We stayed at The Old Rectory in Salhouse and, while our room was pleasant enough and the bed was very comfortable, unfortunately the overall hotel experience was disappointing and, for what we paid, represented poor value for money.
The hotel feels tired and, more importantly, there seems to be a lack of attention to the details that make a guest feel welcomed and looked after. Our arrival felt more like a box-ticking exercise than a warm welcome, and throughout our stay staff often seemed difficult to find. The bar and dining room were completely empty in the evening and there was very little warmth or atmosphere.
There were also numerous small details in the room which individually might seem insignificant, but collectively really affect the experience: a rusty shower rack, a very small television, poor tea-making facilities with a cheap kettle containing considerable limescale, untidy hanging cables and electrical sockets nowhere near the bed. These are the sorts of details that matter when you’re paying hotel prices and expecting a good standard of accommodation.
The biggest disappointment, however, was the evening food. We arrived hungry and wanted to eat at the hotel on our first night, but the menu appeared to consist largely of dishes that could simply be reheated – chilli, curry and lasagne. We ordered the beef chilli at £14.95 and it was, unfortunately, one of the poorest hotel meals we have ever been served. The rice appeared microwaved, the chilli was essentially a thin tomato sauce with virtually no discernible beef and only a couple of kidney beans, and what were described as nachos appeared to be soggy, stale vegetable crisps. We ate it only because we were extremely hungry and had no practical alternative at that point. At £14.95, it was simply not acceptable.
My advice would be don’t plan to eat here when you arrive. Instead, go to their sister hotel, The Stag, just up the road in Salhouse. We ate there during our stay and the contrast could hardly have been greater – a genuinely warm welcome, excellent service, lovely atmosphere and fantastic food. Eating there would certainly help make a stay at The Old Rectory more enjoyable.
Breakfast was also underwhelming given some of the glowing reviews we had read. The cooked breakfast was adequate but rather greasy, coffee was self-service from a machine and the overall choice felt limited. More concerning was that when we returned to the hotel at around 3pm, having left breakfast at approximately 9.30am, the dirty breakfast dishes were still sitting on the tables.
Housekeeping also lacked attention to detail. Our room had apparently been serviced, but the bed had merely been pulled up rather than properly made and the sink had not been cleaned.
There is the basis of a lovely hotel here – the building has charm, our room was comfortable and the bed was excellent – but it needs investment not only in the physical details, but particularly in staff training, hospitality and the overall customer experience.
Sadly, considering the price we paid and the standard of the overall experience, we didn’t feel it represented good value for money and wouldn’t choose to stay again. With stronger management focus and much greater attention to the guest experience, however, The Old Rectory could be considerably better than our stay suggested.
