Hollin House Hotel

The staff were pleasant and helpful, and the breakfast was generous and really good. We enjoyed dinner too, with an impressive meal and a good menu in the nice restaurant and bar. The hotel has character, looks great, has lots of parking, and looks out over fields. It also seems a good spot for events. Our room was a bit run down and could use attention. The bathroom needs a shelf, and the shower knob was awkward to turn, though the shower itself had great pressure.

Savannah, who runs the hotel, was first class, and the rest of the staff were excellent too. The building feels very tired, but at the DB&B price it’s hard to complain. The food is enjoyable pub grub. Check Secret Escapes for deals, as you may find a bargain that includes a bottle of wine with dinner. A great deal if you’re on a budget.

The building and its beautiful location have plenty of charm. It was decorated beautifully for Christmas, and the main foyer and staircase are gorgeous. Dinner and breakfast were delicious and served well. Everyone we dealt with, from reception and the bar to the restaurant, kitchen, housekeeping and night staff, was welcoming and especially sweet with our dog. They gave the dog lots of treats, which was lovely. The room itself was small and not very clean, with dirty splash marks on the wall, a broken bathroom shelf and no wardrobe. I took photos of the cleanliness issues. We had booked a superior twin, but because we had a dog we were moved to a standard room without any refund or rate adjustment, which was disappointing. The place felt more tolerant of dogs than truly dog friendly, even though the staff clearly liked them. We could hear noise from the Garden Room and from the room above through the thin ceilings. Staff already knew the party noise carried, and thankfully it quieted down after about 11.30 pm. Check-in was straightforward, but our key card stopped working at 10 am even though checkout was at 11. A kind cleaner let us back in. There were some lovely parts to the stay, but the room change, cleanliness, noise and key card problem took the shine off it. With a few improvements, I’d be happy to stay again.

We had a New Year break together. The staff were very friendly and the food was good, though the dinner options on the first night were limited. Our superior room had a few issues: we couldn’t open the windows even a little for fresh air, the built-in wardrobe door was pulling away at its top hinge, and the TV didn’t get BBC1 or a few other usual channels. It wasn’t a major problem, but hearing the news would have been nice.