The Barns Hotel

The Barns Hotel descritpion

The Barns Hotel is situated in a beautiful riverside location, within 3.5 acres of landscaped gardens, yet just 10 miles from highway M1 and 8 miles route A1.
The tranquil setting offers views of the great Ouse River and the local country park and wonderful grounds in which to walk and relax.
For more strenuous activities, guests have access to the local Oasis Fitness and Leisure Club. Samuel Whitbread, founder of the brewing business, was born in the main house in 1720 and it remained within the Whitbread family until 1890s, becoming a hotel in 1987.

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Facilities of The Barns Hotel

Outdoors ：Grounds | Terrace

Pets ：Pets are allowed. Charges may apply.

Activities ：Hiking

Food & Drink ：Restaurant | Bar | Breakfast in the Room | Special Diet Meals (upon request)

Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.

Parking ：Free!Free public parking is available on site (reservation is not needed).

General ：Safe | Non-smoking Rooms | Facilities for Disabled Guests | Heating

Languages Spoken ：Latvian | Lithuanian | Hungarian | English

Reviews for The Barns Hotel

Review 1：Only a comment that there is no onsite pool or gym, but looking at the official hotel website, it offers to use the local 'oasis' swimming pool as a guest during your stay, I don't recall seeing this anywhere, although that was closed anyway 31st Dec/1st Jan!!

Review 2：Ideal for what we wanted on new years eve and great full English buffet style breakfast !

Review 3：I stayed last night and had the worst stay of all the nights stays I have had at Barns! The people in the room next door to 21 were overly loud and had me and my other half up at 6am with the noise! We could not get back to sleep after due to the noise continuing! We also had someone enter our room in the morning whilst we were sleeping which I was not happy about!

Review 4：I've stayed many times and have enjoyed every stay as the staff are amazing and the facilites are great, however, my recent stay was not so good!

Review 5：People attending a christmas party on the friday night deciding to have at fight in the car park at about 3 o'clock in the morning woke us up. Then a car alarm on both the friday and saturday nights woke us again. Also bar prices a little excessive.

Review 6：Staff were excellent. Nothing too much trouble.

Review 7：Welcoming, friendly and attentive staff throughout the hotel. Even though the hotel was hosting a wedding reception, they paid utmost attention to detail for every guest and did so efficiently and pleasantly. The wedding reception, though it looked like fun, never intruded on other guests in any way. From our room, we couldn't hear a thing. Really nice duty manager, lovely restaurant staff. Excellent dinner, excellent sleep, excellent breakfast.

Review 8：Requested quiet room yet room at front with car park and road.The extractor fan very noisy making sleep difficult .. The constant banging of other doors unpleasant. Good hotels could invest in eradicating such problems rather than suggesting rooms quiet ie noise free

Review 9：nice surroundings

Review 10：There was a wedding reception going on and the hotel clearly wants the money from theses events at the detriment of the other paying residents. The restaurant was understaffed and the restaurant manager rude. We had booked a table for 19:30 at reception when we arrived. We turned up at that time only to be told by the restaurant Manager that he had us down for 19:45 and made us feel as though it was our fault for turning up early. If there was a problem reception should have informed us, as it was there was no problem finding us a table so there was no need for the manager to be so off with us. The food when it eventually arrived was excellent but having finished our main course, no one offered us a dessert menu, we had to ask for one after about 15 mins. Still no one came to take our order so we had to ask again. When we eventually did manage to get the order taken 45 mins later we were still waiting and at this point gave up and left. The following day breakfast was no better, understaffed again considering there were all the wedding guests coming in for breakfast. The buffet was not being replenished quickly enough as clearly there were not enough staff in the kitchen. To the credit if the two young girls who were serving they did their best, one offered to take my order and bring it to my table when more food was cooked, which she did after about 10 mins by which time my wife's breakfast had gone cold as she felt bad about eating hers while I waited. The sorry saga ontinued at booking out time. Considering there were all the wedding guests to book out there was only one member of staff available who seemed to have no sense of urgency at all. We waited at least 40 mins to book out. Many of the wedding guests asked passing staff if there were more staff available but were told no. All in all our experience of this hotel was not a good one and we will not return.

