Macdonald Bear Hotel    

Very relaxing with friendly staff

staff very helpful food good in room 47 very comfortable

in room 47 to many stairs to carry cases

Setting Old Coaching Inn style Excellent service Proximity to Oxford, country pubs, villages, Cotswolds

There were no negative points

Our second stay at The Bear was a special birthday treat which was perfect. The 'standard' double room was spacious, clean and extremely comfortable and the room service was second to none. It appeared that much thought had been given to guests. The breakfast choice and quality was very good.

Only one incident in the bar one evening. Hot chocolate was "not available" so we opted for a latte coffee. We were served with one full one and one half empty. When queried we received a shrug and the comment that it was the machine and "what could he do about that". We were in the end not charged for the coffees but that comment did rather let down the otherwise excellent service delivered by staff.

Very comfortable. Excellent food, good service.

Nothing

-Excellent location - not just for Blenheim castle, but also for great walking and hiking trails. A quiet town.

-I only received one set of shower supplies (shampoo and body wash), even after asking for conditioner and lotion. I did not receive any refills for any supplies over the course of the 6 nights I was at the hotel. -Room service was horrendously overpriced and poor quality - I ordered eggs and toast for breakfast at 7am. I received a call at 7am that no hot foods would be available that day until 8am, so no eggs. Toast was toasted but cold by the time I received it. I paid 17 GBP for cold toast, jam, and coffee. -The radiator was excessively noisy, to the extent that when I finally called the front desk at 3am one night, the front desk assistant was unable to hear me over the clanging. I was only offered a small refund (50 GBP) after writing a letter to management. No other comp was made for my losing an entire night's sleep (and consequently, a day of my break). -I had bottled cider that I had purchased and brought to my room, that required a bottle opener. I had to call to the restaurant 3 times to get someone to come and open the bottle. The first time I was told I should have a bottle opener in my room. When I told the waitress I did not, she said she wouldn't be able to help me, and hung up before I could respond. The second time I called, I spoke to someone else who said there was only one bottle opener in the entire hotel, and I would have to go to the bar to use it. The third time I called, someone came to my room with a bottle opener, but scornfully told me I should be able to open a cap by hitting it against the edge of a piece of furniture. When I demonstrated that this was not possible, he laughed at me (!) and tried himself. When he was unable to open the bottle on a piece of expensive furniture, he used the bottle opener he had brought to open the bottle. I did not ask again for any assistance with anything.

The location

When we arrived, the 7 of us, late in the evening and tired from the plain, we had to wait for some time to check in.

Room was clean, tidy, well presented. Staff tried their hardest and learning as they went along.

Overpriced and poor quality of food re meals considering it was advertised as 2 star Michelin. Very disappointed with bar service especially when a large booked party was in the restaurant/bar. Should have had extra staff to take care of hotel guests.

Woodstock is a beautiful Blenheim "estate" village with wonderful architecture and a plethora of excellent restaurants and pubs all within walking distance of the palace - a warm welcome from locals as well as staff at all the venues - faultless!

Nothing :)

location/staff/very clean

no complates

The Staff were all friendly and helpful and the rooms were well appointed. The food was also excellent.

I thought the lounge upstairs was very gloomy and in need of some TLC as the furniture looked tired and worn.

Food quality very good. Breakfast service quality a bit iffy, but food ok.

Bartender whose English was so bad that he brought the wrong drinks more than once.

Wonderful staff and service - polite and speedy. Good value for money at weekend. Quiet but bustling. Nice looking old fashioned charm. Generous breakfast with plenty of variety.

Dingy bar area with poor beer. Food fine, not great.

Location Ability to walk "round the corner" to Blenheim Palace.

No beer Having to pay for wifi in room

The location was wonderful. The rooms very comfortable. The building was very interesting.

The lack of car parking and serving out cooked breakfast before we had finished our cereal and cleared the table. Not much to complain about, I know, but it is very annoying trying to rearrange a small table.

The staff were both friendly and efficient. The historic nature of the hotel. The breakfast, our room and the hotel location.

Nothing really but there could perhaps be more lounge space. Although bar and lounge were both excellent they seemed a little crowded.

The friendly and helpful staff. Atmospheric, historic and quiet hotel and room.The kitchen staff responded well to our gluten-free diet and even supplied g.f bread at breakfast - this was also very varied.Generous tea/coffee facilities and toiletries. Good area to stay for us, as close to Blenheim Palace and good places to visit, main roads etc.

We hadn't pre-booked dinner and no tables before 9pm, our mistake as had to eat elsewhere,plenty of choice of restaurants, but would have liked to dine at the hotel as menu and prices looked very good.Other restaurants seemed expensive in comparison.

room/suite was excellent - comfortable, clean and quiet, and staff were polite and helpful

limited dinner menu and expensive for what it was

Nice room, good location nice old property. Buffet breakfast excellent

Very poor shower. Grout on floor tiles round toilet stained yellow. No duvet only sheets and blanket. Cooked breakfast cold on first morning but hot on next otherwise good. On checkout receptionist asked if stay was ok but didn't listen at all to the above complaints I felt she was just asking because she had been told to and had no idea how to respond.

Lovely setting for the hotel. The restaurant was good and the room, albeit not in the main house, was nice

It really annoys me when having paid £140 for a basic room you're then expected to have to pay for wi-fi access. Nothing makes a hotel seem cheaper than that....

Large comfortable rooms. They gave us two rooms next to each other with privacy from the other rooms.

Cost of breakfast and bar. There are plenty of reasonably priced good places to eat and drink on the doorstep.

Really friendly staff. Fabulous location and accommodation.

we liked he hotel very much,but didn't eat there in the evening as the menu wasn't very inspiring.

Room 27 would benefit from more wardrobe space. otherwise perfect. my husband felt that his cooked breakfast wasn't two rosette standard.

Location; cleanliness and facilites in room; outlook; comfortable feel to the hotel; staff very welcoming and helpful.

Lack of privacy between rooms - could hear everything next door - we were separated by a Fire Door. Cost of breakfast at £17.50 pp. Lack of choice in bar and high cost.

Everything was superb

Nothing