A 16th-century thatched cottage in the Cotswolds is the staycation worth booking
Condé Nast Traveler editor Sarah James knew exactly what she needed after a punishing start to the year: nowhere to be disturbed, permission to sleep 12 hours a night, and a village within striking distance of a good pub. This spring she booked Strawtop Two in Adderbury, one of two 16th-century thatched-roof cottages called Strawtop Cottages that sit side by side on a quiet street, and it delivered on every box.
The property is owned by local content creator Josie Irons and her husband Charlie, who manages the stays. Their renovation kept all the Grade II-listed original features while layering in the kind of touches you would expect from a top hotel: a wood-burning fire with kindling laid ready, Soho Home robes, a Dyson hairdryer, and Bamford pillow mist and shower products.
James says the kitchen, which she first saved on Instagram, lived up to its sunny reputation - buttery yellow walls, vintage copper pans and an Aga stove - and the welcome was generous. A fresh sourdough loaf on the chopping board, organic eggs, marmalade, Daylesford butter, bacon and rosé in the fridge. There is even a boot room stocked with Barbour jackets and Wellies for field stomps.
Having Charlie as a de facto concierge is one of the biggest unsung perks of booking a stay here.
The real hidden perk, she writes, is Charlie's suggestions. He booked a supper at The Norman Knight ("perfectly blushing steak frites") and a Sunday lunch at The Duke of Cumberland's Head, plus breakfast at The Yurt at Nicholsons - a gooey camembert croissant cut through with umami bacon and a full English hit the spot.
The two bedrooms - one minty green on the first floor, one folded into the eaves with tongue-and-groove woodwork - come with blackout blinds she calls some of the darkest and quietest she has ever slept in. Within a couple of hours' drive from northwest London, it is pitched squarely at anyone who wants countryside peace without having to hunt and gather their own dinner.