The majority of visitors to Sampsons Farm appear to love the place according to Trip Advisor. We can only comment on the Pent House Suite which is in outbuildings in the farm yard. A flyer we received said "For a special treat we have a luxurious suite..." Well, the furnishings are mismatched, dilapidated and the carpet worn and dirty. One plus was that the heating in our Pent House was belting out day and night on the coldest few days of the winter, which kept us from moving on or confrontation with the owners, as it was my husband's birthday and we didn't want any hassle. Was Sampsons Farm the inspiration for the stories of the Larkins in the Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates? We were enticed to Sampsons Farm by it's brilliant self promotion, advertising, blogs, details of the owner's colourful artist wife Sarah Bell, and visits from people in high places - the Queen's Chaplin no less. Sarah Bell the owner's wife, lives up to expectations and is a startlingly pretty lady dressed very artistically with a signature 1950's bandana wrapped around her head. There the illusion created by the advertising blurb ends. If you have energetic children, or dogs with muddy paws, and you like lots of ducks, chickens and so on, you will love this place and have no fear of your children trashing the furniture or muddying the carpets - no-one will notice! One plus- the Restaurant - My husband thought the dinners in the restaurant in the farmhouse were good. One guest wrote in Trip Advisor in Oct 2011 that the rooms in the main farmhouse had dilapidated furniture and Nigel Bell the Proprietor replied and said rooms were to be refurbished during this winter. There was no sign of this during our stay. Come on Nigel Bell, when will the refurbishment begin! You are charging plenty for a suite very like guest houses in the bad old days of the 1950's! Not really acceptable in the twenty-first century.
- Hotel Sampsons Farm Country
