Name: The Bell Inn Charlbury
Address: 1 Church St, Chipping Norton, Chipping Norton, Chipping Norton, OX7 3PP, United Kingdom
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

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Garden

No elevators

General

Laundry

Dry-cleaning

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Services and amenities

Breakfast

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Free parking

Parking

Meeting and presentation facilities

Conference Hall

Business

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

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At the guest house

Oxford Airport

Raf Brize Norton

Asaba International Airport

Gloucestershire Airport

Milton Keynes

Coventry Airport

The Bell Inn Charlbury

Chipping Norton

Despite having not visited The Bell before, we recommended it to friends who wished to celebrate my birthday. They'd travelled from West Sussex to the Cotswolds for that purpose. Expecting the hospitality to reflect the obviously expensive makeover, it didn't. Inexperienced and poorly trained staff, food average. A disappointment and embarrassing having recommended it in the first place. E.g. Irish coffees delivered in mugs (we don't have enough glasses) A brandy in whisky glass with a dozen ice cubes!!! Not what one would expect from Lady Bamford. Obviously will not be returning 

A let down..

Our second visit, this time for dinner. The menu hadn't really changed from the previous visit with still a very limited choice for vegetarians and fish lovers. Starters: Butternut Squash soup was very good as was the Roasted Heritage beetroot and Shell on Prawns. Deep fried devilled whitebait we over-cooked and some were burnt. Mains: Tasteless Penne (£16.00), very good House Beef Burger and fries, and Cornish Fish Pie with virtually no fish and mainly potato (£19.00). Reasonable service but when the bill came a bottle of wine, that we had not ordered was on it (£46.00). This was removed from the final one. Luckily  we had checked. Good cosy ambience but until the menu changes and there are more veggie and fish options we won't be hurrying back. Kindly take note.

A mixed bag

*Please note The Bell in Charlbury has recently been completely renovated by Daylesford (Carole Bamford). Any review on Tripadvisor poor to Sept 17th 2023 should be ignored. I visited on Sunday 01st October for Sunday lunch. The staff were very helpful with plenty of members on hand to serve you, the food was superb, and the whole interior design is absolutely top notch. This is went another great pub by Daylesford. Overall we had a really enjoyable & relaxing lunch, I would thoroughly recommend. Will definitely be back soon.

Sunday Lunch at The Bell - Charlbury 

Very attentive and welcoming staff. Largish room with comfortable beds. We slept well. Cooked breakfast was  very tasty. Covid procedures were taken seriously. On the negative side we found the TV too small to watch and the bathroom needed attention.. Overall an enjoyable stay though for one night.

Welcoming staff

Well, it's not quite as exquisite as the description for the Executive Room. So here goes and I'm so hopeful the management address my concerns.
1.pillows were awful, stained and one pillow case had blood spots on it. 
2.bay windows wouldn't open, disaster in the current heatwave. Actually one did open but the sash weight would not hold it. 
3.toilet seat is simply vile
4 couldn't see any bathroom extraction 
6.stains on carpet
7.only one tiny shower gel and shampoo for 2 guests. 
8.basin tap loose
9. Basin and shower slow to drain
We did ask for fresh pillows and more bathroom gels and they did accommodate. I feel sure the management will look into the points, but really at the moment it falls short of our expectations.

I so hate to find fault

Lovely room with very comfortable bed, and large TV, not the usual postage stamp sized one you get in many hotel rooms.   Ensuite bathroom with huge double-ended bath.  Simple uncomplicated menu, but food was good.  Good bar with two side rooms with plenty of seating.  Dogs allowed.

Overnight stay

My wife and I have just stayed for a couple of nights at The Bell Inn for the sad reason of attending a family funeral nearby.

We absolutely made the right choice of where to stay. Above all the warmth of welcome and excellent customer service from all the staff made our stay, particularly in the circumstances.

I cannot recall all the names but Phil our barman who checked us in and Laura who I understand was deputising for the manager really shone.

The room (executive double) was spacious clean and well appointed with a very good bathroom with a large shower and bath. Lots of hot water.

We ate on both evenings from the traditional reasonably priced menu, very well cooked and presented, particularly the hand battered fish and chips meal. Similarly breakfast each morning was excellent.

A big thank you to everybody at The Bell. We highly recommend you.

Absolutely the right choice

Asked to pay on arrival.  Given a nice room, far too hot, could not control heat, window fell wide open, could not adjust, with scaffolding right outside.  Given new room, inferior, no refund.  No main light (needed torch to read).  No bath.  Bed partly collapsed (slats missing).  Noisy til late (bar below, no door at bottom of stairs).  ** No hot water for shower in morning. **  All for £105.  Awful value.

Nice dinner, dreadful stay

This excellent three course set menu offers great value at £26. Imaginative choices include king prawns, smoked trout with celeriac remoulade and duck rillette starters followed by guinea fowl, sea bass or rib of beef, lemon tart and a generous plate of local cheeses. Please keep this formula, which offers something exciting and different!

Superb festive set menu that sets a new standard for Charlbury

We booked this last minute as we had a Saturday free. I must say we could not complain about anything. £80 for a room and breakfast is really good and everything was great. Very pleasant staff and the lady that checked us in was really helpful and friendly. Room was clean evening meal was nice and so was the breakfast. No complaints whatsoever not sure as well what an other reviewer complained about the atmosphere in the bar. I agree it was a Saturday night but it was very lively. Yes it is a pub and has rooms just like most of them in the area. I can see nothing wrong with that. It’s a way of experiencing the local area and people. Well done the Bell Inn

The Bell Inn Charlbury

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