The Saracens Head - Inn

This is not really a hotel and certainly not 3 star. Nor does it serve food. Based on our experience, anyone planning to stay here should note the following. There is no car park. We were lucky and found a roadside place about 300 yards away. Travel light as we had to transfer luggage and dog to the pub from up the road. They do not offer food at all during weekends and only at lunchtime during the week. You will be required to pay in advance on booking in; presumably because nobody would pay for this having experienced it. Access to our room was through the bar and up a steep, narrow, twisty, uneven staircase that is difficult if you are elderly and/or have luggage and a dog. These stairs are the only fire escape.. The building is old so one must accept a few quirks. Our room had it’s en-suite along a narrow private corridor. The stained unpleasant carpet between that and the bedroom greets you as you open the door. The door to the bedroom is incredibly low and having ducked to enter there is a step up to trip the unwary. The room itself can best be described as shabby with an assortment of old furniture, some of it broken. There is a sink but the taps don’t work. There is a kettle and two cups, no glasses or water. Dog owners should note that no bowls are provided for dogs so don’t leave them in the car – it’s a long walk to get them down those stairs and back to the car. The staff seem incredulous that it’s normal for dog friendly hotels to provide anything for dogs. The bathroom itself maintains the shabby standard – dirty rusty showerhead, tiles in need of maintenance, no towel rails and no tooth mugs. The bathroom kept it’s biggest surprise until the next morning – no hot water! The pub is not manned overnight 0until the pub opens in the morning. There is no-one to call for help or assistance. For this we were charged £121 a night, payable in advance. Although we had booked in and paid for two nights we decided to leave and return to civilisation. It’s worth noting that the hotel across the road, with full modern facilities and a car park, charges almost the same prices – in fact, allowing for what we paid for breakfast, it’s much cheaper! That hotel serves non-resident breakfasts so at least we ate before we went home. As a postscipt, after we had found somewhere for breakfast and were struggling down the stairs with our luggage and dog prior to retrieving the car, we found a man who appeared to run the hotel. He claimed we should have been allocated a different room and that there was nothing wrong with the hot water. He said he would investigate and would consider a refund or credit against a future stay ( Fool me once.. etc). You won’t be surprised to hear we still await the offer.... The majority of reviews here are very good. They in no way resemble our experience, something dramatic has happened here for it to have changed so much. In summary, after 50+ years of experiencing hundreds of hotels all around the world the New Saracen’s Head has achieved the distinction of being the worst value for money I’ve ever encountered! Enter at your own risk.

Booked it for my mum & I to visit family nearby. Thought it would be lovely to stay in an olde world inn. Checked in, got shown to the room and there was no blind in the bathroom, sand in the sink, shower was filthy & when mum ran the tap some vomit or faeces popped up the plug hole. Opened a drawer & was greeted by dirty underwear someone had left behind. Was immediately moved to another room which was a bit cleaner. I wasn’t informed when booking g that breakfast was a sort walk away in another hotel. Mum isn’t very mobile so that was unexpected but thankfully the staff & the food at The Crown made up for it. Would certainly never stay again. The narrowest beds known to mankind with even smaller duvets. We were cold, it was dirty and we couldn’t wait to get away. No staff around in the morning to give your key to so posted key through the pub letterbox. Very disappointed with the place would never return.

Location great. Pub and bar staff good. Our room, No 38, broken toilet seat, shower not great, not enough pillows, desperate for a refurb. Pub didn't serve food at the weekend, big mistake over a bank holiday weekend! We had to go across to The Crown for breakfast which was nice. Our friend in the room above us, shower didn't work unless you turned the tap on and then it was scolding hot. Overall, for one night it was okay but wouldn't be happy if I had booked for longer.