspired by the estate’s connections with Lewis Carroll.
● Exceptional food and cocktails, 55 acres of gardens and parkland, and the striking C-Side spa make this much more than another beautifully decorated Cotswolds country house.
A Country House with an Experimental Streak
Deep in the Churn Valley, close to Cheltenham, Cowley Manor Experimental occupies the kind of English landscape that almost looks too picturesque to be real: 55 acres of lawns, woodland, lakes and historic cascades surrounding an Italianate mansion dating from the 1860s. The house was inspired by Rome’s Villa Borghese and was remarkably progressive for its time—it is said to have been one of the first private houses in England to make substantial use of concrete. That experimental spirit continued when Cowley became one of Britain’s early design-led country-house hotels in 2002. Two decades later, Experimental Group saw the potential to reinvent it once again. Working with London architects De Matos Ryan and Paris-based interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon, the group has preserved the grandeur of the house while introducing the colour, irreverence and sociability associated with its hotels and cocktail bars in Paris, London, Venice and Ibiza.
Down the Rabbit Hole
There is another story woven through Cowley Manor. Lewis Carroll was a frequent visitor to nearby Cowley Rectory during the 1860s and is said to have found inspiration for Alice in Wonderland in these surroundings. Meilichzon wisely avoids turning that connection into a theme-park exercise. Instead, Alice appears through visual clues: chequerboard patterns, rabbit-head door knockers, curious keyholes and playful shifts in scale and proportion. The result is whimsical rather than literal. Historic panelling and architectural details meet cobalt-blue tables, bold upholstery, patterned rugs, wicker, sculptural furniture and unexpected colour combinations. The lofty reception rooms retain the proportions of a grand English country house, but the mood is closer to an informal lounge club. By Friday and Saturday evening, with a DJ playing and cocktails moving across the bar, any lingering idea of the hushed country-house hotel has disappeared.
Rooms with Colour and Character
The rooms continue Meilichzon’s balancing act between English country-house tradition and contemporary French cool. Greens, blues, ochres and terracottas appear alongside patterned textiles, wicker chairs, potted plants and tactile fabrics, while four-poster beds wrapped in linen and comically oversized wardrobes provide further hints of Wonderland. Even the smaller rooms are generously proportioned, with sitting areas and large bathrooms; many of the larger rooms add terraces or balconies overlooking the gardens. Deep tubs set into polished lava stone, separate rain showers and L:A Bruket products add a more restrained kind of indulgence. Minibars, appropriately for an Experimental hotel, include pre-mixed house cocktails. De Matos Ryan has also extended the story beyond the historic house with a new garden pavilion. Built from locally quarried Cotswold stone, UK-grown Douglas fir and maple, its high-ceilinged rooms open through tall arches onto expansive terraces. Contemporary but deliberately deferential to the manor, it shows how Cowley can continue evolving without pretending that every part of the property has been here for centuries.
The Cotswolds on the Plate
Experimental Group’s background in bars might suggest that cocktails would steal the show, but food is equally central to Cowley Manor. The restaurant occupies a wonderfully theatrical dining room where antique carved timber panelling and Empire-style ceiling mouldings are offset by playful tables resembling oversized chess pieces. The kitchen celebrates British produce with a particular focus on Gloucestershire and the surrounding countryside. Hereford beef, Cornish crab, trout, smoked honey and seasonal vegetables are treated with enough invention to make this destination dining rather than obligatory country-house fare. Breakfast follows the same generous approach, combining pastries, madeleines, breads, fruit, yoghurt and granola with cooked dishes prepared to order. And then there are the drinks. The bar is very much an Experimental Cocktail Club production, adapting the group’s mixology credentials to its rural setting rather than importing an urban cocktail menu wholesale. Drinks can be inventive and slightly eccentric—exactly what you want in a house with Alice lurking somewhere in its history.
C-Side and 55 Acres to Disappear Into
One of Cowley Manor’s greatest assets predates its Experimental incarnation. The C-Side spa is dramatically embedded into a hillside, its contemporary architecture contrasting with the historic manor while using Cotswold stone to connect it to the landscape. A spectacular glass-walled indoor pool looks onto the greenery, joined by an outdoor pool, sauna, steam room, gym and treatment spaces. Beyond it lies the real luxury: space. Paths wind through 55 acres of parkland, around two lakes and past 19th-century cascades, with borrowed wellies available for exploring further into the countryside. Or you can do very little at all—take a chair onto the long terrace, find a deckchair on the lawn and allow the Churn Valley to provide the entertainment. Cowley Manor Experimental works because it doesn’t treat the English country house as something sacred. The history remains, but Meilichzon and Experimental Group have given it permission to be colourful, sociable, eccentric and occasionally a little strange. Somewhere between an Italianate manor, a Parisian cocktail bar and a trip down the rabbit hole, Cowley has found its new personality.
