I'm writing this review without having read any others as this hotel was actually chosen by someone else for a last minute family celebration. It's described on Laterooms as a 'country house hotel and spa' which is a bit wide of the mark!

The positives:

Lovely setting, well off the main road with an old church and a ford virtually next door so very picturesque. The bar area ( wood panelling, bookcases, armchairs ) was very cosy and the restauramt area ( we didn't eat here ) looked very nice - modern with lots of light wood. The conservatory where we ate breakfast was big and airy and they thoughtfully set up a large table so our whole family group could eat together although we hadn't requested this.

The breakfast itself was lovely - a choice of fruit / cerals / yoghurts etc then you could have either a full English or Welsh breakfast, croissants, eggs cooked to your choice on toast or smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. We all plumped for the full English which was small but very nice ( 2 bacon, 1 sausage, 1 egg 1 half tomato 1 half fried bread ). There was unlimited toast and service was very pleasant. There were also big jugs of decent quality fresh juices as well as tea and coffee. Probably the best part of our stay if I'm honest.

The room was quite dataed ( we had a room in the annex at the rear of the property ) but clean. Pine furniture slightly mismatched but the bedding smelt really fresh and there was a kettle with tea/coffe/biscuits.

Staff seemed very pleasant and happy to help - we had some champagne to drink in one of the rooms and the bar staff happily lent us some glasses which considering we didn't buy the bottle from them was very nice.

The negatives:

We had booked a double room but there was only a twin room left in the main property which is why we ended up in the annexe ( this was a family room ). This happened to another couple in our party who were not given the option of swapping as the hotel was full. Very annoying when you can clearly select 'twin' or double' when booking although I appreciate this may not bother some people.

There were no towels in the room so we had to walk all the way back down to reception to request them ( no telephone in the room and I would have felt daft calling from my mobile! ). We were going out so got back later on to find the towels left on a chair in the open air outside our room; good job it hadn't rained but we were a bit puzzled why they weren't left in the room.

The bathroom itself was clean but a little shabby - a couple of broken or loose tiles although only in corners. There was no bathmat so we ended up using one of the towels. There were no toiletries supplied at all. The shower was almost comedy bad - it took ages to warm up and was very very weal then it went boiling hot then cold again - terrible!

The main gripe however ( and the reason I have rated the hotel as poor instead of average ) is that we were not warned that there would be either a generator or engine running in a small building behind the annexe ( on the hotel's property ) virtually the whole time we were there. We didn't notice this on entering the room as we literally dropped our things off and were out for a meal and drinks. On returning, we noticed the noise but had the TV on and were talking so it didn't seem too bad. Once we tried to get to sleep we realised how loud it was. It could have been a washing machine rather than a generator but ti was that kind of noise just very loud. As it was only one night ( and no one was answering the hotel reception when I did call on my mobile ) we decided just to try to sleep but I have to say we had the most fraught and restless night ever as when the noise did stop and we dozed off we seemed to jump awake when it started again after a few minutes. I hope I'm not sounding over-dramatic but it was actually not pleasant and had this been a romantic getaway I would have been really upset.

I was going to mention this on checking out but the lady on reception who seemed also to be in charge simply did not ask how our stay had been ( which in the hospitality industry I think is poor ) so I could not be bothered to complain ( I was also so tired I just wanted to cry! ).

In summary, this could actually be quite a nice hotel. Even without the noise problem I would only have rated it average because it's a little shabby in places but to be fair we only paid £49 for one night for B&B for 2. It's definitely a B&B rather than a hotel in my opinion. But I'm sorry, the noise was appalling and thry must have been aware of it as I spoke to another guest in the annexe who said they had been kept awake too and had complained and been moved the next day ( they were staying for a week though ). Very disappointing but it was only for one night.