The George & Horn near Newbury

Avoid! Avoid! Avoid! Never have I stayed in such an ill equipped place in my life. No restaurant and no hot water. No offer of apology or compensation for the lack of facilities that were advertised at the time of booking. I was told that the establishment had been purchased from Red Cat in the days prior to my arrival, since the purchase Red Cat decided to close the restaurant. Even so the level of decor and hygiene was a problem long before this. I hope the new owners turn this place around. I wish them. Luck, they WILL need it.

We arrived at the hotel for our romantic weekend away to be told that our reservation had been cancelled. We had a booking confirmation email and no other correspondence, I had even called the hotel the day before and nothing was mentioned. There was no reason for the cancellation or explanation as to who had cancelled it but they were then fully booked that night! Was it because we were two men having booked a double room, who knows? I have been trying in the weeks since to contact redcatinns that own the pub and run the reservations but I haven't even had a response email despite following all their guidelines for contact (there is no number obviously). DO NOT STAY WITH ANY RED CAT INN PUBS AS THEY CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO KEEP YOUR RESERVATION.

This is a lovely quirky little pub/ hotel, nice and clean, the two staff I felt with (Oliver and the lady manager) were lovely and so helpful. But I did have one major issue, on checking in I was not informed that Saturday night there would be a disco right under my room, and given the option for another room, because after working a 12hr day all I wanted was to sleep, instead I ended up praying for 11pm and the disco to stop.

We booked this room last minute and I wish we’d spent a bit more to go somewhere else. On arrival there was no parking at the pub so we had to park up the road. We made our way into the pub and checked in, and was handed a set of keys with a fob that had grime all over it. Made our way to our room (room 3) and discovered a small clean looking room, until we looked closer and found stains on the stool and curtains. There are separate toilet and shower rooms, both of which are tiny, and you could only open the toilet door enough to get in there as the floor is so warped it doesn’t open all the way. In the bowl of the toilet was a clump of hair, and the toilet room smelled. The shower room was basic, with no hand soap, let alone any toiletries in the shower. Once we opened the shower door we found a grimey ceiling, corners and door. The door had water marks all over it. The breakfast was average, if you stay here don’t get the eggs Benedict as the Hollandaise was cooked, and the hash brown that was in the full English was mushy. The wifi didn’t work either. Only positive thing was the quaintness of the building and the clean bedding and towels.

I slept well enough in a shabby and dusty room upstairs. In the morning I turned on the shower and was covered in raw sewage. The same sewage bubbled up from the shower drain. I alerted the manager, who started gagging from the stench as soon as he entered the room. I tried using the shower in an adjacent bedroom, and exactly the same thing happened. Later in the day I researched the company that owns this pub. I obtained the mobile number of the operations manager, who was furious when I contacted him, and demanded to know who had given me the number. He seemed quite uninterested in my disgusting experience, and he offered me a night's complimentary bed and breakfast. I don't think so! The matter is far from over with, so watch this space.

A gem of a find , excellent value for money, the breakfast was hot and delicious. The staff were all friendly and helpful nothing was too much trouble... special mention to Dylan the owner we were struggling to get a taxi to take us to a wedding and he offered to take us and wouldn't take payment....