I was staying mid week for business purposes. The pub looks like it has recently been refurbished and the décor is nice. The biggest problem for me was the speakers for their sound system is mounted on the roof and one of the speakers is obviously right underneath the bedroom I was staying in (Bladon). I went down to check if they had the sound system on loud but they didn’t, it was on an “ambient” level but the sound really carried through the room. I asked to be moved and the guys said that they will switch off the sound system at 9.30pm. It was such a noise that I could hardly hear the TV in my room!! I wouldn’t want to stay in that room if it was a weekend and the pub was open later.
I went for a meal at their restaurant, it was a bit chaotic. There was only 2 young lads working and the restaurant was very busy. They later told me they have 10 rooms and every room booked for an evening meal, then they had walk ins and normal bookings on top. They were far too understaffed but it was a Tuesday evening so perhaps they weren’t used to it. To their credit the pair of them were charging around none stop, taking orders, clearing plates, delivering orders, serving at the bar I honestly don’t know how they coped! Kudos to the pair of them as it looked manic and I am not going to score them down for a bit of a delayed service. The food was decent, I had the duck nothing to get too carried away with but nice all the same.
The location is a bit in no mans land. I had meetings in