The Kingswell Hotel & Restaurant Didcot, Harwell

Reviews

1. Andrew Liddle ★☆☆☆☆

   I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone on the basis that I found it Unwelcoming to start with, straight from check-in, and staff were a bit rude. the room was ok, bit tatty, walls were paper thin, I could hear every word the guy next door said to his wife on the phone. A colleague of mine and I tried to have a drink in the bar, halfway through our first drink we were asked to move from one bar to another, then just after we ordered our second drink, we were asked to leave the bar as it was closing… at 10pm, they could have mentioned this before they took our drinks order...! I wasn’t impressed and let the “Duty Manager?” know. Sleep was the worst, the mattress had seen better days, all the windows need replacing as they don’t shut tight and therefore have no soundproofing qualities at all, I may as well have slept on the A34 as it sounded like it was in my room. I can’t comment on the food as I didn’t like the look of it, so I ate out, A colleague had the breakfast, and she told me it was swimming in grease, I did see some people with the full English and decided to go with coffee & toast…

   almost 2 years ago
2. andrea woodrow ★★★☆☆

   Stayed here 3 nights in a standard twin room. The room was a generous size with a large bathroom too. Tv and coffee machine and free wifi. Beds were really comfortable. The hotel over all was furnished really well and had a nice feel about it. The dining area was well presented and clean. Breakfast was good with a choice of options to suit including vegetarian. The staff were lovely. The hotel is about 5 minutes drive to Didcot which is a lovely place to shop and eat out. Also not far for visiting Oxford. We got the park and ride which was £5. We would stay again if in the area.

   almost 3 years ago
3. Ladislav Chvila ★☆☆☆☆

   I cannot recommend this hotel at all. During my stay, I had to find another hotel because there was an issue with the heating and hot water. Since it was December, the room was not livable under such conditions, and I was not offered any solutions. Instead, the staff was arrogant, and at the end, they charged me for an additional day without my consent.

   almost 3 years ago

1. Ed L ★☆☆☆☆

   This is undoubtedly the Worst place in the world that I've stayed in 15 years of travel while working as a Service Engineer. I'm quite easy to please and will make do, I've stayed in some quite rough places! Hotel looks nice but it is clearly badly "managed" by uncaring indifferent staff. I arrived during a cold snap of -9°C in November 2022 the central heating wasn't working but there were a few electric heaters plugged in. Room was ok warm enough and not badly furnished, I saw the shower head was broken asked if it could be fixed or could I get another room, The guy never spoke and disappeared never to be seen again so after waiting 10 mins I had to try fix the shower head and rail. Shower was hot for less than 20s then ran freezing cold and never got hot again. I complained to the next member of staff I saw, who didn't want to know. As it was late I decided to try the restaurant, the staff here are all Bangladeshi I think? and I chose an Indian dish in the bar as I thought at least they know what they are doing with this. Went to the restaurant, lovely looking room but there was no heating, I could see my breath, absolutely freezing! I complained and got an electric heater positioned under my table, which helped a little but really???? I went to the room to get a hat and coat, another customer was also dressed like he was outside see attached photo. Food seemed ok, but just over an hour later I was throwing it up violently in the toilet, , felt ill for several days afterwards No hot water in the morning No breakfast was available at 7.30am as the staff were nowhere to be seen, I only wanted a coffee as there was no way I was going to eat there again! I cannot possibly reccomend anything about this hotel. It is run by staff who live in a static caravan behind the hotel owned by someone who really doesn't care about their guests possibly also their staff and do not deserve paying customers!!!! I wouldn't stay if it was free! I can't believe there are some good reviews and would strongly advise you to read all of them before you risk booking!

   almost 3 years ago
2. Martin [email protected] ★☆☆☆☆

   To be honest I was not impressed. The staff were nice but the hotel is nothing like luxury. In my opinion it was tatty (the room coving was not fitted properly. There was no toilet roll holder in the Bar toilet) the rooms were cold the heating was not turned on, it was noisy (road noise). So not the worst but not the best either.