Review 11：The room was very clean and the bed was comfortable

Review 12：The food at the Hotel was below standard.The evening meal was good but small amount for the money. The breakfast was terrible,the fish was raw and the bacon tasteless and greasy, over all very poor.

Review 13：The room was very nice and comfy, the staff friendly and helpful

Review 14：The bedding was cheap and too small for the bed. One evening I was expected to eat my meal in the middle of a rather large wedding party. unfortunately the quality of the food suffered to. I would not return for that reason.

Review 15：Friendly staff and good food.

Review 16：I didn't like the fact when having my evening meal that the radio heart was playing in the back ground, having to listen to commercial adverts i felt like i was in a truckers cafe, it gave me the impression it was on for the staffs benefit! relaxing music or none at all would have been more appropriate.the female staff in the restaurant seem very imature and on one occasion just walked past me when i was waiting to be allocated to a table and when i did get a table the wait for my meal was nearly half an hour.

Review 17：I thought the hotel was excellent! the reception staff were excellent and very helpful and kind, the room was perfect, food was good.

Review 18：Food and drinks were good but mostly Luke warm when you got them and you can only send them back so many times. They should serve as soon as it is ready.

Review 19：Staff were friendly and helpful and hotel clean and tidy in a great location with good facilities.

Review 20：Breakfast was grim - poor choice, badly cooked options, nasty overall. If I stayed here again I'd have breakfast elsewhere.

Review 21：A good night's sleep in a quiet location. Good dinner at the restaurant

Review 22：Door was left open by cleaning staff one day. We didn't get back until late that evening, the door was propped open with a dirty towel and anyone could have walked in and taken anything in our room.

Review 23：Location is great and the grounds are beautiful.

Review 24：Wifi didn't work in the room - I work online so this was a complete disaster. Phone signal so poor, it couldn't sustain using my phone as a wifi hub. Bed was two singles, strapped together - I woke up lying in the join, with a sore back. No bottled water in the room. The grouting in the bathroom was dirty. Hotel full of aggressive pensioners.

Review 25：Better than sleeping rough.

Review 26：Receptionist zoltan wasn't very welcoming and looked miserable. Radiators made a racket for about half hour which woke me up, when I complained to zoltan in the morning he didn't care and just said oh dear which left me annoyed after my stay.

Review 27：Comfy beds and nice shower.

Review 28：Attractive, comfortable hotel in good location in pleasant grounds alongside river with plenty of parking. Very good staff. Good food. Good value. Restaurant can't decide if its a pub or a 'proper' restaurant. Needs classier tables and chairs, and a little more style in the decor. Also should drop the pub food items from the menu and add a couple more 'cuisine' items. Very good service though and good food and wine.

Review 29：The less experienced staff (the younger ones) need to listen more intently and smile more.

Review 30：I liked the room, the food, the more experienced staff (more mature), the parking being close to the main entrance and the access from major routes.

Review 31：Nothing

Review 32：The staff couldn't do enough for us they we're very polite and helpful. The food was amazing good value for money and the accomadation was perfect. Would recommend to everyone

Review 33：The head of the bed was positioned below a high window. The folds in the curtain let the light flood on to your face in the morning. A simple roller blind would cure the problem. Or move the bed!

Review 34：Lovely surroundings

Review 35：Location - about two miles our of town. There was no lift in the building. No city centre maps for guests.

Review 36：Provided a car park. Accommodation was clean and comfortable.

Review 37：room was too hot, radiator was not on, room too small for pets, breakfast was cold and toaster not working. plus the swiped my card on arrival, which has messed up my banking. they swiped at £120, then on exit i paid balance so in total stay was £152.. which has come out of bank but the £120 is still pending which has made my funds unavailable. if my car tax gets returned i will not be happy, and i will charge the hotel for any returned charge i get from bank. will not ever stay there again. tried adding someone elses room service on my bill too.

