My boyfriend and I stayed at the Tollgate Inn on my brtihday trip to Bath.

Highly recommended - welcoming, friendly staff, excellent food and lovely rooms. This is a gorgeous part of the world and I would absolutely return to the Tollgate when we next venture to Bath.

Just returned from a 4 night stay. Overall had a wonderful time. Food excellent, staff very helpful, but would agree with previous comment that staff were more friendly towards locals and would only engage in conversation if you approached them first. Room comfortable but bathroom too small and lacking shelving/storage space. Room also lacked dressing table with mirror so I could sit down and do hair/apply make up. Very tasty complimentary olives provided on the bar but if you wanted to take some away to eat at the tables and settees you were asked to pay for them!

Overall a good stay and would return again.

I've stayed here a few times on business as a solo traveller and it is a great deal for the rate I pay, considering the price and quality of other hotels in the local area.
The food in the evening is wonderful, as is the breakfast, my only complaint is that breakfast doesn't start until 8am, making me get into the office a little late, I'd like it to start at 730 even if only continental breakfast was offered then. Evening meals aren't cheap but the quality of ingredients and dishes are evident where the cost sits
Room size can vary quite significantly although all are comfortable and well appointed, all named after cats (but don't expect to be able to swing one in some of them). If you like spending the evening in the downstairs pub you are made to feel very welcome and this is what, to my mind, sets the place apart from other hotels in the local area.

I'm going to try and be as complete as I can out of respect for the fantastic experience the owners and staff gave us throughout the weekend we stayed. I'm a little low on inspiration, though - I typed this in full last night, only for my girlfriend to press the wrong switch and turn off my computer just as I was about to press 'send'. Typical, but I digress.

My girlfriend and I stayed at this B&B last weekend, and I don't think we could've chosen better. We arrived on the Friday to smiling staff, and were immediately informed that we had been upgraded to a larger room. A lovely way to start a weekend away for a young couple. The room was plenty big enough for us and our overnight bags, with a comfortable bed and plenty of storage space for clothes etc. Everything was spotless, and though the bathroom was small (what else can you expect for an en suite, and why on earth would you want a big bathroom?!) it followed suit in the cleanliness category. We had plenty of teas and coffees to hand, along with some bottled water and a decanter of what I presumed was port, although we did not partake. We were warned that the B&B's cat may end up in our room if the window was left open. This turned out to be true, but nothing that couldn't be fixed by my girlfriend tripping over it...

A little after 7pm we ventured down into the restaurant to take up our reservation. We were seated with drinks in the bar area by the owner, Alison, and were handed the menus. Everything on the menu sounded fantastic, but we shunned the set menu in favour of the a la carte menu so that we could take advantage of what was - for us at least - a much more exciting menu than we're used to at home. Once ordering, we were taken to the upstairs restaurant area where we were tended to by a delightful young waiter. His service was discreet and attentive, and his attitude was perfect. This description goes for each one of the staff we came across, although we did have a foot-in-mouth moment when having some light-hearted chat about the forthcoming Rugby World Cup matches, which led to a little ribbing at the expense of the Welsh, of whom my girlfriend is a proud tribeswoman. Oops!

So, to the food. We were initially presented with an amuse bouche of roasted tomato and pepper soup, which was delicious and set a good standard for the food to come. I went for scallops with crab and lobster mousse on a pea purée to start, and my girlfriend went for crab dressed in a lemon mayonnaise with toast and salad leaves. Absolutely fantastic! Scallops were perfectly cooked (I expected nothing less after hearing of the reputation of Alex, head Chef/owner who previously trained at the Savoy and has held a Michelin star) and everything on the plate complemented everything else wonderfully. The crab made for a nice, light starter and was full of fresh flavour.
For mains, we wanted to branch out a little for our usual Swansea offerings of steak or fish, and that led me to choose partridge accompanied by a potato fondant and savoy cabbage with bacon, whilst my partner plumped for duck with orange-glazed carrots in an orange sauce. Again, everything was absolutely spot-on. The partridge was well-cooked and tender, with the gamey flavours allowed to reign over the saltiness of the bacon. I should have perhaps asked for a sharper knife, as it was difficult to cut into, but this was certainly a by-product of the meat itself and nothing to do with the cooking. I'm not sure that I would choose a potato fondant out of a line-up of accompaniments, but it was fine. One small niggle, however: I know that lead shot can sometimes remain in game birds, but in the excitement of the food I completely forgot this and was nearly given a nasty surprise when I did come across a bead. A quick word from the waiter before commencing would have been enough, so a small improvement could be made there. The duck was lovely also, and the orange sauce was pleasant without being overpowering. My girlfriend prefers subtle flavours, and this was just right for her.
Finally, we moved onto desserts and I chose - with some trepidation - the sticky toffee pudding. I had to be convinced, though: too many times I have chosen sticky toffee pudding, only to be presented with some sponge with dates sitting at the bottom. No, no, no! I was reassured that the dates in the sponge would be blended and would be for texture rather than taste. A promise of homemade caramel ice cream sealed the deal. And wow, was I glad that I chanced it - the pudding was phenomenal! Beautifully-moist sponge, a lake of sweet toffee sauce and the best ice cream I have tasted: the caramel still managed to scream out over the sponge itself AND the rich sauce! I did not want it to end, and I was very pleased at being able to take home a large pudding from the adjoining delicatessen.
My girlfriend chose a creme brulée infused with Bailey's, and we rather naively expected that the traditional vanilla ensemble could combine with the whiskey cream. Of course, the chef knows better than that and - rightly - stuck with Bailey's for the flavouring. This, based on expectations, left her with an OK dessert, but the accompanying chocolate ice cream was again superb.

Overall, a fantastic meal which left us very pleased. A couple of glasses of wine took the total price to around £70 for two - we felt that this was good value for food of this quality. We would definitely venture back again, and I would love to go for a meal there every season just to see what delights are created as produce rotates.

A quick word on the breakfasts provided. They were very good, though neither of us managed to finish either of our breakfasts on two separate attempts. I started with some delicious granola first off, and had a full English breakfast on the Saturday, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on brioche on the Sunday. I'm sure I could have polished everything off if I had left the cereal alone (I can't eat nearly as much as I used to!), and I have no real complaints. As a small note, the sausage on the breakfast wasn't truly to my tastes - a little too heavy on herbs and seasoning. But, if you read another of my reviews, I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to finding decent sausages. Each to their own.

We checked out on the Sunday morning, and we were very pleased with everything. We were left to get on with a relaxing weekend away, and this was exactly what we had wanted. The staff were brilliant, and the rooms and food made it very easy to fall in love with the place.

To finish, I have two tips: check out the deli just over the road for some amazing local produce, and get in on one of Alex's cooking demonstration which he puts on around once per month. I wasn't able to partake in one, but if the food he serves is anything to go by it is money well-spent! Check out their website for details.

(PS I have rated 'Fitness Centre' and 'Room Service' as Excellent, although neither were available here. Unusual, perhaps, but I didn't want to put any black marks against the establishment)