Black Horse

The accommodation impresses with its delightful breakfast, professional and friendly staff, spacious and well-furnished rooms, and newly refurbished, clean facilities. However, no disadvantages were mentioned by guests.

My recent visit to The Black Horse in Amberley was underwhelming. Despite having reserved a table in the garden, upon arrival, we were informed that no outdoor tables were available and were quickly seated inside the pub. The service was notably slow from the beginning. We found ourselves having to request for our drinks and food orders to be taken, only to be met with a dismissive "I’m here now" from the staff. This set a negative tone for the remainder of our visit. The staff seemed bothered by our presence, interrupting our conversation abruptly and at inopportune times, showing little interest in providing a pleasant dining experience. The most glaring issue was the excessive wait for our food, which took over an hour and a half to be served, a delay that was simply unacceptable. Although the food was satisfactory, it did not justify the lengthy wait or the expense. Dining out is expected to be enjoyable, yet my experience at The Black Horse was anything but. This appears to be a recurring issue, as friends have also mentioned experiencing slow service. With these persistent problems, I cannot endorse The Black Horse, Amberley, and do not plan to return after such a letdown.

We stayed here for one night in mid-September and were more than happy with our choice of accommodation. We initially chose the Amberley Black Horse for the décor, the rooms and the location. It was a bonus therefore to find that a twin room was an option (not so easy to find anymore) and most importantly, they were dog friendly. There are few establishments that have stylish décor and are also happy to let canines enjoy such. (So many small businesses are missing out on a huge part of the market because they assume all dog owners will not respect their property. Some dogs come from very well-appointed homes, you know, and even have well-behaved owners!) The room was clean, the bed & bedding very comfortable, the ensuite small but perfectly formed. The breakfast (smoked trout, scrambled eggs, toast) was a perfect start to our day, made even better by the late sitting time – no rushing to get up early. (I see some guests have found this an inconvenience, but for my own part, it was a welcome change to be offered a leisurely start to the day.) The staff were very polite, professional and efficient. We did not meet the owners, but would defend their right to not bend rules ad hoc so that the staff are able to give everyone the same level of service that we were able to enjoy. (I would guess they are simply running a tight ship to maintain consistent standards as a good hospitality business will otherwise not be good for long.) Sadly, we could not arrange to dine in as we were meeting friends elsewhere in Sussex, but the restaurant looked lovely and was very busy the night we stayed. We did order drinks & nibbles from the bar in the evening though, which we could to take to our room, making a relaxing end to our day. We were able to take our dogs out via the garden for a walk before bedtime and again before breakfast, so they were quite happy. All in all, this was an enjoyable stay that lived up to its website image & description. (I note that most of the complaints are a result of not carefully reading and/or understanding all the information on the website, so don’t let these put you off.) We found it to be exactly as advertised: a tastefully decorated, busy, traditional village pub with a good restaurant and appealing rooms. The surroundings throughout are attractive and it was a pleasant environment to be in for our short stay. It is not a hotel nor a budget B&B, so those wanting that style of accommodation or a longer stay should probably look elsewhere. If like us though, you want a short break in a picturesque village, in accommodation that complements the surroundings, where the family dog(s) can accompany you and you can all enjoy a relaxed, late breakfast together (yes, well-behaved dogs welcomed at breakfast too), then the Amberley Black Horse is for you.