Review 38：the staff in resturant was very good. food was lovely.

Review 39：The duty manager was useless. The staff( except 1 waiter) were inept either due to laziness or lack of training or motivation. Having most of the facilities which made me book there inaccessible was an outrage. I paid£145 a night to sit on a dirty bench under a tree if I wanted to sit outside. Inside we were left with a very small bar shabby scratched furniture.

Review 40：The setting was lovely but we couldn't enjoy it as there was a wedding party and we were not allowed to use the patio or lounge bar from 1:30 onwards on Saturday . Apparently they hold 4 weddings a week so be warned. You will have a very small sparse bar to relax in

Review 41：Unfortunately not all facilities were available to us on the Friday due to a wedding party being accommodated. We could not use the bar and terrace which was very disappointing. Also there was noise on the Friday evening when wedding guests returned to their rooms. If booking a Friday or Saturday you would be well advised to check if a wedding party will be there. The baths could also do with replacing as the surface was slippy and a potential hazard.

Review 42：Lovely location by the river and just on the outskirts of Bedford. Nice big rooms, nicely furnished and decorated. Staff were pleasant and helpful. The breakfast was good.

Review 43：Poor lighting in room I asked for lightly done scrambled egg and got a huge plateful of Sorbo rrubber plonked in front of me.it was totally ineviblr

Review 44：Comfortable room

Review 45：There was a fire alarm and staff failed to ensure we had evacuated the hotel. Also whereas the wedding party at the hotel were compensated with a free bar, we were not. The faulty fire alarm sounded a further 3 times at hourly intervals from 10.30 onwards and only when I complained did they isolate the faulty sensor and turn it off. No apology was forthcoming.

Review 46：Good location, beautiful building.

Review 47：Had to wait ages for a drink,need more staff there!glass wine,a tad expensive at £8.50p,and had long wait for our main meal,but when it came was worth it!

Review 48：The staff,food and room were amazing.

Review 49：The service in the restaurant was really slow, there was a wedding party which went on until midnight and was really loud in my room, despite being some distance away, this was a shame.

Review 50：Good staff, lovely rooms and pleasant hotel. Food was good and reasonably priced too.

Review 51：Hotel had been recently refurbished, room nice but breakfast poor quality and low on stock, not enough staff, dirty crockery and cutlery. Such a shame as breakfast let the rest of the stay down.

Review 52：1. Noise at night from two weddings on Saturday (and noisy revellers en route to bedrooms) and, again, noisy on Sunday evening from wedding. 2. Tables not cleared in dining room, and ran out of pre-packed butter. 3. Couldn't get hot weater to basin in bathroom (but didn't complain!).

Review 53：Very warm and welcoming staff, lovely bedroom with good bathroom. Bath particularly praiseworthy - speedy fill and hot water!

Review 54：Tried to check in early. Was told to ring the day before only to be told that they didn't know if I could check in early or not but just to arrive early and they would see what they could sort out. ( Got checked early on arrival )

Review 55：Very nice breakfast although the bacon could have been cooked for longer.

Review 56：There was alot of steps and walking for someone with mobility problems.

Review 57：The staff were amazing, friendly and willing to help and the whole place gave off a lovely vibe.

Review 58：Our room had a nasty damp smell, it was also above the kitchens so from about 6 in the morning we were woken by the chef and other staff stood outside shouting and swearing, moaning they were understaffed mainly. Not what you want to be woken up to!!

Review 59：The location

Review 60：The hotel was in an excellent location for our purposes. Hotel sited in spacious grounds with lovely surroundings. Welcoming staff, spacious room, spotlessly clean and fantastic value for price we paid for the night.

Review 61：The breakfast room wasn't very clean, when I looked down at the floor there was a lot of dirt and fluff around the balustrade and in the wooden floor which made me question how clean everything else was? This was the only poor point of my stay.

