The Relais Henley

You can’t beat the location in Henley, right by the Thames and the famous bridge. The manager’s handwritten note was a lovely touch. The rooms have been refurbished comfortably without losing the character of the historic building. Breakfast was decent, with plenty to choose from, though it gets very busy at 9am on a Sunday, so you may want to go earlier. We didn’t eat at the restaurant, but the menu looked excellent.

The carrot cake was fresh and delicious, and the coffee was great. Staff were friendly and polite. Lovely cake and coffee today.

A lovely hotel, though it could use more attention to detail. The smart, polite young breakfast staff seemed to need more training or supervision: there was no salt or pepper on my table, no teaspoons on any table, no milk on mine, and no side plates or cereal milk anywhere until we asked. Breakfast itself was lovely. I’d booked a Premier room with a river view but ended up in the attic, where I had to stand on tiptoes to see the river through a small, high window. At checkout I was told there was nothing to pay because I’d prepaid, but I reminded them I’d had a coffee at the bar on arrival and paid for that.

We had a large room with plenty of wardrobe hangers, good bedside tables, and a really comfortable armchair. The bathroom was clean and spacious, with lots of surfaces to lay out our toiletries. The staff were fabulous during our two night stay, and special thanks to Daniella and Sahara for looking after us so well. The hotel is lovely, right in the middle of the lovely small town of Henley. We enjoyed strolling up the street from the hotel, and Henley itself is great.