A new design-led trio of apartments has opened in the historic Cotswolds market town Stow-on-the-Wold. The Vaults at Stow sits somewhere between a hotel and an apartment stay. There’s plenty of space in each one-bedroomer to spread out, plus a small kitchenette for prepping coffee (via a Grind coffee machine) and toast in the morning, but a concierge service on-hand to sort you out with dinner reservations – including for the nearby Fox Inn at Broadwell or Public House Group’s The Bull at Charlbury (plus private drivers so you can have a few pints) – in-room spa treatments and daily bread deliveries.
The lodgings take over a former Georgian banking hall bang on the 12th-century market square, in walking distance to multiple pubs, restaurants and indie stores (hit Coach House Coffee and New England Coffee House for spot-on flat whites). Though the honey-hued stone Georgian Revival facade remains, the interiors were gutted in the 1970s. Cotswolds-based husband-wife team India and Rory Hunter aimed to restore some of the historic features, like coving and skirting, that were lost back then. “It was a wonderful opportunity to retell the story with traditional materials all over again,” says India. “Timber floors and timber sash windows were made anew by local craftsmen, and there are marble tiles with a modern twist in the bathrooms.”
Each apartment is kitted out with enough to make sure guests are comfortable, (but not too settled – you’ll want to explore the surrounding countryside and villages, after all). The kitchenette has a well-stocked mini bar, with fruity sparkling water from Dash, La Vieille Ferme rosé (aka “chicken wine”), and Fever-Tree tonic water, as well as organic teas from Joe’s Tea Co. Roll-top baths beckon from the bathrooms, which are stocked with luxe toiletries from Austin and Austin, and heating below the engineered oak floors is powered by air-source heat pumps. Mattresses are cashmere Hypnos, and private terraces with views over the village’s higgeldy piggeldy roofs and the fluctuating countryside beyond are perfect for sipping a morning coffee or pre-dinner drinks.
Each apartment has an expansive living room and individual colour palette – Shilling is decked out in feminine pinks and greens; Tuppence is decorated in yellows, browns and blues; and Farthing is washed in reds and creams. India, who headed up the design, was inspired by Susie Atkinson’s colour-washed design of Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest, and the use of colours, patterns and fabrics in the shepherds’ huts at Aller Dorset.
Materials and pieces were sourced from British interiors and homewares designers, including curtains made by a local seamstress using fabrics from Penny Morrison and Sanderson; charming Hum London lampshades in the bathrooms depicting constellations; and the Original BTC’s Christie Rise & Fall bone china pendant frames the dining table. Other pieces were sourced from antiques dealers to build character.
“We felt very strongly that Stow was missing a ‘design-led’ beautiful space to stay,” India says. “We wanted to create something that filled that gap. Stow is a wonderful town – so we hope we’ve created a special place that matches the feeling of the historic town we sit in.”
