Old Swan and Minster Mill

This beautiful old inn has recently been taken over by the de Savary family and given a massive facelift.

It's a hotel of two parts - the Old Swan which is the original inn and Minster Mill which is right beside the lovely Windrush river. Rooms in the mill are more modern (there are some fabulous river suites with terraces looking out over the river which have firepits for roasting marshmallows on) and there are several interconnecting rooms for larger families. As the property is by the river, you'd have to keep a close eye on younger children, but older children will love the fact there's plenty of space to roam around with a degree of independence.

We stayed a suite in the Old Swan. Our room was great for families as it stretched across the front of the inn and had a lounge area with a sofa bed which our daughter used and a rather lovely four-poster for us. It was beautifully decorated, but we also loved the little touches like a Hello Kitty hot water bottle that appeared on our daughter's bed at turndown time.

The hotel prides itself on being family friendly which was obvious from all the thoughtful activities and facilities - from a petting zoo with guineapigs and rescued battery hens to a giant chess set and playground. There were bikes available in all sizes for cycle rides around this beautiful part of the Cotswolds and if you book ahead - the hotel's resident gilly can teach you and your kids to fish. There's also a tennis court and table tennis on offer.

In the evenings babysitters are available to book and you can borrow portable DVD machines and movies from reception.

Food-wise, there's a kids menu and they're happy to offer most of the adult meals as child-sized portions. The food wasn't particularly gourmet, but we did love their giant doorstop sandwiches for lunch.

All in all, The Old Swan and Minster Mill is a great base for a family holiday in The Cotswolds. The staff were unreservedly helpful and friendly and there's plenty of things for kids to do.