The Stump, a 17th-century roadside inn on the A429 between Cirencester and Stow-on-the-Wold, is packed with guests despite having no long driveway, garden, spa or gym, according to a review by the Mail's Hotel Inspector column.
All ten of its rooms, including two "cottage suites," and every table were booked during the visit, the reviewer said.
The pub is far less expensive than many other hotels in the Cotswolds, an area known for its celebrity reputation, the review noted. Guests spotted included a group of locals celebrating an 18th birthday near the pool table, an elderly man in a tweed jacket and brogues sitting with a smartly turned out woman at the bar, four young couples wearing "regimental farmer-type gilets," several families with young children, and at least six dogs.
"We're full pretty much every night from April to October," a waitress at the inn told the reviewer.
From pizza sellers to Cotswolds innkeepers
The Stump is the latest project from childhood friends Harry Henriques and Fred Hicks, known as Baz and Fred, who built a reputation selling pizzas in London before taking over the New Inn in the Gloucestershire village of Coln St Aldwyns. The building was previously an Arkell's pub called the Hare and Hounds before Baz and Fred bought it in 2019, according to the review.
The original huge sloping tiled roof over the main building has been preserved, though the manager who checked the reviewer in said it is "expensive to maintain."
A £230 cottage room and £6 starters
The reviewer stayed in one of the cottages for £230 a night, a rate they said would be double at other Cotswolds properties given the free-standing tub, separate walk-in shower, fluffy white bed linen, sisal carpet and a smart television set up for Netflix. Standard rooms are located in what used to be the stables, and there is a takeaway pizza shack on the roadside.
The inn offers outdoor space for alfresco dining and three open fires for guests to gather around in winter, with candles lit even at breakfast and old church chairs adding to the atmosphere, the review said. First courses start at £6 and bottles of wine cost £24, prices the reviewer called refreshing for the area.
"You should really try one of the pizzas. You won't regret it," the waitress said, prompting the reviewer to order a chorizo and nduja pizza, which they described as delicious, though they were unsure about the honey topping.
Breakfast was described as a restrained affair. Doubles at The Stump start from £150 a night, according to the inn's website, thestump.co.uk.
