This was our 4th visit to Salford Hall and is likely to be our last.

I had specifically booked a four poster room in the main hotel and not the annex part (because I wanted a room with character and charm, like the one featured in their brochure) for my Fiance's Birthday and we have friends who highly recommended one of the rooms. I made it quite clear at the time of booking that it had got to be in the main hotel and not the annex and the booking was accepted on this basis. However, when we checked in we were told we were in Room 36 in the annex. I explained that this was not acceptable. The Duty Manager then appeared who explained that they had got housekeeping problems. He showed us to Room 36 which was not what we were expecting at all, the carpet was filthy and the colour scheme depressing and drab. He did offer to personally make up a room in the main building for us but explained that it may not be up to standard as he is a man! We reluctantly accepted the room.

Service at dinner was extremely slow, allow around 3 hours for a 3 course meal, and the food was definitely not as good as before. We heard other diners complaining about their food.

Breakfast was good, self-service and the food was fresh.

When we checked out the couple before us were having a lot of problems in getting their bill correct. There was only one girl on reception who did not really know what she was doing. She said she had not been there very long. She was very friendly and trying her best but she should have been supervised.

If you have previously stopped at Salford Hall be warned that it has gone downhill, especially in the restaurant.

This stay was a real disappointment for us. I am certainly not happy about paying £178 for the room we stopped in. I was prepared to pay this much for a beautiful room with character and charm.

I was really looking forward to this break away, we drove up towards the hotel and it looked magnificent, what a beautiful old hotel built from Cotswold stone. We walked into the small reception where there was a lovely warming log fire, unfortunately that's where the romance of this trip ended!

We stayed in the main building, a place not suitable for children, elderly or infirm as there is no lift, the stairs are in a poor state of repair and there is a foul stench coming from the gentlemens toilet on the ground floor which drifted up the stairs. There was no offer of help with our bags, but between us we made it into our cold, damp, mouldy room which smelled musty. We turned the radiators on full, but even hours later the room had not heated up.

In the bathroom I carefully disposed of the spiders which had taken up residence some time ago and cleaned the cheap plastic bath as best I could with the pathetic excuse for a shower attachment. The grouting and sealant were black, the cobwebs well established and dusty and the bathroom smelled damp. The room appeared to have been last decorated in the 1980's and the taps/furnishings looked as if they used to be a gold colour. To finish the look the bathroom carpet was dirty and had various stain samples on it - I didn't want to think what they could be.

I went to reception to complain, but there was no one around and we had arranged to meet family a few miles away for a meal. I kept telephoning the hotel, but no one answered the phone, I just kept getting various answer machines, I left a message and am still waiting for a reply!!

We returned to the hotel and found two very nice members of staff on reception, they were polite, helpful and portrayed a professional image for the hotel. However the hour was late and we needed to sleep after our long trip and late night.

The following morning we had a wonderful breakfast, freshly cooked, in a lovely conservatory - we ignored the fungi growing on the walls and hoped the kitchens were clean. I would recommend the breakfast, but ask for things to be freshly cooked as on the second day they menus were not displayed and new guests were eating food kept warm on hotplates.

We left the radiators on in the room and went out for our second day. We returned early, about 8.30pm as we wanted to complain about the state of the hotel, but there were no staff to be seen. 20 minutes passed, still no staff, we decided to go to our room so I went to the key cupboard behind the reception desk, searched through the keys and removed ours - clearly the hotel's security needs reviewing as soon as possible.

We went to our room and it was very cold, the windows were open and the radiators had been turned off while we were out. Needless to say the room never warmed up, it was difficult to sleep due to the cold and with the knowledge that we had a dirty bedspread over us, however the sheets themselves were clean.

Our last morning we looked for the hair dryer, my partner opened all the cupboards and unfortunately found the mini-bar. As it was opened an awful stench filled the room, it was like rotten eggs. I couldn't believe it when I looked inside and saw all the mould, it clearly had not been working for months. I couldn't look for long as the smell was overpowering, but quite a different smell to the bathroom and the bedroom. It made my partner wretch...

In summary the hotel looks fantastic from the outside, the staff were polite and friendly, although no porter. The breakfast is good if you ask for the freshly cooked items. Unfortunately the decor is very dated, the hotel is cold, but worse of all it's filthy.

I can not recommend this hotel at all.

We stayed in one of the rooms in the converted barn rather than the main hotel. The room was clean and comfortable although there was evidence of a previous damp patch in the ceiling which hadn't been repaired and the grout in the bathroom was mouldy. The complimentary tea and coffee had not been replenished. All small issues, but attention to detail makes all the difference. The staff were polite and very attentive. Our room was serviced in the 30 mins that we were at breakfast - that's impressive! The food in the restaurant was excellent and despite the guide in the room only detailing continental breakfast, a full English was available every day. Unfortunately the leaflets on local attractions were rather poor. There was virtually no information about Shakespeare-related attractions and other leaflets were dated 2005. There was no lounge per se, but a bar off the main reception was an option (although the fire was not lit despite it being November). The parking was ample for all guests and the hotel very easy to find.

Me and my husband stayed at Salford Hall for one night on 10/11/07. The photos on the Best Western web site are accurate. It is in a lovely rural setting about 15 minutes drive from the park and ride in Stratford and we found it very easy to find. There is a village pub five minutes walk away.

The hotel is full of history and the staff were happy to talk to us about how the hotel was in a poor state and then bought back to its former glory by the previous pwner. Apparently it was a convent and the dining room was the chapel. It has been sympathetically restrored with wood panelling and the assistant manager said that on removing the panelling off room 3 many years ago a painted mural was found and this had been covered to preserve. Housekeeping staff took us up to have a look at the mural and also to see the priest hole (blocked off for safety) which goes from the top floor of the hotel then under the hotel grounds and continues under nearby fields and comes out into a nearby church.

The staff were lovely and very polite.The assistant manager on duty worked very hard undertaking reception, bar, restaurant bookings and she also assisted with serving breakfast in the dining room. We had a room on the side of the hotel which was large and comfortable. We booked a table in the bistro restaurant which offerred 3 courses for £15 which was good value. The a la carte menu was a bit pricey at £29.95 a head. Breakfast was buffet style and there was plenty of choice of cereals, fruit, jams and full english breakfast, toast, tea, coffee and juice. In the future the hotel will be extended and have more bedrooms, swimming pool and health suite,

We would definately stay again. at this hotel.