With season two of Rivals, based on Jilly Cooper’s iconic 1980s novel, premiering on Disney+ on 15 May 2026, the spotlight is once again on the Cotswolds. The raunchy, glamorous drama unfolds in “Rutshire”, a fictional county inspired by this picture-perfect stretch of the English countryside. Here, we round up luxury Cotswolds holiday homes made for a Rivals-style escape.
For a Jilly Cooper-approved manor:
Gulliver’s Hall, Stroud
- Standout features: Outdoor heated pool (available April-October), spa bath, sauna, steam room, outdoor kitchen (pizza oven, paella burner), games/cinema room, padel court, croquet lawn and gym, cosy indoor fire
- What we love: Amenities to rival any luxury hotel
Rumour has it that Gulliver’s Hall was the inspiration behind Rivals lothario Rupert Campbell-Black’s grand stately home. Set in the village near Stroud that Jilly Cooper called home, and surrounded by 320 acres of private farmland, the manor occupies a privileged position. It's complete with four-poster beds and a luxury spa, featuring an outdoor swimming pool and spa bath, as well as an indoor sauna and steam room.
For a sleek and sophisticated bolthole:
The Studio, Upper Slaughter
- Standout features: A pizza oven, fire pit and cosy indoor woodburner
- What we love: As much a lived-in art exhibition as a couples’ retreat
This converted barn may be nestled in a like-butter-wouldn’t-melt, honey-hued Cotswolds hamlet, but behind its Crittall doors lies a design scheme with a cosmopolitan edge. With punchy modernist art from Frieze London, a neon wall light, and a glass-framed bedroom pod, The Studio is an Upper Slaughter bolthole but not as you’ve seen before.
For a party on a sprawling estate:
The Marlings, Stroud
- Standout features: Heated outdoor pool (available April-October) with a pool house, hot tub, tennis court, wooden playpark, cosy indoor fires
- What we love: Will effortlessly keep large groups entertained
This celebratory cluster of dwellings, sleeping up to 25, sits on the edge of Stroud and is spread across a farmhouse, a converted barn, two sets of cottages, and a banquet hall. Filled from granary to gable with secret snugs and playful spaces, The Marlings is made for hobnobbing, with twelve bedrooms to retreat to when the party’s over.
For a cosy countryside hideaway:
Four Hundred Summers, Bibury
- Standout features: Wood-fired hot tub in a rose garden and an indoor woodburner
- What we love: Fragrant gardens bursting with beetroot, basil and blackberries
As sweet as gingerbread, Four Hundred Summers is a beguiling Bibury cottage made from traditional Cotswolds stone. From stargazing at midnight in the hot tub and sipping orange wine in the pretty garden to lounging around the woodburner and cooking ragu on the Aga, true romantics at heart will love this home-away-from-home.
For a historic country house:
Saxon, Stow-on-the-Wold
- Standout features: Hot tub, woodburner, cinema snug with a projector and games room
- What we love: Meticulously restored manor with Norman heritage
Just a mile from Stow-on-the-Wold, Saxon is a Grade II-listed manor house where a millennium of Cotswolds history meets modern romance. Inside, lofty proportions, mullioned windows and original architectural details sit beside bright, curated interiors designed for sociability. Outside, formal gardens and a hot tub create a setting of rural glamour and ease.
Feeling inspired? Read our piece The romance of Britain´s moorlands, where we follow the path of another literary icon Emily Brontë, or peruse our full collection of luxury self-catering escapes.
