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Recently booked in Malmesbury
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Good,
Score from 52 reviews
“Very attractive location, next to the Abbey. Pleasant outdoor area. Dinner in the restaurant was very good.”
John,
Chesterfield
England’s oldest hotel (from 1220) in England’s first capital offers quintessentially English service and hospitality. Experience levels of service that you would find hard to beat anywhere in England. The highly rated Old Bell, reputed to be England's oldest hotel, is adjacent to the famous Abbey in the historic town of Malmesbury, on the edge of the Cotswolds, 5 miles from Junction 17 of the M4 freeway and near Chippenham. The Old Bell is steeped in character with log fires, paintings, stone-walls and period furniture. The bedrooms are individually furnished: those in the main house are more period in character, some with beams and fireplaces; those in the Coach House have a light and airy feel to them. The restaurant serves award-winning French continental cuisine and has received the accolade of 2 AA rosettes. Hotel Rooms: 31 Most recent booking for this hotel was yesterday at 15:13 from United Kingdom.
GeneralRestaurant, Bar, 24-Hour Front Desk, Grounds, Terrace, Non-Smoking Rooms, Heating, All Spaces Non-Smoking (Public and Private) ActivitiesSauna, Fitness Center, Hot Tub, Hiking ServicesRoom Service, Meeting/Banquet Facilities, Babysitting/Child Services, Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Souvenir/Gift Shop, Shoe Shine, Fax/Photocopying
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Total Hotel Score:7.8
Based on 52 reviews Guest reviews are written by our customers after their stay at Old Bell Hotel. |
Score breakdown
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Terry
Mature couple
Heswall,
United Kingdom
May 3, 2011
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Superb level of professionalism of every member of staff encountered, the Hotel's central location in the small town, its 'oldness', the comparative security of its Reception desk (room keys not easily visible/accessible to visitors and guests), the high quality of the 'full English Breakfast'. As it is possible, under the current system, for any guest to have copies made of room keys, perhaps it's time to consider a programmable 'credit card' keyless door entry system. A simpler (less effective, but short-term improvement) alternative to Security would be for guests to be required to positively identify themselves when requesting room keys from Reception.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful, did you?
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10 |
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Helen
Mature couple
Virginia Water,
United Kingdom
November 28, 2011
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beautiful buildings, malmesbury town, good food and beautiful rooms in the old building bathroom a little cramped and shower v difficult to control! Drunk tried to get into our room one night but night porter got rid of him.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful, did you?
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7.5 |
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Emma
Young couple
Oxford,
United Kingdom
May 21, 2012
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The staff were lovely and the breakfast was lovely Our room was quite small and stuffy and far too hot. The toilet seat was broken the main light did not work and the milk for tea and coffee gone gone off and had curdeld. All quite small things but added up our stay not as enjoyable as it could have been and left us feeling like it was not really worth the money. We have 2 small children and dont get away very often together so we wanted it to be perfect.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful, did you?
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4 |
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Hazel
Group of friends
Chapelton,
United Kingdom
May 20, 2012
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Location in the Cotswolds and age of the hotel and it was next to the Church which is beautiful. The rooms old and tired but comfortable. The one evening meal that we ate in the restaurant was very good although the service was poor. The bedrooms were in need of a good clean - dusty and grubby. The service and food at breakfast time was not good - and although I complained at the time - the chef was obviously "right"! The staff were generally not as helpful as they could have been to the point of being "curt" and did not know the history of the hotel or the opening times of the Church which is also part of the history of the hotel.
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4 |
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Reza
Young couple
Surrey,
United Kingdom
May 16, 2012
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Friendly staff and the building. The bathroom was not clean at all. The bath curtain was dirty. The floor was not clean to our standard. The toilet was also not clean and you could see the dirt from the previous guests. If the above is up to standard, I would recommend the above hotel.
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6.3 |
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Jeni
Mature couple
WEST FELTON, OSWESTRY,
United Kingdom
May 15, 2012
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We thought the restaurant, food, and service were excellent. , wehad a wonderful evening/dinner with friends, .all the staff had excellent knowledge of the wines . One of our guests is gluten intolerent, and the staff had excellent knowledge of food contents and offered very good alternatives on foods that werent suitable for her. I felt our room was very shabby and definatley needed a lick of paint. carpets defin needed a good clean. Milk by the tea and coffee had gone off. There were no bath robes available We were in room 32.
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5.4 |
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Nicola
Mature couple
Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan,
United Kingdom
April 24, 2012
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Lovely hotel with a lot of character features. The location is excellent for the Abbey and town of Malmesbury. Some of the staff in the restaurant were not very efficient. We waited for 45 mins to have our breakfast order when other parties were served immediately.
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7.1 |
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Robert
Mature couple
Oxfordshire,
United Kingdom
April 24, 2012
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Age although the furnishings and pictures were rather poor. Good location next to the abbey.
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6.3 |
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Andrew
Mature couple
Chipstead,
United Kingdom
April 17, 2012
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Very nice olde world charm. Situated in a very nice English town. On one day the hot water had run out by 9.30am. I also feel that the sound insulation in room 35 was not enough as we could hear people in the next room very clearly.
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7.5 |
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Kevin
Mature couple
Ashford,
United Kingdom
April 15, 2012
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It's location and history. Booking in their restaurant for 8.00pm not being seated till nearly 9.00pm and not getting to our main course till quarter to ten and still being there at 10.30. By which time it was too late for coffee. The food was ok - not as special as the fixed price 42.50 per head might have led you to believe.
