Hotel du Vin is in a great location near the historic centre of Winchester. I stayed there regularly in 2006 and each time the rooms were of impeccable standard with fantastic beds bathrooms and wines.

The rooms in the annexe were the quietest, Concha y Torro, but lacked the grand town house feel of the main building. Can't recommend this establishment enough.

My husband and I stayed at the Hotel du Vin for a night in August as part of my husband's 40th birthday celebrations. We had a garden room, the Geoff Merrell, that was very elegant with our own small patio and all of the comforts that you would expect from a nice hotel. The staff were very friendly, helpful and attentive. We ate in the bistro and the meal was fantastic, one of the best that I have had. The sommelier was great, recommending a perfect and not too expensive wine. Nothing seemed too much trouble for all of the staff at the bistro and the hotel and I would definitely recommend the hotel du vin both for a stay or for an elegant meal.

Had lunch here with friends in April and it was great.

Staff were very attentive and helpful without being pushy. We were a little apprehensive having a baby with us but they took it all in their stride and brought his food out straight away to give him as much chance as possible to throw/wear it.

We got a nice big table in the middle of the room.

Wine waiter had a ridiculous french accent which we all thought was put on and he gave us some great advice. At one point I wanted to ask him if he'd any idea of the whereabouts of 'The Fallen Maddona with the Big Boobies".

Steaks were cooked properly and served nicely. Deserts delicious.

Parking was no problem and signs all around explain the position. It should be noted this is an old building converted into a hotel in the middle of an ancient town. Parking is at a premium all over the town.

All in all a great meal with good friends.

I'm feeling a bit of a fake writing this review as we didn't actually stay here, yet I feel I have to tell you all how fantastic the place is, even just for a meal. We dined her on the 18th February 2007. After the dreadful experience we had at the Greyhound, just a few miles away, I sincerely wish I'd had the foresight to book up here instead. However, I had booked dinner for my boyfriend's birthday on arrival, we were shown to the smoking lounge, a plush, high ceiling room, furnished with aubergine velvet and deep brown leather sofas. The staff were attentive and brought us the drinks menu along with the food menu but did not rush us along. We happened to get chatting to Kristina, surprisingly the trainee manager. Trust me, there was nothing 'trainee' about her at all, but back to that in a while.

To start, I chose ravioli filled with sweet potato in a gorgonzola sauce. A highly unusual experience for the pallet. Sweet versus sour, filling but incredibly moreish. Had there been any more on the plate I would have been forced to keep eating until I was full because my mouth couldn't quite work out what it was eating and I felt the need to just keep eating. Fabulous. Main course was a huge bowl of mussels, even though I did opt for the smaller portion, this was still big! Lovely plump, fleshy mussels in the perfect marinere sauce. My boyfriend's dishes were equally tasty. Locally smoked salmon followed by an ample bit of lamb (can't vouch for this as I don't eat meat!).

We retired to the smoking lounge for pudding. I had the classic creme brulee and my partner had the rhubarb crumble. The chef had kindly piped 'Happy Birthday' across the side of the plate. A nice touch.

As mentioned previously, throughout courses we had been chatting to Kristina who eventually after many failed guess from us, told us she was from Hungary. We talked food and restaurants for sometime, despite it being fairly busy for a Sunday night. She then offered to give us a tour of the hotel, explaining some of it's history as we went.

Hotel du Vin in Winchester has a particularly smooth and unhurried feel to it, I should think helped along by Kristina's professionalism and efficiency. We will certainly return, this time to stay!