   almost 3 years ago
3. Tanisha Riddell ★☆☆☆☆

   I have stayed here 3 times in the last year, due to visiting family in the area. The 1st and 2nd time, we couldn't really fault it and loved the fact it's dog friendly and in a nice area. We did notice that our room overlooked the staff caravan which meant we had to have the curtains shut at all times. Our 3rd time staying, I have never experienced customer service like it and I've stayed in many hotels, which have a lower rating than this. Whist watching the rugby in the bar area, a few other couples sat down with us. We had a few drinks, enjoyed the game then continued to have a chat amongst us afterwards. Although we weren't being loud we did shut the door as we were right by reception, to reduce any noise we were making (there were 2 dogs who were barking for all of 20 seconds). We were then told by the only member of staff that is around, who barged into the room that we were being loud as other guests are sleeping ready for work. I did question this as it was 9:30pm on a Saturday night. We were not being loud at all, just a few quiet conversations about the game. We then were made to feel that we had to stop talking and head up to our rooms. We then asked what time the bar shuts and were told "10" in a very rude tone. We questioned the time as it seemed a little early in which the guy said "ill keep it open until 11 then". My partner asked the guy "is everything ok" as it seemed like us having a drink and relaxing in a nice hotel environment was bothering him. He then replied with "I will be when you go to your room" After this I was shocked, if the guy had a genuine problem it would've been nice for him to address it politely instead of targeting us because he "wanted to go home" as he told us. But stated on the site it says its 24/7 manned, he informed us this isn't the case and he wants to go home to his wife(which I can understand but there should then be more staff to support and he said they can't afford to hire any staff) We felt like we were 10 years old and had been sent to bed by our parents. He proceeded to tell us he could do room service but there's an additional charge. In which we asked for 2 more beers and he replied with "no the bar is shut" We were made to feel extremely uncomfortable and unwanted, in a place which we've paid for to enjoy a short weekend break. When questioned about his customer service skills he informed us he is selling the place. So it seems because he doesn't want the place anymore, the paying customers have to suffer with his rude tone, expressions and persona. I would avoid this place, unless you want to deal with the guy who operates everything who is extremely rude, walks way from you once he's confronted you and feels like hes made his point and makes you feel unwelcome!

   almost 3 years ago

1. Neil Randall ★☆☆☆☆

   Outrageous service from the only member of staff we saw during our stay. When we arrived at 5:15 pm we were asked to wait to see if our room was ready, it wasn't. When we finally got to our room, we found a cracked wash basin, which in itself was not a problem. However, the windows were rotten, and one of them could not be closed or locked properly. This was concerning, it was a ground floor room, and there was a large old caravan outside the window which I presume was where the staff stayed. After contacting reception and telling him about this, we were told by him " just leave then". Obviously this was not an option at that stage. During the night, the 2 couples either side of us did not seem to go to sleep at all. Instead they walked up and down the corridor shouting and laughing together and banging doors, so obviously we couldn't sleep. I got up to get some help from reception and ended up and sitting there from 3:45 am, where the couple was walking around, with the man being topless, and chatting loudly on his phone. As there were no staff working, there was a note at reception saying for emergency please call this number. To top it all off, we were told to collect our breakfast rolls at 7:30am as we had to leave early. Again another let down, no staff were to be seen. The telephone number only got answered at 7:30 am just as we left. After speaking to reception at 7:30 from the car park and running through our problems during the night, the receptionist/manager kindly hung up on us. Avoid at all costs this is not a boutique hotel, a one star motel at best due to the service.

   almost 3 years ago
2. Elizabeth Anderson ★★★★☆

   The hotel is lovely and I enjoyed our stay. The room was beautiful and the bathroom was huge! There was some confusion on morning one as I'm vegetarian, not vegan, and having asked for an egg in the veggie breakfast it didn't come, but it was quickly rectified. Also the bed wasn't very hard which was a pity but will suit some. I know some people think the road noise is too loud but seriously at night it's fine and the location is brilliant for getting anywhere by car. Recommended.

   almost 4 years ago
3. Darren Spragg ★★★★★

   We had a superior double room, it had loads of space and a coffee machine (always nice to have) the bed was comfy and the whole room was clean, all the rooms were sealed after cleaning with no one else being aloud it until we went it, so I felt they had taken all steps they could. The staff were really helpful and friendly and the food was fantastic, we had breakfast 2 mornings and dinner 1 night and it was excellent. My only quarrel about here was we could hear the road although it wasn't loud enough to keep us awake. Its a must stay and we will be staying again

   almost 5 years ago

1. Kathi H ★★★★☆

   Stayed here for one night during a business trip. My room was facing the parking lot and street and I was worried about noise during the night but it wasn't an issue at all. The room was very nice and clean and I liked the style. The bathroom had both a bathtub and a shower. There was a little coffee machine in the room (instructions provided) with tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Staff was very friendly and helpful. The restaurant was quite nice too but I found the beef bourgignon to be a bit bland but still enjoyable. Would stay here again.

   more 7 years ago

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