The Ram Inn

Apart from the double bed in our room being two single beds- a little uncomfy at times. The staff, location, rooms, settings, food- all excellent!! The staff and manager went above and beyond in making our stay as comfortable as possible. 4/5

This is overpriced and undermanaged. We arrived shortly before three and were told our room would not be ready until 3. Fair enough I suppose, and they gave us a free drink, but our room was not ready until around 3 40. And housekeeping had been pretty cursory - no coffee for machine, no milk, no spare loo roll etc. It is also outrageous that breakfast only starts at 9 although the high price is supposedly justified by including breakfast. And we hadn’t even been supplied with what we needed to make a morning coffee. At 8 30 there were no hotel staff in evidence so no one to pay for our dinner. (They take full payment for the room several days in advance) Dinner was quite good but nothing special and the menu was very much restaurant rather than gastropub. No pub basics! And also expensive. The one plus in the very inconveniently designed bedroom was an outstandingly comfortable bed. But when breakfast is served too late for any customer wanting to start their day before 10, however comfortable the bed, it is hard not to feel rather conned. We would definitely not return I’m afraid.

Tiny portions, dry meat, not fresh, you could tell everything had been microwaved, especially the dry and stale potatoes. Almost no gravy served. Veg was cooked well with crunch, but there was zero flavour. The gravy tasted of vegetable water, when I asked for a little more before I'd tried it, I was told I couldn't have any. Awful value for money at £18. Surprising, as we ate here twice in June and the food (steak & chips and a selection of starters) was delicious. I sent my roast back but my partner ate his as he was so hungry. The staff were very sweet and apologetic, I was offered a second roast, which was deducted from the bill and they charged us only 50% for my partners. I was grateful but the second roast came out only seconds later and had been microwaved within inches of its life. I was too embarrassed to complain again. I also ordered pork and they Brought me beef. It was the worst roast I've had. Very disappointed. Better organisation and communication needed between the floor staff and a new chef is a must. Such lovely ladies working the floor but I feel everyone appears under pressure and unaware of their surroundings sadly. You really do expect more from a restaurant in such a location, it truly is a beautiful building and surrounding but today was a huge disappointment. I wouldn't return until some changes are made.

Judging by many of the other reviews on this site, our own very disappointing experience of the Ram is not unusual. The pub came highly recommended by some foodie friends, who also stay there regularly, so we booked with confidence. Sadly, our room, Beanstalk, did not live up at all to the photos on the website and, if I had realized how very small it would be – my husband could barely stand in the very tight shower room – I would obviously have booked two rooms for our party of two adults, one tween and two dogs. However, at £270 for one room for one night, I rather thought we had paid enough for our accommodation! Towels and bed linen were of a very superior quality but the rest of the room exhibited extremely poor finishes? Plug sockets hung off the wall, the blinds did not work properly and the wind whistled through the latched door. There was not much in the way of sound-proofing and we did not sleep until the pub downstairs had emptied. Patently, we appreciate that this is a very ancient building but hanging two contemporary water colours of the South Downs above the bed doesn’t necessarily explain such elevated ‘boutique hotel’ prices! To be fair, the food, both at dinner and at breakfast the next day was generally good and not ridiculously priced. There is obviously some sort of distinction between locals/regulars and one-off residents such as ourselves and the January weekend we stayed, the pub was fairly full of parties of walkers and hikers. As mentioned elsewhere, the service is breathtakingly poor. The team of mainly young waiters, waitresses and bar staff all looked smart enough but there were very few smiles, nor anything which might be construed as a welcome when we arrived for our £400+ stay? Any questions about the village and local area were met with a blank stare and try as we might, we were unable to get any member of the team to engage with us at all, let alone in a cheerful or friendly way, during our entire stay. Surly was the name of the game, both in the evening and on the following morning and a desperate request for help, when we mislaid a wallet, again drew blank expressions and a mumbled: ‘Well, the cleaner hasn’t left anything on the bar….” I subsequently found the lost item under the (very uncomfortable) bench where we were sitting the night before. It would have been a very small gesture to have offered to help us look for it! We were not sure whether or not it was a question of shyness or lack of training but at these prices, you do not expect the staff to look as if they would rather be anywhere else but helping the paying customers in a generally friendly way! Upon our return home, I was assailed by a number of emails asking for feedback. I duly filled out one of these forms, asking for a Ram representative to contact me to discuss the our experience before I posted anything on a public platform such as this one. No response! Hence this review. In summary, a clearly excellent kitchen only occasionall

Beautiful setting, attentive staff but food let it down. Food was very average , fish was good but the rest lacked inspiration. We will give it another chance as the staff were really helpful. Please add more vegetables to your main courses they are so cheap and make all the difference.

Lovely old country inn situated in a delightful village in the South Downs. 6 well-appointed bedrooms upstairs. Our room (Bloomsbury) was large, tastefully furnished with lovely views. Roll-top bath in the room, with no separate shower, which was not ideal for us, but the only room left when we booked. Dogs are welcome in some bedooms and throughout the downstairs, which was great. Charge £25 per night for a dog in the bedroom. Breakfasts were freshly cooked to order and were superb. Three separate, cosy and atmospheric dining areas which served good food and wide range of wines. The local Seven Sisters Gin was excellent! Good service. Would recommend for a relaxing stay with super country walks.