The Elephant

Breakfast was delicious, with a good continental spread and cooked dishes made fresh to order. Our room was spacious, spotless and well equipped. The hotel has an old fashioned, slightly quirky feel, and the different bedroom layouts added to its charm for us. Staff were welcoming, friendly and helpful throughout our stay in pretty Pangbourne. We were in a front ground floor room, so we did hear passing traffic now and then, but soon stopped noticing it. Parking was sometimes available in the hotel car park; on most nights we used the neighbouring car park, which was convenient and very inexpensive.

Jesse arranged surprise flowers for our early Valentine's treat, and we were upgraded. Everyone on staff was amazing, and the steak was the best we've ever had. We had a wonderful stay, and the whole hotel was lovely.

Breakfast was superb, especially the eggs Benedict, and I loved the elephant pillows. The rooms are cozy, each with an interesting theme, and the bar is nice. It's a friendly hotel with a lovely feel. One catch: the Mandalay room sits right above the kitchen extractor fan, which can act as a 05.30 alarm. Whether that's handy depends on how deeply you sleep. I'd definitely come back, just possibly not to that room.

The room's tea and coffee tray was the only part that felt up to standard, and it seemed out of place beside the rest of the facilities. My wife and I were there for a friend's wedding, and on one of the hottest days of the year the small bar didn't have enough seats or tables for guests waiting for the ceremony. There wasn't enough hotel parking, so we had to pay to use a public car park. Our room had no air conditioning, and we barely slept. I saw just one unit in the hotel where the wedding was held, and it wasn't useful. Breakfast was a huge disappointment. The fried egg had ragged edges and wasn't hot, my wife never got her toast, and I never got my tea. The cereal and continental table was still being set up while we ate and left, even though we weren't up early, and it didn't seem worth waiting for anyway. The staff came across as unenthusiastic, or perhaps untrained.