We were on our way form Walse to Oxford and stumbled upon The Feathers. The building is magnificent and we got a fantastic room at a good rate. The common rooms have so much charm that it makes up the faded feeling of the bathroom and the fact that the restaurant was fully booked so we had to go out for dinner.

The building makes it worth the stay. The rest is at best average.

Really handsome and evocative building exterior, friendly and obliging staff, but the facilities didn't match the hopes raised by the facade. I guess it's not easy to upgrade a listed building so wasn't surprised or bothered when wi-fi access was restricted to an area of the lounge (upgrade in process apparently - the signals were strong in our room but no connectivity). But the decor in our standard room was really tired - clean enough but looking uncared-for. Cracked bathroom mirror, sad looking tiling and paintwork, a shower that grudgingly dripped water if you were patient. I can't help wishing it was trapped in the 17th century rather than 1970. There are two fabulous public rooms on the first floor, but when we went in chilly weather those two rooms looked abandoned and unheated. Surely a hotel can't survive for ever on it's unique facade - someone should be investing in a bit of tlc.

Stayed on a 2 for 3 deal with 3rd night free if you ate in the restaurant that night. Even then, at £180 per night it ain't cheap although in fairness that was for a large room with 4 poster bed and whirlpool bath.

Starting with the room then; aforementioned features were fine, room was large and comfortable although not much by way of a view. There were just a few signs of ageing however - light pull missing, general air of tiredness. Bathroom was big (scalding hot towel rails - beware!) however the space-age looking shower promised more than it delivered with not much by way of water pressure although plenty of hot water.

The public areas of the hotel are starting to look very tired, corridors more those of a suburban b&b than a high quality hotel. Part of the problem is that it can't decide whether to stick with the heritage feel of the exterior or go for the more up market look which the price tags demand. There is a nice area with an open fire in reception but this is generally used for meals, the bar is in a newer extension area and quite bland & soulless.

Turning to dining, on arrival my partner and I both ordered steaks from the bar menu but whilst mine was cooked rare as ordered, my partner's came well done rather than medium rare. Now, any kitchen can make a mistake, the key is how they deal with it. Too often when you send food back you just get the offending article replaced on the original plate. Here, the whole meal was re-done and re-plated from scratch - and this time cooked perfectly.

Our last night meal was OK - having eaten at a michelin-starred place the night before comparisons are odious and you have to bear in mind price (£16 for 2 courses or £19.50 for 3). A pre-starter (most unexpected at this price) of cauliflower cheese veloute was good but the scallops in my starter had clearly been frozen and were hence watery and tasteless despite being nicely cooked. Both mains were fine, and better than the price would lead you to expect without being outstanding.

Breakfasts are cooked to order, with eggs cooked very nicely (both poached and scrambled, good quality bacon & sausage. However, toast made from very cheap sliced bread is brought to table at the start of the meal and is thus cold by the time you want to eat it - far better to put good quality bread out alongside a toaster.

My final gripe would be with the quality of the tableware - cutlery is cheap and the coffee/tea/milk/water pots & jugs are very cheap stainless steel of the sort you might find in a greasy spoon - not good enough for a hotel of this quality.

Overall we had a very enjoyable stay - room very comfortable and hotel ideally located but you just feel that the place needs £100k or so spending on it sooner rather than later to bring it more up to scratch, and for the owners to decide exactly what they want the hotel to be.

My husband and I joined a number of "old frineds" for a reunion on the 13th & 14th January. The rooms we booked by the organiser and were allocated we understand on a pot luck basis. Boy oh boy did we strike lucky, what a wonderful room, the largest i have ever had at any hotel (we spend about 90 nights a yr away on business) the bathroom was hugh, with a lovely large jacuzzi. The hotel was wonderful, the staff fell over themselves to be of assistance and every one of the other 20 couples all commented on how wonderful their rooms were. I do not know, in words, how to describe the wonderful, olde world features there were whereve you went within the hotel. It was our first time in Ludlow and thought the town was great, but because we did not have a full opportunity to view the town in its entirity we shall certainly be going back in the very near future - and would not stay anywhere else that The Feathers, what an experience"" Well done to all the staff and private owners