On the edge of Gloucestershire’s Leach Valley, the village of Southrop gives you an updated Cotswolds estate experience fit for the 21st century. Its growth has been organic, starting with a cookery school and then incorporating cottages and now — the latest addition — a hotel.

Cheltenham is the racy capital of the Cotswolds; a Regency town that still has style. In the middle of the promenade, this stuccoed lodge has serious kerb appeal.

The Cotswolds isn’t all wellies and country walks — there are urban pleasures to be had too. This refined townhouse on the edge of Cheltenham’s leafy Pittville Park is a great example of a small, stylish city hotel.

The Lygon Arms is one of the Cotswolds’ oldest hotels and has a formidable roster of former guests, including Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Edward VII, Mary Pickford and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

The Cotswolds abounds in manor houses, and this one was the home of famed gardener Rosemary Verey, who helped design the estate at nearby Highgrove.

What a first impression this 18th-century Italianate wonder makes, with its colonnades, verandas, landscaped gardens and lake views. But inside it’s a surprise: hip and modern, with bold design, bright colours and a sleek spa, C-Side.

The Wheatsheaf is a classic inn in one of the less well-trodden villages. It’s a great area for walking, with several circular trails that start at the pub’s front door. You can bring along a canine companion, as the Wheatsheaf is very dog-friendly, providing a bed, bowl and treats for your pal (ask for an Excellent or Very Good room).

The historic wool town of Tetbury is next to Highgrove, the King’s country home. You’ll find the Close, a 16th-century manor with 20 bedrooms that bridge past and present, perched in the middle of Long Street.

Grade II listed Whatley Manor has long been one of the Cotswolds’ leading luxury spots, and it makes no excuses for its love of the finer things: it’s expensive, exclusive and sets out to pamper its guests from start to finish.

Reached via an extensive drive, 18th-century Lucknam Park sits grandly in 500 acres. In the main house, tradition rules, with 42 bedrooms and suites decorated in opulent style, bordering occasionally on the chintzy.

This hotel, a former pub in the Oxfordshire village of South Leigh, makes a virtue of its eccentricity. Its rooms are packed with wit — packing cases repurposed as bedside tables, kooky artworks, copper baths and four-poster beds that look like they’ve been hand-fashioned by an Ent on his day off.

Part of the portfolio of Country Creatures, an Oxfordshire-based outfit known for overhauling traditional pubs with a modern twist, this coaching inn has much to recommend it.

Lovely Stow-on-the-Wold is the picture of a Cotswolds village, and at first glance The Old Stocks Inn fits right in — a confection of amber stone and sash windows overlooking the market square and village stocks (hence the name).

History abounds at the Kings Head; parts of the building date from the 14th century, and there are architectural features from pretty much every century since.

Sometimes nothing beats a good pub, and this one is a corker. The rooms at the Swan are all about country character: beams and low eaves, quirky layouts and a liberal smattering of chintzy wallpapers and old furniture.

The River Windrush is the focal point of this mill-turned-hotel, where the ancient stone has been polished to within an inch of its 600-year life.

One of Britain’s first country house hotels, Lords of the Manor sits in one of the most beautiful parts of the Cotswolds, specifically the superb walking country between Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold (the National Trust gem of Hidcote Manor is very nearby).

Is it a cottage complex? A boutique holiday camp? A back-to-nature bolt hole? A plush hotel? Well, the Fish is actually all of these, and more.

Which Cotswolds village is the prettiest? It’s a heated debate that has fuelled many a country walk and Sunday lunch, but Painswick is certainly up there with the best.

“The hotel that hugs” runs the tagline, and twee as it might be, it’s not a bad description of this posh, perennially popular Cotswolds getaway.

‘We’ll serve whatever you want, wherever you like,” say the young, friendly staff of this Arts and Crafts manor house and they mean it, whether you want to eat in your room, one of the lounges, the private cinema or outside, with the chef tailoring the menu to your tastes.

This uber-luxurious property combines Cotswolds chic with cabin porn. Once a working farm, it’s been preened and prettified to an almost surreal level of perfection.

A classic Cotswolds village, Kingham is the home patch of Carole Bamford’s organic empire, including the award-winning Daylesford Farm.

There’s no shortage of fancy spas in the Cotswolds, but Calcot & Spa pulls out all the stops — a 16m heated pool, sauna and hammam, tennis court, Technogym and seven treatment rooms.

Gracious proportions and a stylish but homely feel make the Rectory a refined choice. The old Georgian house has been augmented by modern additions including a delightful glass-roofed restaurant and a thoroughly cosy pub (The Potting Shed) across the road.