The inn is steeped in history, and clean comfortable.Anyone looking for 21st century fixtures and fittings will be disappointed, but for me the room and ensuite were perfectly adequate for the property. The purpose for my stay was to visit historic sites and buildings in the Hrefordshire/Wales border region. Peter was extremely helpful in suggesting many locations that I had not been aware of prior to arriving.
With regard to food I found it excellent quality, and good value for money. The ambience in the bar was very comfortable, and all the visitors were very happy to enter into conversation about anything and everything. I will certainly return, and have already recommended the Inn to many of my friends

I wanted to take my mother and sister out for a treat so decided to go to the Rhydspence. My sister had had bar meals over the last couple of years which she said were lovely, so I was happy to try their evening meals. I knew it wasn't the cheapest place to eat but I don't mind paying if the food is of a high standard.

We booked for 7.30pm but arrived at 6.50pm in order to look over the menu and have a drink. It was a bit of a trek from the car park to the front door which incidentally was locked. After several attempts and ringing the doorbell, we were eventually let in by a young boy. The landlord was a bit strange but as I have a sarcastic nature, I wasn't too worried. The lounge area was a little cold but I put that down to the fact that we had arrived early and the fire needed stoking up. We were asked if we wanted to order earlier which we were grateful for as we were ravenous. My sister and I ordered garlic mushrooms en croute and my mother had brocolli and stilton soup. We were taken through to the restaurant which was dark and chilly and left for some considerable time. A young girl eventually came with our starters. The £8.00 en croute mushrooms consisted of a few button mushrooms, dipped in garlic butter and served on soggy toast and the soup was so thick I was tempted to ask for a knife and fork rather than a spoon. We were given rolls but they were undercooked too. We queried the en croute mushrooms saying that we thought they would have been in some sort of pastry but were informed our soggy piece of toast was in fact a crouton!!! For the main course, my sister and I had rack of lamb and my mum had sea bass. The lamb though luke warm was well cooked and tender which was just as well as the rest of the meal wasn't. The plate on which the lamb was served was too small to get the undercooked luke warm vegetables on and the potatoes which the lamb sat on was floury and undercooked. The sea bass came in a bag which consisted of several layers. When the waitress brought it out, she didn't seem to know what to do with it so made a half hearted attempt to break through the layers and left us to do the rest. The bag overtook the whole plate and the fish wasn't filletted so as the plate wasn't big enough, we were left with no other choice but to put the veg on the bag with the fish, every time my blind mother took a bite, she got a mouthful of bones.

My sister spoke to the owner and was told she should have sent the food back and it was too late to do anything about it now. With this attitude I wasn't prepared to spend a further £8 per head on disappointing puddings so at that point I paid and we left. I would not recommend anyone going there and would strongly suggest you drive straight past.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon when it was really pouring with rain. Unfortunately I drove into the car park which was well away from the front entrance of the Inn. (The sign in the car park indicating the entrance was a 'low key' effort). Due to the weather we had to resort to driving out of the car park to the front of the Inn only to find the door locked. On opening we were greeted by 'mine host' Peter, who was not 'up front' in the communication stakes. However, being typically English, we commented on the atrocious weather, only to be greeted with, 'Well I didn't order it "

On being shown to our room (No.6) we had to negotiate a steep staircase. My wife commented she would have to take it easy/slowly as she had had a knee replacement operation which was still causing problems. Peter replied that he had broken his ankle last year and he coped !!

However, the room was fine, clean. tidy, centrally heated and with en-suite facility. But there was now shower attachment at the bath. No mixer taps and if you ran the hot water for the bath you could not run it at the wash hand basin. Water pressure was poor and on running a bath to our satisfaction took the duration of one episode of Coronation Street on TV. Tea/Coffee making facilities were in the room as was a TV but no telephone. OH !! don't expect to get a signal on your mobile in this area.

Food was excellent for evening meal and the breakfast was equally as good, especially the kidneys with the full cooked breakfast. Peter, I must say was very attentive to our requirements at meal times.

When it came to checking out I paid the bill for the 3 night stay and failed to notice a 3% charge levied for Credit Card transaction. It did state it on the bill but I thought there should have been a more predominant display indicating this.

One point o note, when charging to your room, they do not use room numbers but use your surname. I had a brief idea of what we had charged to the room account and accepted the bill presented. But on later checking I saw that certain items on my bill had been missed, but other items charged were not mine but for some friends we met up with who were staying in a different room.

All in all it balanced out and I could not be bothered to return to the hotel and complain on this issue. We did leave a pair of spectacle behind and on phoning to enquire they had been placed behind the bar for us to collect, which we did,

To sum up the Rhydspence is in an ideal location with great countryside. The food and service cannot be faulted, accommodation is clean and adequate, BUT it takes some time to get used to Peter and of course be warned CHECK YOUR BILL at the end of the stay and beware the 3% CC charge.

Hi all, I stayed here a couple of months ago for a long romantic weekend and had a great time. I'd finally got bored of the normal bargain chain places (great value but all the same after a while).
When we checked in, our bags were carried to the room (rare these days) and the normal pre flight safety check given....fire exit that way, bar opens at 7pm, don't eat the soap... but actually made to feel at home.
We had the four poster bed, complete with drapes, sounds of the stream and a view over Wales (only 25 feet from window over the stream!!!) .
Breakfast was included and set us up for a days exploring.
We ate in the resturant all 3 nights and had something different every night from the varied menu. The wait for the food was worth it (it also proved it must have been homemade)/. I'll stop waffling now... If you want something different with service how it used to be then definately give the Rhydspence a go.
Hope this helps.
JR