Review 62：Good service, rooms comfortable and clean and breakfast quick with a good choice.

Review 63：Would of liked a drinks machine in hotel as no bottled water in rooms etc so had to purchase soft drinks from bar.

Review 64：Lovely setting, food was very nice and staff very friendly

Review 65：We have been to this hotel several times over the years and one of the main reasons is to have a good breakfast with waiter service. However the last 2 occasions the breakfast has been a buffet which means the food isn't as hot. The second day of our recent visit the only bacon available was smoked, the sausages were not hot and the toaster was in a mood. This was a disappointment as we thought the breakfast did not warrant the £10 charged.

Review 66：Staff as always, friendly and helpful. Good location next to the river but road noise at front of hotel. Usually we love the breakfast but.....

Review 67：Staff very slow with check-in, dinner and breakfast. No scrambled eggs. Dinner was good but staff inexperienced and spent a large amount of time standing around doing nothing.

Review 68：Room was clean and tidy, bed was comfortable

Review 69：Only criticisms would be the room was very warm, it could have done with air conditioning. During our evening meal we ordered a second bottle of water, unfortunately it was not cold like the first, very sloppy when the table across got chilled water just after us.

Review 70：Nice location and comfortable stay. Room was very clean and staff very friendly.

Review 71：In general my stay was good and I would return. However, my suggestions for improvements would be the shower (room 1) was very poor pressure and the external lights to the hotel made the room very light during the night. Finally, I felt the breakfast selection could have been better eg there was no yoghurt and no granary bread. Had I paid full price for my room I would have been less satisfied.

Review 72：The staff were friendly and approachable, I was really pleased to be able to check in late at night. In terms of value for money and a late booking, I can't fault The Barns and would return on the same basis.

Review 73：no air con no soap in bathroom the cost of the room should of had a few more bathroom bits only 2 normal teabags. shower was very slow breakfast was limites no eggs

Review 74：the setting of the barn was very nice.

Review 75：Shortage of staff at breakfast, not enough cereal bowls. wait for bacon.Eggs, sausage very tasty but not hot only warm.

Review 76：Setting by river very good, patio area good. Evening meal good

Review 77：The woman on reception looked like she didn't enjoy her job and it had an effect on our stay.

Review 78：We liked the location it was in, it's a quiet and beautiful place to stay. The rooms are all clean and spacious. Peaceful too!!!

Review 79：Absolutely loved this hotel, staff were all lovely and very helpful. The grounds are stunning and the hotel itself was very clean. Overall a great stay.

Review 80：I booked a std & a luxury room - this was changed to 2 x std without any notification - most unimpressed; We were offered warm bottles of beer from the fridge; We found that the restaurant was closed so we had to eat in the "pub"; Very small seating area available to have a drink (due to weather i guess); leftover balloons and candles from the party the night before in the breakfast room

Review 81：The dinner (& wine) was top quality, very enjoyable The outside seating by the river would have been lovely, had the weather allowed us to sit outside The staff were friendly

Review 82：On our second morning the sausages at breakfast were freezing cold in the middle. The wifi was very weak in our room.

Review 83：Lovely surroundings, comfy bed, great service.

Review 84：Excellent customer care, clean relaxing room comfortable four poster bed, cot provided for our 15 month old, room service and food was great, locationwas good and a view of the river from our room made a very happy baby, will definitely stay here againif we were in the area

Review 85：The communication about price of breakfast was not good. Told when booking in it would be £10. When I got the bill it was £23.50. The waitress did sort promptly and I paid £13.50.

Review 86：Quiet environment pleasant staff

Review 87：We try to get a room overlooking the river as it is on the quiet side of the hotel. This time we overlooked the car park and at weekends there is often a wedding and all the noise which goes with it until late in the evening. Just bad luck really. I would like a more powerful shower.

Review 88：Lovely breakfast as usual. Friendly staff as usual. Good spot in relation to Bedford town.

