The Blue Boar

We booked a weekend stay with Pet Pyjamas who specialise in dog friendly hotels. They recommended this hotel and we were not disappointed. I read some of the previous reviews and can honestly say that we were a little apprehensive. I will start by saying that we have stayed in some of the best hotels in the world so have high standards. This review is based on value for money. We paid £170 for our weekend which included a welcome drink, dinner credit and breakfast. Great value. The room was on the ground floor in the annexe. It's not the best I have stayed in but it's setup as dog friendly so no complaints. It was extremely clean. There was hot water, a bath, lovely L'Occitane products and a Nespresso machine! The bed was comfortable. Dinner was great value. The steak was cooked perfectly and everything freshly cooked by the kitchen staff. Breakfast was ordered from an extensive menu and you could have whatever you liked. Food was a little slow to come out but it was freshly made so again, no complaints. What made this place special was the staff. Everyone was happy and clearly enjoyed working there. It felt like a big family. This is not a five star hotel but well deserves a 5 star review for value for money and a great pace to base yourself to enjoy the wonderful countryside in the local area.

Excellent service as always, food was fantastic.

Where to start? We had requested a ground floor room (gfr) if possible via booking.com, but received no confirmation from the hotel that this would be forthcoming. Upon arrival, we were told that as we'd requested a gfr we would be in the annex - fine with us. We proceeded to the annex where there were 3 gfr's but we were on the first floor! The room was comfortable and clean. Dinner that evening was very good although service a little slow, but that didn't bother us. Breakfast was not good! My husband ordered the full English with fried eggs - he got poached. I asked what cereals they had but told they don't have any, quote: "but if you want granola you can have some of that". I declined. I asked for some orange fruit juice that was served in a half pint glass full of ice cubes and some juice that was so diluted it tasted like weak orange squash. I asked if I could have some plain toast, preferably white, for my breakfast. I was informed they only have 'artesan' bread, nothing else. I do not like seeded bread. Anyway I was brought 2 slices that were barely toasted, full of seeds, together with 2 wrapped butters that were solid, and as the toast was cold did not melt one bit. I asked for some marmalade only to be told quote: "we don't have marmalade". The waitress brought me two small bottles of strawberry jam (the sort you are served with scones!!). All this while watching one of the 'chefs' standing on a chair? in the kitchen, with his back towards us, cleaning appliances overhead! The other chef busy on his mobile while preparing food!! The following morning my husband did get his full English with fried eggs! I asked for poached eggs on toast. Two eggs were served on one slice of artesan toast that had no butter on and the eggs were solid! Such a disappointing stay. We have stayed previously (in the main building), but sad to say this most recent visit will be our last.