Stayed here a couple of times a year for the last 8 years, always brilliant. Food out of this world!! Excellent for a romantic night away.

A poor beginning with the failure of the on-line booking system. Having received immediate confirmation of my on-line booking of one night in "Chocolate Heaven", when I rang to pay the deposit I was told that there was no record of my booking and the room was now taken. I was, however offered the "Four Poster" room at a discounted price by way of apology. I decided that at a discounted price I was willing to book two nights instead of the originally intended one and ended up with one night in the "Four Poster" and the second night in "Chocolate Heaven" for my now extended birthday treat. The "Four Poster" was more than adequate with its comfortable bed and tasteful furnishings. There was plenty of time for afternoon tea in the lounge before changing for dinner so my wife and I headed for a comfy looking leather sofa in front of the roaring fire (below freezing outside). Unfortunately the fire smoked so much it was a real effort to stay put and when my wife leaned over to me and whispered "Smell my hair" I pretty much knew this was not an invitation to some "L'amour dans l'apremidi". Anyway, we stuck it out for as long as we could and went back upstairs smelling like bonfires. Due to a housekeeping error there were no toiletries of any kind in the bathroom so that had to be rectified. We went down to dinner and were impressed by the ambience of both dining rooms. After ordering, we were presented with canapes etc and we were about to take our first bite when our starter arrived. I pointed out to the lady that served us that we hadn't even started our canapes yet, but she was obviously on a mission and moved our canapes to the side and gave us our starters as well. Luckily excess doesn't frighten me. Anyway, the good food and wine and pleasant atmosphere made up for any small deficiencies experienced so far and I was not particularly bothered when my choice of dessert was unavailable. We took coffee in the lounge, remembering not to inhale, before repairing to bed. We slept very well.
Next morning, the breakfast was good and set us up for the day. While we were out, our luggage was transferred for us to "Chocolate Heaven" which was situated, along with the other more expensive rooms, in the annex. Clearly no expense had been spared here to create a superb ambience and "Chocolate Heaven" was both chocolatey and heavenly. The bathroom was stunning, warm, inviting, quirky and very large. We risked afternoon tea again in the lounge which was just as smoke filled as the day before. The person who served us said four builders had been asked to provide solutions to the problem but it was too expensive to rectify. I admit that the fireplace with its super cast iron grate is a thing to preserve and provides an excellent focal point for the room but I am sure that it is not beyond the scope of human endeavour to entice the smoke up the chimney rather than into the room. Our second meal in the restaurant was good but we really couldn't face the lounge again afterwards and so returned to our room. And now the most disappointing aspect of the stay - the mattress! Firmness of mattress is a very personal thing but I believe that a mattress should never produce hip-ache. The mattress in "Chocolate Heaven" is by any standards, unforgiving and really lets the room down. This is such a pity and thank heaven we only had to suffer it for one night. I am far less tolerant than my wife in this respect (and probably many others) but even she complained of hip-ache after only an hour or so of attempted sleep.
So, although the Heifer scores highly in many respects I don't think we will return, but at the same time, I certainly wouldn't want to put others off from staying there as the Heifer possess much of what discerning guests are likely to look for in an individually styled boutique hotel and the only reason that my review may seem to err on the critical side is that much of the praise I would give would only be a reiteration of other reviews.

Just returned home after a weekend at the Heifer with friends. Above spec in every way. Wonderfully tasty fishy food. Better than some Michelin starred places.

This was an anniversary surprise for my husband...he was not disappointed! As keen walkers we visit and love Swaledale on a regular basis and I have often seen the Wensleydale Heifer and thought that it was just a pub in the village of West Witton, however a colleague recommended the hotel and in particular the "Chocolate Room". The quality of food was superb which is reflected by it's popularity hence when we arrived we had to park on the main road, maybe try to avoid checking in before 2pm especially on a Sunday. All staff were very welcoming and friendly, we were shown to our room which was clearly marked on the door with a block of chocolate, each room theme being reflected by an appropriate emblem. To make the occasion more special I purchased the True Romantics Package, "Harry" the Heifer bear and an anniversary balloon which was all set out beautifully in the room on our arrival, they also brought us some homemade cakes and a flask of milk for our tea/coffee making facilities. The gentleman showed us all the hidden surprises i.e. the chocolate. There was one drawer which was wholly full of chocolate bars, there were glasses around the room and bathroom full of chocolates, the attention to detail was phenominal, I was almost convinced the entire decor was made from chocolate. There was a lovely view from our window of the surrounding hills, the village, and over a neighbouring garden, complete with a miniature railway. The bathroom was gorgeous it had a tv/mirror on the wall above the bath taps. The hydrospa bath was just aching to be used. totally relaxing, with a glass of champagne in hand, chocolate covered strawberries, more chocolate and the jets at full blast in the bath...completely wrinkly upon exiting! There was also a power shower unfortunately I didn't get the chance to experience this. Bathrobes and slippers were provided which was a nice touch. The four poster bed was extremely comfortable and the room was very cosy on a chilly October night, so much so we didn't want to leave the room. We had a good selection of DVDs in our room for the flat screen tv on bedroom wall, which was supplemented by a further selection of DVDs outside the room in the hallway. We had booked a table for our evening meal which was excellent quality, served by an attentive waiting service, in a pleasant atmosphere. My husband had the famous fish and chips, I had lobster with scallops both of which we would recommend. There was a good selection of reading material in the front lounge which had a lovely log fire burning, making it feel very homely. Breakfast was an absolute treat with locally sourced produce, and left us yearning to return. Be sure to take your free Heifer and menu home with you as a momento. An outstanding hotel in a simply outstanding area.