I selected this hotel as it is situated well in the picturesque town of Bourton on the Water and I had a friend visiting from Australia so wanted to treat her to something a bit special. Unfortunately the hotel disappointed on all fronts. Booking was smooth done by telephone and confirmed the day ahead. We arrived at 4 pm and asked to pay half on my card and half on my friends but the total had already been charged to my credit card. The young man agreed to refund it and recharge half to each of us but said his system was down to come back after dinner. Our room was standard but nice, in the coach house, an out building. I expected a cosy oldy worldy lounge area in the main hotel. We found a dated little lounge where the staff were having a discussion of what went wrong at lunch. We decided to have a drink and asked if the fire could be lit, but was told it was too early and too warm so we went in search of a better atmosphere. There were not too many restaurants open for dinner. There were about 4 choices and we settled on the pub, enjoyed mediocre but quite pricey dinner and joined in their quiz. When we got back reception was closed. We were woken at 8 am by a man knocking on the door and bins being slammed about, this was when I realised our view was out over the bins. Beds were good and room good size but pricey for this location. So we went for a good hearty full English breakfast in their dated dining room and to sort out our credit cards. Here we met with a young lady who said she was unsure if she could credit and recharge our cards but she would check with her manager. We went to get our bags and when we came back the lady said she could not refund the card as the payment had been taken three days earlier and somehow this would mess up the accounts. I asked to see her manager who was now unavailable. She said "Most people go to the bank and transfer money from one card with the other" a good suggestion but the town bank has been closed permanently for some time. We argued to no avail and decided to get on with our day but she had definitely put a negative start on mine. This hotel is under refurbishment, there were beds and chairs in the bin area and workmen around. I wouldn't recommend staying here as it's pricey as well as unhelpful. Even try another town with a bit more choice at this time of year, it's all a bit ghost town ish when it should be presenting its autumn beauty! Shops seem to close around five pm and start to open slowly around 10 am.

We received a very warm welcome on our recent 2 night stay for a friends 60th birthday. We had previously stayed in one of the premium double rooms here before the recent takeover and had a thoroughly enjoyable stay. Therefore, we chose to return knowing that the hotel was under new ownership & management and planning applications for development under way. This time we stayed in 2 of the quiet cosy doubles on the ground floor looking over the gardens. It is acknowledged that the rooms need some TLC in terms of decor but are not unpleasant or unattractive,they are adequately ventilated/heated, well maintained, clean & very comfortable. Our bathrooms were functional and both had excellent showers. The bed linen was of good quality, as were the towels and the rooms contained a good stock of refreshments including a complimentary box of local fudge and a bottle of champagne. The service we received and the quality of food including cakes, beverages, was excellent and the breakfast was outstanding. The staff team and management were friendly, polite and courteous throughout our stay. The grounds are attractive, and the hotel is well positioned in the village with the advantage of having its own parking.
The hotel is due to be updated and is going through a transitional period, but judging by the way the hotel is currently being managed and on hearing about the plans for development, we will undoubtedly return again. It was encouraging to hear that in addition to other plans, the hotel is proposing to open an evening restaurant & that the character of the building is not intended to be changed. Although the premises are to be updated, the comfortable and intimate feeling of the house will hopefully remain intact. Will definitely be back.

I stayed here 11 years ago and it was not perfect then. Knowing that the hotel was under different ownership I expected an improvement. I was disappointed. We paid £198 for a "premium" room in the Coach House. The best bit about it was the excluded garden accessed through double doors from the bedroom. The bedroom itself was small and needed decorating and refurbishing. The closet and bathroom smelled of damp. The fan in the shower did not work and water in the shower was slow to drain away so was in danger of overflowing if one stayed in too long. The towels were old although a decent size. There are several rooms in the Coach House and the soundproofing is poor so could be noisy. Breakfast at £15 per head was overpriced. We both had fruit to start with. It looked as if it hanging around a while . The full English was no better than we could have got at the cafe nearby. We were also surprised to discover that there was no dinner on offer. During the course of the evening we were told that e tensive renovations were about to take place. This hotel certainly needs it but in the meantime this hotel is a let down and extreme of overpriced.