Since moving to the Forest of Dean in September 2011, I have been to the Speech House many, many times for lunch, with my husband and with friends. I have only ever had one minor experience when the new kitchen was being used for the first time and I waited a long time. I was asked if I would like complimentary drinks, and, my food, when it came, was delicious and complimentary.
On all other occasions the food has been excellent; well prepared, tasty and well presented
I have never had a bad meal at the Speech House.
My comment on the staff is, that they are all polite, well trained, welcoming and will do their very best for you.

As a treat I took my friend & her mother for lunch. The hotel is obviously having a refurb but the conservatory where lunch was served was busy & light. We ordered our food which suprisingly took about 50mins to arrive! we noticed other guests who had arrived after us received their food in good time. I asked a waiter about it & it finally came. I am in the catering business & my pate was a green & gey colou, which I would say was definitely off, as it only had a slight pinkness in the very middle, needless to say I did Not eat it. As we were so hungry I ate my tasteless & bland soup. My friend had chicken with mash which was heavily over peppered & was not as described on the menu.
I did tell the young waiter we were Not satisfied, however he looked at me blankly & that was it! NO manager came & offered us complimentary drinks.
I got the feeling that most of the clients were of an older generation & so we were Not taken seriously, however I paid the bill & left immediately. Needless to say I will not return or recommend this place to anyone of any age!!

Great history and amazing four poster bedrooms. Great food and very comfortable rooms in the main house. Well worth a visit when in the Forest of Dean.

We stayed overnight on a snowy Saturday - 4th February. The hotel is a lovely historic building and some of the history is evidenced in photos displayed in the public areas which we enjoyed looking at. The reception and conservatory are comfortable and relaxed spaces. We had a good meal in the conservatory on the Saturday evening- there is a menu and daily specials based around bar meal favourites. Service was good and friendly. Our bedroom was comfortable and breakfast was a generous buffet. There are renovation works under way to the bedrooms at present which did not interfere with us. The restaurant is comfortable but is probably in the plans for updating. Our stay was pleasant and we would like to return in a while when the renovations are complete. Good luck.