Review 89：Bathroom bin not completely emptied. Only one set of towels left for two people. Breakfast inadequately staffed.

Review 90：A very well presented and comfortable hotel with rooms that feel as though they are kept to a high standard.

Review 91：Chair covers were very stained in the breakfast area.It could do with a lick of paint--damp stains on ceiling.

Review 92：Staff very friendly and helpful.We appreciated being put on ground floor.

Review 93：The only fault we could find was with the shower. At its most powerful it was far too hot but to cool it down the jet was pathetic.

Review 94：Lovely location just outside Bedford with a simple route to our daughter's place on The Embankment. Staff were friendly and helpful and the breakfast was very nice.

Review 95：The room was cold when we arrived, radiator did not work, staff brought up an electric heater. We would have liked breakfast but at £10 pp thought it expensive, we only wanted coffee and toast.

Review 96：they booked far too many guests in, had too few staff In and no manager. We waited an hour and a half for breakfast, as did most of the guests.

Review 97：Room was good. Friendly staff. water was hot.

Review 98：Couldn't sleep on the night due to noise and doors slamming also it was cold due to the heating going off at nine pm. We payed for a breakfast at £10 per person and didn't get wot we was ment to and when asked about it we just got a shrug of the shoulders which really wasn't good enough

Review 99：The place is beautifull and in a good location

Review 100：The staffing and service at breakfast let the hotel down. There was a wedding the night before so we got forgotten in the dining room at breakfast..

Review 101：The whole night away and the food were excellent. Very relaxed and lovely grounds. Rooms really nice and comfortable.

Review 102：overall hotel is starting to feel slightly tired in places

Review 103：stayed her for my wife's birthday, upgraded to the manor suite and loved every minute of it, nothing is too much for the staff they were all excellent, friendly and very polite.

Review 104：For disabled traveller - no auto door openers - no shower room - low bath - but difficult to get into - nightmare to get out of - wedding party (not ours) did stop at 11 p.m.!!

Review 105：food!! excellent - wines a little on the expensive side - £30 for Chianti Classico is well over the top!!

Review 106：The hotel had 1 wedding on Friday and 2 weddings on Saturday so we were unable to use lounge bar or Riverside bar on Friday and Saturday and the restaurant was not open for use on Saturday Manager made compensation with an evening meal but it ruined our stay for the weekend

Review 107：location, staff and hotel

Review 108：TV on in next bedroom until late and very loud. And again next morning very early. Walls must be thin or the occupant must be deaf ( or both ).

Review 109：Excellent breakfast ( non buffet ) Friendly and helpful staff Late at night the receptionist asked the offending room to turn the TV down with some success. Willingness to try and upgrade our room but unfortunately it wasn't suitable through no fault of the lovely receptionist.

Review 110：our room smelt of smoke on arrival i was told i had a river view but could only see signs saying deep water!! the breakfast was very small for the money

Review 111：i loved the location for visiting family

Review 112：We were not told that two functions would be taking place during our stay. We were therefore unable to enjoy the facilities ie bar and restaurant offered by the hotel. We also felt that the hotel was understaffed, so were very disappointed. However, the hotel did compensate us and took some money off the bill.

Review 113：Rooms were exceptionally clean The staff were extremely polite and helpful. The hotel is very picturesque.

Review 114：Reception staff at check in were no more than adequate, didn't feel particularly welcome. On check out they were borderline rude, marring our experience of a fine hotel

Review 115：Food was incredible! Waiting staff were impeccable, great convienient location, beautiful hotel, recommend the fenlake suite, lovely view of the river

Review 116：Dinner was average & other evening meals (out) were far better value for money. Breakfasts, however, were very good.

Review 117：Location was perfect for leisure activities (fishing) in the area & also well placed for town facilities too. Staff were very helpful, although I'd say most seemed to be lacking in experience. Room was well appointed & very clean. Overall, a very pleasant stay at a reasonable price.

