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The Cow
Dalbury Lees, United Kingdom
Important Announcements
Please note that Mr & Mrs Smith hotels are part of an IHG Rewards Club Program collaboration and are not IHG branded hotels; accordingly, IHG Way of Clean and the IHG Clean Promise do not apply to those properties. Mr & Mrs Smith hotels follow separate health & safety standards outlined here: <a href="http://www.ihg.com/smithsafety" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ihg.com/smithsafety</a>
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PROPERTY FEATURES
The Premises
If we had hooves, we’d clap them together in joyful appreciation of The Cow: a friendly pub with rooms near Derby. Reasons to gather your herd and come here include: the best-of-British restaurant (which dishes up devilishly good flatbreads and small plates); the 12 romantic rooms (each with winsome views of the green and verdant countryside), and the snug-as-a-bug bar, where gin-lovers can get their fix – and then some. Farmyard-fabulous flourishes come courtesy of cow-themed artworks, striking lighting and statement furniture, including a hefty butcher’s block that's been reimagined as a table.
SMITH EXTRA
Compliments of the House
A bottle of wine in your room on arrival
At the Hotel
CHECK-OUT: 11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Rates usually include breakfast; pick from Continental and Full English options.
FACILITIES
Kitchen garden, free WiFi, on-site parking. In rooms: Nespresso machine, TV, WiFi, desk, minibar, free bottled water, tea- and coffee-making kit. Ground-floor rooms also have French doors leading to a private patio.
PACKING TIPS
No need to lug your GHDs along – hair straighteners are provided.
USEFUL INFORMATION
We operate a highly intelligent mobile phone-based keyless system. The RFID locks throughout our hotel enable you to operate the door locks with your mobile phone via Bluetooth. In the first instance details of this technology and how to activate the software will be communicated to you via email following confirmation of your booking. This simple process is outlined in clear, easy to follow instructions. Alternatively, key cards can be issued when you check in to the hotel. Any physical keys you receive should be returned at the time of check out. Your key cards or Bluetooth access keys allow 24 hour access into the main hotel and your own room. It is your responsibility to ensure the safe keeping of these key cards throughout your stay. Failure to do so may result in a £5 charge being taken from the credit or debit card provided for replacement cards. We have a limited number of bedrooms that can accommodate additional beds. These beds are available by request and subject to availability. There is a surcharge of £25 per night for children aged up to 11 years and £30 per night for children aged 11-16 years old. If you require an extra bed please contact our team who will be delighted to help you finalise these arrangements. All guests of the Inn including residents and non-residents are welcome to use the car park provided but do so at their own risk. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the hotel. If you choose to smoke, please use the designated smoking area outside or on the terrace outside your room.
Rooms
Room 10 is in the eaves, with a huge bed and a bright and airy feel. We also fell for Room 3, which feels quiet and private, thanks to its tucked-away perch at the back of the inn.
Food & Drink
Unforgettable Features
The tapas-style menu may look to Spain, but its ingredients and produce are firmly best-of-British. Ninety per cent of what goes on the Cow’s plate is sourced from local suppliers: Daltons of Ashbourne Dairy, Anthony Andrews Butchers in Duffield and the Staffordshire Cheese Company in Cheddleton, for example. Highlights from our visit include the flatbread with honey-glazed Packington bacon, onion marmalade and chilli and mint syrup, the blue-cheese and onion focaccia with garlic aioli, and the flawless treacle tart (we’ll wager it’s the best you’ll ever have).
Liquid Bliss
You’d expect a pub with rooms to know a thing or two about drinking, and the Cow doesn’t disappoint. Gin-lovers will be wooed by the stirling gin selection – no limp lemon slices, flat Schweppes or bottles of Gordon’s here. Be adventurous: try unfamiliar gins paired with flavour-matched garnishes and tonics. A stout selection of real ales and snuggle-inducing wood-burners keep things proudly British; the striking copper-topped bar is worthy of a toast alone.
Experience the Extraordinary
Sip your way (semi-sensibly, at least) through the Cow’s impressive gin selection, snuggle up by the fire with a book and taste-test the hotel’s tempting array of flatbreads and small plates. Further afield, explore National Trust treasure in the shape of Kedleston Hall, catch an alfresco flick courtesy of Markeaton Park’s seasonal outdoor cinema, and go for a ramble around charming Chatsworth House and the surrounding Peak District National Park. Derby city isn't quite as good looking as its country surrounds, but it has charms of its own: wander the lively Cathedral Quarter, browse the paintings of lauded native son Joseph Wright at the Derby Museum & Art Gallery, then see what's happening at culture hub Quad or performance space Déda.
Transportation
This boutique beasty is sitting pretty in a quiet country village, half an hour’s drive from the city of Derby.
Planes
Nottingham East Midlands airport is a 30-minute drive away. Let Smith24 sort your flights.
Trains
Derby station is just eight miles from the hotel, with services run by East Midlands Trains.
Automobiles
If you’re driving to the hotel via Derby city centre, follow the signs for Ashbourne A52. At the Markeaton island, take the A52, and follow this road for two miles; go straight through at the traffic lights. Take a left turn into Brun Lane, follow this to the T-junction and head right. After about 250 yards, turn left into Long Lane. Keep going for about a mile and a half, passing a number of right turns before Dalbury Lees is signposted left. Take this left turn and follow the road through the village: you’ll find the hotel on the left, alongside the village green; the Cow’s car park is adjacent to the hotel.
Location
The Green Dalbury Lees, DE6 5BEUnited Kingdom
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