IT SEEMS UNFAIR that two such picturesque country villages, epitomising the Cotswold idyll, should have such unfortunate names. The Slaughters – Lower and Upper – were not, in fact, the site of a massacre and two explanations for the name are given locally. Slaughter may come from an Anglo-Saxon word for 'muddy', or 'watery place', or from the name, Philippe de Sloitre, a Norman knight to whom William the Conqueror is said to have given land here.

Overlook the names and you'll find two gorgeous hamlets of honey-stoned houses, with, in Lower Slaughter, houses running alongside and two footbridges crossing the River Eye, and nearby, the much-photographed Old Mill. The village was built around the manor house, which dates from 1658 and is now the Lower Slaughter Manor, and part of the Von Essen collection of hotels. The manor was built by Valentine Strong, one of Sir Christopher Wren's stonemasons, and it stands in pretty gardens with ancient trees and statues, where you can, in the tradition of all the best country house hotels, sit and enjoy afternoon tea.

Don't partake too late in the day though, as you'll want to leave room to properly enjoy dinner in the Sixteen58 Restaurant, where head chef, Stuart Ralston, offers delicious three-rosette cusine delivered in luxuriously designed surroundings, with chocolate brown silk and crystal chandeliers. There's also a lovely part of the restaurant set in the original chapel, a much older part of the building, which can be hired for dinner parties up to 14. After dinner it's back into the comfy lounges, filled with antique furniture, gilt-framed portraits, sofas and fireplaces, for coffee and digestif.

Our large bedroom is tucked away in perfect solitude up on the top floor of the house, with fabulous views out over the gardens and fields beyond, the enormous bed is matched by an enormous bathroom: its luxury only faltering briefly with nowhere convenient to put down our bathbags. Design is contemporary but the subtle style and rich fabrics mean it sits happily with the historic building.

After a delicious breakfast the next morning, we set out to explore the Slaughters, but instead I'm tempted into the local hall which has an art show underway. Instead of postcards of this picture-perfect location which I fully intend to post to friends and family urging them to head here, I come away with a painting of Mitre Peak in New Zealand. Beauty comes in many forms. 

Lower Slaughter Manor, Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire. Tel: (01451) 820456; www.vonessenhotels.co.uk. Report by Andrea Spain.