Review 118：Very noisy! Still making noise at 1.30am after wedding had finished with staff moving furniture ready for morning, whilst enjoying dance music?!...... Breakfast good but overly expensive. Trying too hard to be a top quality establishment whilst failing on: overdue decor repair, stained and torn furniture. Time for a dust of all those bottles on display! Not sure the 4 star rating is still deserved. Unfortunately won't be returning or recommending this one.

Review 119：Quality of room Quality of breakfast (not cost) Lovely driveway and appearance from outside. Inside - see negatives

Review 120：I liked that the staff were polite and courteous, the rooms were clean and comfortable, the food was of a very good standard and for this reason, I'll be staying there when I'm in the area again.

Review 121：The shower does not flow properly, evening receptionist was not very welcoming and friendly, did put me off a bit as first impression matters a lot. Need to be more friendly and proactive. Provide relevant information to guest.

Review 122：Food was excellent, hotel is clean, waiters at the restaurant are excellent. Breakfast was lovely not mass production. Day receptionist was very helpful and friendly. Facilities for our event was good. Willing to accommodate our request.

Review 123：We had to ask for the bottle of champaigne and chocolates as it was not in the room on arrival, the shower was too weak and the breakfast time had changed and we were not informed but this was quickly resolved by helpful staff who took our order and provided room service.

Review 124：The staff were very friendly and helpful, there was free parking, the food was very good with a great selection of wines.

Review 125：Stayed in room 33 the heating did not work, I was given a broken portable heater and then a working one which did sufficiently heat the room I slept with 2 duvets which was uncomfortable The hairdryer on the wall is weak and holding the button for it to work is tiring when you have long hair, I requested a plug in which I recieved

Review 126：Food

Review 127：Breakfast, we were expecting a hot buffet so we could pick and choose how much we wanted. The cook to order option only gave you 1 sausage and 1 small rasher of bacon. Breakfast was expensive so I expected more.

Review 128：The rooms

Review 129：We went to the Barns Hotel for a wedding of a good friend. We arrived in the evening and just about made dinner. The dinner was absolutely lovely as was the breakfast. The staff were attentive and polite both in the restaurant and on the reception. The venue was very picturesque

Review 130：A very minor point - we had to wait a long time after ordering our food before we received it. However, as the food is freshly cooked to order, it was worth waiting for.

Review 131：At last! A double room that really is a double room, rather than a small room with a double bed. The grounds are pleasant and there are good walks along the river - important for exercising the dog!

Review 132：some minor blips such as the prosecco and chocs not in room on arrival. being locked out by mistake no heating in summer if required. however the manager was more than happy to apologise and gave us money off. once again the staff were brilliant. enjoyed my whole stay x

Review 133：the staff were extremely helpful and courteous. The meals were cooked to the highest standards. compliments to the chef for the breakfast omelette.

Review 134：- Very poor shower pressure a big let down on a nice bathroom - Service struggled as a wedding function took priority over all service Restaurantnt food was poor, starter sent back, food all very bland perhaps again linked to a wedding function, other dinning guests had the same problems - Great suite but it overlooked wedding function so noisy till late - when asked why we did not eat our starter waiter said sorry but still added to the bill.

Review 135：Staff friendly and tried hard. Suite 03 was fantastic very nice river setting Good parking

Review 136：Two out of three nights that I was there (on the weekend) there was a wedding with a live band that played until late. There was no warning, no attempt to situate guests away from the area of noise.

Review 137：Very comfortable room, friendly and helpful staff

Review 138：Restaurant: not ready to seat us at booked time. Rather slow service for drinks

Review 139：Sunny terrace overlooking the river. Comfortable room. Dinner: good menu and food nicely cooked/ presented Breakfast

Review 140：Racket from wedding party below until the small hours. Downstairs air conditioning outside window which came on before 7am on a Sunday morning! To be fair, the hotel gave us a discount on account of the disturbance

Review 141：Helpful & friendly staff, Location.