OK, first things first. The Loxley Guest House is utterly delightful. It has been totally refurbed to a very and I do mean VERY high standard (I have stayed in some 4* hotels that were not a patch on this place). The cost (£80 per night) is at the very top end of what you'd expect to pay for a B & B but this really is a top end place.

Breakfast was first-class with eggs from the hens in the garden. The bathrooms have high quality Gilbert & Soames products in them, linens and towels were top notch and it is in a lovely location in a charming village close (5 minute drive) to the centre of Stratford.

However, as others have said, what isn't so charming, sadly, is Andy the owner. He's not "rude" as such but he's definitely not approachable and definitely in the wrong business (as is probably evident by his replies to comments on here). When you walk in through the door (and I saw him do this to other couples too) the first things he says is "What time do you want breakfast and what do you eat?" No, "Would you like to freshen up, we can talk breakfast in the morning", or even, "Hell, I've only got 5 rooms, we can play it by ear". But he stands there with his little notebook like a traffic warden! I honestly, didn't see him smile once and one morning, when we were still in the breakfast room past the strictly enforced curfew of 9am he actually came in and turned the lights out at about 9:02am!

We went out to dinner one night and mentioned this to the cab driver on the way back and he chuckled and said he heard it a lot and that he didn't understand why Andy's wife (Jools - who was charming) lets him near the customers. He went on to say that Andy's like Basil Fawlty but without the humour - which just about sums him up!

So, I'll expect the standard aggressive reply on here from him but, my advice is keep Andy well out of the way of the punters and the business will be a roaring success. Keep him there and no-one will come back.

Sorry but there you have it! Had it not have been for the owner, I would have had no hesitation in giving this place 5 stars but as it is, I'm giving it a 2.

Unfortunately we spent only 1 night in this wonderful B&B, but it is worth a longer stay, absolutely! Even though our room was not big (but not small either) it was well furnished and nicely decorated, really charming. The place is quiet, night and day, and it was nice to be awakened by the smell of a good breakfast (excellent quality!!!). A tad expensive but it is to be expected near Stratford-uopn-Avon. A plus: the owner is very welcoming.
The place is close to Stratford-upon-Avon but it is necessary to have a car to reach the city.

Stayed for 2 days. My wife and I had not been away together for ages and were met by Joules and Andy on arrival. We were offered a cup of tea and shown to our rooms, Andy carried the bags as I was suffering from a back strain! The room was very comfortable, clean and had fresh linen. Breakfast was really good, everything was cooked, hot and fresh with eggs direct from the hen house in the garden! Interesting to see people saying the husband, Andy, was 'fairly unapproachable and a little intimidating' he's a broad well-built bloke with a fairly broad Gloustershire accent, accept that and you'll realise he's down to earth and rather amusing and interesting to talk with. Joules was lovely and my wife clearly got on with her! The property is on the main road through Loxley but it wasn't busy like main roads are, a couple of cars a minute maybe. It was very quiet at night except for being woken by a persistant cock in the morning....I'm told that's the way of the countryside! Great location for exploring the surrounding countryside and a good alternative to staying in Stratford Upon Avon. One sometimes worries about the accomodation when staying in B&Bs, this one is a good one!

My sister & I had a surprisingly disturbing and disappointing experience at the Loxley Guest House recently. Being exactly equi-distance between our respective homes in Yorkshire & Dorset, this guest house appeared to be a perfect place for a weekend together which we had been really looking forward to.


Invitingly, the website says: ‘on arrival you will receive a warm welcome from Andrew and Joules together with a refreshing pot of tea or coffee and slice of cake’. However, when we arrived poor Joules appeared very stressed. She explained her husband was away visiting a friend and that she was on her own, with two children under the age of five, one of which had been awake since 4 in the morning. This combined with the prospect of a full B & B when she’d only been originally expecting us, we both thought better of mentioning the tea and cake we were so looking forward to. During this initial conversation Joules expressed her concerns about the timing of guests arriving for breakfast. Simultaneous to this conversation, her little boy appeared to be raising her stress levels even further by banging the door several times during the conversation. At this point, although breakfast was stated as being between 8 and 9am a specific time was mutually arranged to assist Joules’s breakfast rush. We felt very sorry for her as she seemed to really have her hands full looking after children & running a guest house on her own.

Breakfast the next morning was very pleasant. It seemed that the guests had turned up at their allotted times & it had all worked well for Joules although we heard another guest ask if she was still stressed. Following breakfast we politely asked if it was ok to leave one of our cars in their car park for a couple of hours whilst we had a little more time in Stratford. This was fine, Joules assured us, as long as it was gone by 2pm as other guests would be arriving.

According to their website ‘with a friendly atmosphere, you will be assured a relaxing and pleasurable stay’. However, when we came back to collect the car at 1.15pm we were surprised to find the gate to the car park closed. Then we got a most unpleasant shock. A man appeared at the gate shouting at us for leaving our car, yelling ‘We’re a B & B, not a car park!’ We approached him calmly although very shaken up and upset by such an unprovoked aggressive outburst. We calmly clarified that we had asked permission from his wife at breakfast, and were totally perplexed by his aggressive and unnecessary manner. Determined to set the record straight we asked on several occasions during this upsetting conversation to speak to Joules. Initially he refused, but then went inside to ask her to come outside to the car park. For what ever reason she refused to do so. To say that he was behaving like a bully was a complete understatement, in fact we were both completely shaken by his aggressive tone & reaction. Quietly we retreated to collect the parked car whilst he persisted to shout aggressively behind us.


The Loxley has only been open since mid- 2008. They proclaim….. ‘We strive to continually improve our standards by providing our guests with high quality accommodation and excellent service making your stay a memorable and enjoyable experience.’ It certainly was a memorable experience, but only in leaving us completely shell shocked by Joules’s husband’s aggressive and scary attitude that it totally spoilt the relaxing happy weekend that we’d been so looking forward to.

We thought the Loxley was beautifully furnished & everywhere was very clean & fresh. For the most of the weekend we relaxed & enjoyed a break away from demanding jobs & children to catch up with each others lives. However, unfortunately following such an unpleasant aggressive confrontation before we left, we certainly cannot recommend the Loxley Guest House. This is such a shame when Joules tried her best to make our stay an enjoyable one under difficult circumstances.