All I can say is that I really wish I'd read the reviews from people of a similar age before staying at Brook Barn.

We visited in July and stayed in their best room, The Hayloft. The room was perfect down to every last detail, as was the rest of Brook Barn and it's gardens.

We are a friendly, well presented, professional couple in our late 20's and have been together for 3 years. We had been living at opposite ends of the country for 3 months due to work commitments, so our stay at Brook Barn was to celebrate being together again.

We arrived after a 4 hour journey and trek around Oxford to an icy reception. I think it's fair to say we were not who SJ expected to have booked to stay in her best room. We decided to make the most of our stay and not let this bother us, we changed, sampled the scones provided for afternoon tea and left for a look around Wantage.

As the evening meal was not available during our stay, we decided to go for a meal at a local Thai restaurant we'd had recommended to us. It was a beautiful, warm evening and the restaurant was dark and busy so we decided to get a take away, we thought we could have this out in the sunshine at one of the tables in the yard at Brook Barn.

When we returned, we met SJ in the dining room, before we even had chance to speak she abruptly told us that we couldn't have a take away in our room. We politely advised her that we had planned to eat in the garden due to it being such a nice evening, everything in our room was white so we would never even contemplate eating takeaway in it! She begrudgingly provided plates and cutlery and feeling like scolded children, we ate our meal quickly. I took the plates back to the kitchen and knocked on the door, I could see through the glass that people were there but it took several knocks before anyone came to take them from me, they were taken from me without a single word. Later that evening, my partner ventured down stairs to retrieve ice and a bucket for our champagne, once again he received a similar reception.

I have stayed in many hotels, some not so grand and some double the cost and far superior but I have never been made to feel so uncomfortable and unwelcome.

We stayed at Brook Barn for an exerience, not just a beautiful room...we were bitterly disappointed.

This was the first time my partner and I went away together on our own, and with just a week before Christmas, we wanted something memorable, romantic and festive. Brook Barn certainly delivered on all of these aspects. The house itself is truly amazing – a traditional farm house with its high ceilings and gorgeous oak décor creating a genuine homely atmosphere. The stunning, yet unpretentious lounge was a place where we could relax in front of the huge log fireplace, drink afternoon tea and eat SJ’s homemade cakes (delicious!) The room we stayed in - the Stable, was small yet cosy and beautifully decorated. The bed and its Egyptian linen sheets was exceptionally comfortable and was immaculately cleaned the next morning. It had a patio which we could, if we stayed in the summer, enjoyed a drink looking onto the garden, however it was far too cold for that. Instead, we made excellent use of the hot tub, which we were allowed to use at our own will.

We eat at the guest house the first night and what an experience we had. My partner had the goats cheese salad to start with (COMMENT?) and I had the mushrooms with the poached egg – unusual yet delightful. For our main courses, we had a ribeye steak, cooked perfectly and a homemade steak and ale pie with the creamiest mash I’ve ever tasted! We couldn’t have criticised the food if we tried. The breakfast was equally as impressive with cereal, fresh fruit, yoghurts and croissants all laid out for ourselves to pick from. We would then order a full English, cooked from all the local produce! Amazing!

Brook Barn is certainly a special place and would recommend it to anyone!

We stayed in the Garden room and could not have had a more enjoyable time. The room was lovely, the staff were fantastic. The food is absolutely wonderful!

Every year we meet up for a family 'pre Christmas' get together. My sister did a great deal of research and found Brook Barn. We booked all 5 rooms and had the most wonderful weekend. What a discovery!!!

I really can't fault anything about our stay. Just about every aspect exceeded our expectations; Style, Service, cleanliness and food.

The Barn was beautifully decorated for Christmas, including a 17 foot Christmas tree in the main gallery area. The decor was a perfect mix of classic and contemporary with a real home from home feel. SJ and Mark (the owners) made us feel very welcome on our arrival. We were able to quickly settle into our room and then relax by the open log fire and enjoy afternoon tea and cake (quietly whispering to each other how we wished that we lived in a house like this).

At 7:30pm we all met down in the gallery for Champagne and canapés, again with the log fire glowing and the large church candles lit it created a perfect atmosphere to start the evening.

Dinner was served an hour later by a team of friendly staff. As we had booked all 5 rooms SJ had been very flexible at the time of booking and allowed us to choose our own menu. It goes without saying that the quality of the food was exceptional. To accompany the food the wine list was very comprehensive and reasonably priced.

After dinner we were able to relax by the fire on the comfy sofas and play a couple of silly family games without feeling uncomfortable in front of SJ, Mark and their team as they quietly and busily cleared the dining table and prepared it for breakfast. I think at one point SJ even joined in one of our games!!

Our nights sleep was excellent, we stayed in the Hayloft room which had amble room for our daughters’ cot. I haven't really talked much about our room but again needless to say it was beautifully decorated, clean and very comfortable!

Breakfast was an excellent standard, with plenty to choose from. Despite it being a late night for the team clearing up after us, the attention to detail the next morning was impressive. Even down to the daily weather printed on a small bit of card and placed on the table.

After breakfast we decided to have a quick dip in the hot tub just to clear the head before the drive home. A perfect finish to a perfect family weekend!!!

There is so much I haven’t mentioned so here’s a couple of after thought bullet points:

* Loved the little Bantam chickens that wondered freely in the garden
* The little pots of sweets and chocolates in the rooms
* The honestly bar down stairs (great selection)
* The pictures and paintings on the walls
* The under floor heating
* The ground level giant trampoline in the garden
* The running stream with footbridge in the garden