Delicious food, luxurious accommodation and crinkly fingers after soaking in the bath-from-heaven add up to the perfect Mini break for KATHERINE MACALISTER.

Call off the search party, recall the dogs and breathe a huge sigh of relief. The hunt is over. Mini break? Sorted. Weekend away? Kerching!

After much searching I have stumbled across the holy grail of boutique hotels, and it’s in your neck of the woods.

The Wheatsheaf, near Stow-On-The-Wold, has been recently refurbished and the results are quite stunning.

Not only are the rooms exquisite, the food delicious, and the ambience alive and kicking, but the prices won’t break the bank, and with the doom merchants constantly reminding us to tighten our belts in 2012, it’s definitely one to add to the little black book.

It was a birthday occasion and yet dragging Mr Greedy away was like pulling teeth. He’s a home bird at heart – bless. Add in the torrential icy rain, even I began to doubt the wisdom of leaving our nice, warm house to set off to an unknown destination in the middle of the Cotswolds.

But as soon as we walked into the bustling pub, we knew we’d made the right decision. Already full of locals, the warm fires were blazing away, the bar stools and sofas full of folk delighted to get out of the cold rain, and like something out of a Dickens novel, the good cheer was all enveloping.

But we were still silenced by the splendour of our room.

A huge tasteful grey expanse overlooking the main street in Northleach, complete with a bed with an enormous velvet headboard, tweed chairs, a B&O TV as thin as an envelope, and open double doors leading into the bathroom where a splendid zinc bath for two rested in the centre complete with tantalising looking bathsalts. There was an enormous shower if you wanted, and opulence, taste and comfort were the name of the game which we took fully to heart.

The bath however was the object of all my desires, and making sure I filled it to the brim and acted out my Flake fantasy became an overwhelming obsession as the evening wore on.

“Can I go and run the bath now,” I begged as Mr Greedy was still eating his main course, to which of course the answer was no.

I had to wait until he’d finished his apple and honeycomb sundae before he would relent and we took coffee and drinks up to our room.

And it was worth the wait. Reclining with a Grand Marnier in hand I wondered if life could get much better.

But to rewind, because I can’t bypass the fabulous meal, to the cocktails in the bar dressed to the nines (unnecessarily as it turned out) and our little table for two in the dining room.

The menu was wonderful, the delicious twice-baked cheese souffle with a mustard grain sauce (God it was good) the French fish soup, the haddock and leeks on toast with a beetroot and apple salad, and the cassoulet. All cooked to perfection. And the cheese, the cheese was almost dripping off the board by the time it came to the table. Heaven.

The next morning, the pub was clean and cosy.

All the breakfast tables were laid and we sat and waited for our full English and kippers in perfect harmony while the fires were lit and The Wheatsheaf prepared for another packed day.

The Wheatsheaf is already on the map, that’s for sure, but if you want to get away I can’t recommend it highly enough.

* The Wheatsheaf Inn, West End, Northleach, Gloucestershire, GL54 3EZ. Call 01451 860244 or see cotswolds wheatsheaf.com. Rooms range between £120 and £180 per night.