Southernhay House Hotel

This review is for the food. Fabulous wine list, food (special occasion set menu was promised, though not delivered in the end) was genuinely vile, expensive and worse quality steak than Wetherspoons . Food was uneaten, because it was awful, waiter didn’t notice. Hotel was a lovely venue though x

This is a a gem of a boutique hotel handily placed for exploring the city centre. Our room was generously sized and extremely comfortable with super king size bed and a large bathroom. The roll top bath was great for a soak after a hard day’s sightseeing. The town centre and the cathedral are only a few minutes walk away yet the area was calm and peaceful, ensuring a good night’s sleep. Breakfast was excellent with a good choice. The pancakes were beautifully done and the portion generous as was the full English I had the following day. The staff were friendly and helpful.The bar is comfortable and a great place for a nightcap. The hotel benefits from its historic background and yet is beautifully clean and modern. We would happily stay here again

Southernhay House must be the only hotel in England (certainly the only hotel charging three hundred pounds per room per night B & B) that does not offer their guests the opportunity to have cornflakes for breakfast. Or Weetabix. Or Rice Crispies. Or any fresh fruit. Or any fruit juice other than orange juice. The only cereal they offer is some unappealing-looking granola. On the positive side, the staff of the hotel are friendly and helpful, the period decor is attractive and authentic-looking, and there are some stunning pieces of antique furniture. But you can't eat the decor or the furniture for breakfast.

Booked for a graduation meal. The venue is stunning it’s a shame the food was standard nothing special . Considering it was a small menu we expected what we would be given would be done very well and a high standard of ingredients would be used, unfortunately this was not the case. what we received was average to say the least the Steak was not great quality and not cooked well it lacked flavour , the rest of the plate was mediocre, tasteless tomatoes and what I suspect may be frozen chips . The Halloumi sticks my son commented were the same as Whetherspoons . The Ragu meat was poor and had a lot of fat . The Wine menu should match the standard of food, if you sell high end like Cristal the food should be of the same calibre . I would be surprised if they have a Chef more likely a cook , if the food we received was done by a Chef then that’s concerning, I have had much better food at pubs , felt very disappointed by what we received if I’m honest and everyone commented , which is a shame because this place could be amazing , the venue is beautiful .

Fabulous Lady that checked us in was lovely, real asset to the hotel. Looked after us at all points of our stay from reception to bar drinks and breakfast, she was amazing. Hotel is lovely with a great character and vibe, breakfast was excellent and the sun terrace is a gem.

Third and last stay at this hotel.  Spent £1,190 on 2 rooms for 2 nights to bring my mother for a treat.  On our second night, I was kept awake until nearly 1am by the noise of people in the bar and the staff clearing up.  I went down twice in my pjs to ask them to reduce the noise as I wanted to sleep.  The next morning the manager eventually and reluctantly agreed it would have been possible to at least shut the 2 doors to the bar and restaurant area so that the noise wouldn't have travelled so easily.  The owner was vile about it all and refused or didn't even understand that noise travels and has now banned me from returning (knowing I wouldn't)!  So don't stay in the Ivory room if you want some peace at 12.45am.  There was never anyone at reception to collect/leave keys with, and we would ring the doorbell repeatedly to try and get someone, look in the bar area etc but couldn't find anyone.  My observations on this and the consequent lack of security and possible impact on their insurance arrangements was again met with anger.    Cleanliness is also an issue - black mould in the shower, dirty carpet, clump of hair on the bathroom floor (which I had put from the shower into the bin but it was obviously dropped on the floor when the room was cleaned) etc.   No sheet on the under mattress.  Have seen from negative reviews elsewhere that this will be met with a horrible reply from the owners - they don't want to raise their standards or apologise for anything.