The Bear Marlborough

Stayed for one night midweek with my daughter. We were made to feel very welcome by Ben and Lucy and the bar crowd in the evening was really friendly. Slept like logs and then magnificent breakfasts to set us up for a day’s flat hunting. Perfect.

Unfortunately we didn’t read the other reviews before we booked - we’re here on a Saturday night and the floor is vibrating with the sound of a live band below singing ‘I’m horny horny horny’, which might be amusing if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s past eleven and I’ve just read on other reviews that it’s not going to end till after 2. How can they justify having rooms if it’s impossible for anyone to actually sleep in them?? We’re currently looking at other places we can move to tonight. ABSOLUTELY THE WORST PLACE I’VE STAYED FOR YEARS.

Arrived Thursday night around 7pm and was directed to the bar area to go and check in. As I entered the bar area my partner and I was stared at by the locals who almost barricaded the bar so I couldn’t get to it to check in. Eventually I caught the eye of a young woman who worked there you didn’t have much in the way of customer service, took my payment and showed us to our room. Room was clean but needed updating and the bathroom looked like it had been patched up over the years and really needed some TLC. Room was cold to start but the young woman who showed us to our room put the heating on. First night was ok, slept well and the shower was hot so not too bad. However that all changed on Friday night. We arrived back to our room after dinner out and the music from the bar down stairs was so loud that the bed and bathroom floor was vibrating. We were not warned of the noise level upon booking, or when we arrived. The music and shouting from punters in the bar went on until 01:15. Then it got worse at 02:00, still not able to sleep as the noise from the drunks outside in the street, we heard a key being put into our room door only to find another guest walking into our room whilst my partner and I were in bed. After I screamed and my partner jumped up and screamed at him to leave he calmly said “ oh sorry wrong room”……how on earth does his key fit our room? Are they universal? There wasn’t a phone in the room to complain to anyone or alert them so we ended up wedging the chair up against the door. It’s now 02:30 and now we can hear in the corridor outside our room two men and two women talking at the top of their voice about a woman called Sharon who according to the group no one really knew but she’s unconscious and think she may have taken something. They called an ambulance and whilst one were talking to the ambulance service the other is saying very loud “ Sharon if you can hear me squeeze my hand” needless to say Sharon could hear and she squeezed but it didn’t stop the group of wannabe doctors repeating “ Sharon squeeze my hand” for near on 2 hours and one running up and down the corridor and going in and out of his room slamming the door shouting “ her airways are open”. The ambulance finally arrived at 04:20 and surprise surprise Sharon was just drunk ! Where was the hotel landlord or manager? Nowhere to be seen! We eventually got to sleep at nearly 05:00😡 we checked out at 10am, both agreeing that we would never set foot into this hell hole again. We couldn’t complain to anyone because no staff were around as we run out of there and with no designated reception we just dropped out keys in the letterbox on the wall. I do not recommend! We were in room 1 and I have no doubt that it wouldn’t matter what room you stay in because one key fits all.

We stayed here for 4 nights . Adequate accommodation. On the end of the High Street. Cafe on site does nice breakfasts (extra charge) Nearest long stay car park is a short walk away. Room was clean but basic. We had an issue with the shower (the shower head could not be fixed into a high position) We did report this but alas, no adequate solution was arrived at.

room good great bedding but needs a few more finishing touches to up dates . Draw full of tea coffee sachets it looked as if someone was going to take them awway and forgot. Plenty of sachets etc daily

Lovely building and for the most part a pleasant stay. However, my friend and I had an altercation with a woman called Debbie who works behind the bar and at the cafe. She was incredibly rude to my friend who previously worked there about a minor issue that would have been sorted quickly, literally coming up and screaming and pointing in our faces saying "Keep my name out of your f***ing mouth!" in the middle of the street. When I told her to grow up she swore at me and called me an ugly girl. Management have done nothing to rectify this behaviour and my friend has since left the job because of Debbie. She is genuinely the most vile, rude and disrespectful woman I've never met, and I'm shocked she has been allowed to stay on working for The Bear. The room itself was nice, but very warm, and we had to close the windows because of the noise outside.

Not recommended. Good location, but that’s about all that’s going for this place. We booked several months before a wedding and had early check in confirmed for our stay as we needed to get ready before attending a wedding. When we turned up at the time agreed on the phone, the woman at the desk said that there was no record of us booking and made it out like we were lying about our reservation. She eventually realised that the booking wasn’t appearing on their system because the man who worked there has made a room mix up and given our key to another couple an hour before and the couple had already been using the bedding and towels. Rather than apologising to us and the other couple the man just blamed the other couple and said that they shouldn’t have taken the key. HE should not have GIVEN the key to them. At the time of booking, the cheaper room that the other couple had booked was not available so we had booked and paid for a more expensive room with en-suite. Because the hotel staff wasted our time, we then had very little time to get ready for the wedding. Because of the room mix up by the staff we ended up sharing a bathroom with several other bedrooms. The hand towel was constantly damp and not changed whilst we were there and the toilet paper had run out before the evening and it was not replaced so I had to make do with Kleenex tissues which I fortunately brought with me. The staff said that they would part refund us for the inconvenience and because we had paid for a nicer room (with en-suite), but we never received anything. No one was at the reception when we checked out and no one has replied to my emails since (giving them the opportunity to part refund us). Really disappointing and awful customer service.

Taken up to our room by a chap who told us they had a live band on however we shouldn't be able to hear. How wrong was he?? Was that loud the floorboards were vibrating and you could hear every word. No air con or fan in the room so had to have the window open, this was right outside the garden, very noisy, people chatting and swearing . Even had a visit from a fox about 4pm ripping the bin bags apart. Such a shame because room was well equipped, modern and bathroom very spacious.

The room itself was suitable. However, I would NOT recommend if you would like to sleep....ie, if you are hiking, etc, which we were. Rooms sit over a very busy bar, which doesn't close until 1am (I think everyone left around 2am) . They also host bands. Being an old building with no insulation, in room 12 it feels like you are attempting to sleep on a speaker!! I could not even hear the TV. When asked what time the band will be finishing, staff advised that 'as stated on booking site music will go on until midnight, this is a 'party hotel'. I'm writing a review as it did not say on *********** that this is a 'party hotel' therefore this review highlights this so that you can make an informed decision to whether this is the right place for you to stay. Don't get me wrong...I like a band on a night out, festival etc but not when I'm walking 30 miles in a weekend and others may feel the same given this is a popular hiking destination. Perhaps a good place for a night out, though!