The Talbot Inn

The restaurant food was really good, and the staff, though young, were keen to give good service. The receptionist was helpful too. My partner and I enjoyed the place, but if you want a large room, I'd book a family room. We paid for a deluxe and got a small room, so we asked to move. In the end, we could have paid less for a bigger room.

The staff were great and very helpful, and the place has a fabulous feel and a lot of history. But the old building is looking tired. The carpets need replacing, the rooms need brighter lights, and the bathrooms have old sealant and poor repairs to leaks. I also don't like paying to park. It should be included in the room price for guests, as it used to be free. With a spruce-up, this could be a 4/5 star place again. Thanks to the staff, though.

I spent hours sitting in the car park in the middle of the night because it was a pleasant 60 degrees outside and unbearably hot in our room. We had two miserable, sleepless nights at The Talbot Inn, Ripley, during the hottest two days on record for May. There was no air conditioning or fan, and the window only opened an inch. I knew there might not be air conditioning in the UK, but the lack of a fan came as a surprise. When I asked at reception on the first night, I was told most of the fans had broken, and advised to buy one, with suggestions of where to shop. That wasn't much help at 2am. The staff member understood how hot our room was and said the building holds heat even after it's cooled outside, and that our floor is particularly hot. They also said they had no key for the window lock and company policy didn't allow the windows to be opened. All they could offer was a bucket of ice. The next day, after I explained how little sleep I'd had, I was given a fan, so apparently they weren't all broken, though it barely helped. Three different staff members told me nothing could be done about the window locks. It was frustrating, especially since the room stayed as hot as the day before while it cooled outside at night. At a school or another public building, I'd expect this to be treated as a health and safety issue. At The Talbot Inn, those unhealthy temperatures seem to be company policy. Someone in a ground-floor room below us had clearly broken the lock and opened their window all the way. I was almost tempted to follow suit and cause criminal damage. In those unusual circumstances, surely being able to open a window wasn't too much to ask. It seems it was.

We were delighted with our choice of The Talbot for our March 2026 wedding. The venue was stunning, and lots of our guests told us how beautiful it was. The day ran smoothly, thanks in large part to Krystyna, who was brilliant from when we first met her at the venue's wedding fair right through to the day after. She helped calm us down, talked us through the schedule, and made sure the timings were followed. She was one of the reasons we chose the venue. We also used several suppliers from the fair that the venue vouched for, and they were fantastic. We couldn't have asked for a better wedding day.