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4.6 |
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Faye
Young couple
London,
United Kingdom
April 10, 2012
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Not much- Never written an online review of a hotel before, which reflects how unimpressed we were. Location is nice and the town of Malmesbury is a great place to visit. We checked in just after 3pm, told where our room was by the slightly bored looking receptionist, on taking our suitcases up the stairs (no offer of help to take them to our room). We passed an open cupboard of cleaning stuff which was strewn across the corridor, not a good sign! On entering our room we discover it has not been cleaned from the previous night , I went back down to reception and told them this, no apology, just a roll of the eyes (almost saying "not again") and we were asked to wait for it to be cleaned. We went out for another 1-2 hours, came back and were told the room was ready and handed our key, it wasn't, hadn't even been touched. We were told to wait in the bar and had a free drink, but only after me chasing reception for a 3rd time (have to say we were so annoyed by this point – I was on the verge of tears!) over 30 mins later was our room finally ready, nearly 6pm. Not acceptable and no real apology. Overall all the staff seemed to be annoyed on having to actually do their work and during breakfast all you could hear from the kitchen was the staff mucking around. Not good! They knocked £20 off our stay but still missed out the basic, an apology! Really ruined our afternoon. Room was poor as well not what I expect for a room over £100 a night. Poor poor poor! Would never stay there again!
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4.2 |
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Roy
Group of friends
Chelmsford,
United Kingdom
April 9, 2012
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The lighting in the bedrooms was poor in particular the bedside lamps for reading. Food good But vegetables not cooked only shown the water, otherwise a good experience. Although it was too cold to sit in the gardens they were looking well cared for, staff were efficient and had been tutoured well, good location for visiting the area.
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7.1 |
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Charles
Solo traveler
Alderley Edge Cheshire,
United Kingdom
April 6, 2012
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A very high standard of service , though the rooms in the main hotel are preferable to the annexe (where I stayed this visit). Food and service is outstanding in both the main restaurant and the brasserie. As always a very pleasant spot to break ny journey between Cheshire and dorset where I visit relations. Car park on the small side and difficult to park.
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9.2 |
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Paul
Young couple
wokingham,
United Kingdom
March 27, 2012
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Excellent value for money, good size bed and the most powerful shower I've ever had (there was a bath too). Stayed here for a friends party at the hotel so didn't go far. Excellent english breakfast apart from the sausage, way too much flavour if that makes sense, stick to plain old pork rather than some exotic variant it must have been. Radiator was turned off but still hot!
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7.9 |
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Sandra
Young couple
Antrobus,
United Kingdom
March 13, 2012
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The general atmosphere about the place was lovely, relaxed and chabby chic. Decorated beautifully, our room was just what we needed (although a little misleading as the photos on the internet seem to be of the the more plush side of the accommodation) We were attending a friend's wedding and the location was perfect. Also, the night porter went out of his way to serve everybody into the early hours and this was much appreciated. It was ideal. It topped off a perfect wedding weekend for us. Thank you.
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9.2 |
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Julia
Mature couple
Old Windsor,
United Kingdom
March 5, 2012
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It's age/history and location. Real fires, comfortable sitting rooms and flowers everywhere. We found this hotel by accident and had always wanted to stay. Room was pretty and adequate for the price paid. Dinner menu too fancy - nothing appealed - so we dined in local hostelries. We understand from the landlord of one such place that other Old Bell guests feel the same. Breakfasts, though good, we're on the lukewarm side. We were surprised to find that at 2.45 pm on the second day, our room had not been serviced. Reception did apologise that the housekeeper was working alone that Saturday, but this is not good enough for any hotel , leave alone of this standard.
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6.3 |
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Andrew
Mature couple
HARROW,
United Kingdom
February 15, 2012
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It is a comfortable establishment but its selling point is its retention of a feeling of an old fashioned country house.
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8.8 |
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John
Mature couple
Cruchten,
Luxembourg
February 7, 2012
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Absolutely fabulous stay. The staff, the service, the view everything was great. Highly recommended. The food at the hotel was from local products and was very high quality.
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10 |
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Henry
Mature couple
Street,
United Kingdom
November 12, 2011
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The staff were excellent and made our stay fantastict, nothing was to much trouble for them. Just wish we could have got the room I realy wanted,but it was booked The danger in the bathroom, electric towel rail conections all broken. Shower rail needed securing to the wall
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8.8 |
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Maggi
Mature couple
Tamarama,
Australia
October 28, 2011
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The historic building and wonderful town, the Abby so close and the walks were lovely. The hotel itself was enchanting even the ghost.
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7.5 |
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Henry
Mature couple
Southampton,
United Kingdom
October 3, 2011
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The Food Having asked for twin beds we would have liked to have been told beforehand that they seemed not to be avaible. The kettle cord was rediculously short and very inconvemient to use. Overall attention to detail would have made a huge difference, E.g given the wrong key after we had been out for the day and getting the wrong paper in the morning.
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7.5 |
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Grania
Group of friends
Sidmouth,
United Kingdom
September 19, 2011
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The decor and general ambience Restaurant price for evening meal 3 course was very expensive
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9.6 |
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John
Mature couple
Chesterfield,
United Kingdom
August 8, 2011
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Very attractive location, next to the Abbey. Pleasant outdoor area. Dinner in the restaurant was very good.
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7.9 |
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Marcia
Young couple
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
July 26, 2011
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Very charming hotel.
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9.2 |
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Jonathan
Group of friends
Broseley, Shropshire,
United Kingdom
July 17, 2011
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A good quality hotel No complaints
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7.5 |
The guest reviews express the personal opinions of Booking.com customers who filled out a questionnaire after their stay at the hotel. These opinions do not necessarily represent the views of Booking.com.
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