The Admiral Hornblower
The Admiral Hornblower descritpion
Beautifully situated in the historic market town of Oakham, this 17th-century former farmhouse has been lovingly restored to offer luxurious guest rooms with Freeview TV, whilst still retaining its original features.
A wonderfully characteristic, listed building, The Admiral Hornblower Hotel & Restaurant provides a warm, friendly and relaxed atmosphere, making it ideal for your stays in Rutland. The smallest county in England, Rutland is home to historic villages, rolling countryside and the traditional market towns of Oakham and Uppingham.
In the evenings you can enjoy the wonderful freshly prepared food in the Admiral Hornblower’s restaurant. All meals are accompanied by a wonderful choice of wines from the cellar and a variety of beers, including 3 traditional hand drawn ales.
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Facilities of The Admiral Hornblower
Outdoors ：Grounds
Pets ：Pets are not allowed.
Food & Drink ：Restaurant | Bar
Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in public areas and is free of charge.
Parking ：Free!Free public parking is available on site (reservation is not possible).
General ：Non-smoking Rooms | Heating | All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)
Reviews for The Admiral Hornblower
Review 1：The cleaning of the rooms, dirty laundry left in draws, shower not draining away, water overflowed on to floor, breakfast like rough transport cafe, all cooked in same greasy pan, with toast on same plate, awful.
Review 2：The central location
Review 3：check out too early and no flexibility with it when asked,25 min wait for breakfast and I was the only one in there !!
Review 4：will be a nice room when it's finished off,good breakfast though and great location in the town
Review 5：Shame the hotel did not inform us when we booked that food was not available to us as New Years buffet/ party organised and no effort to accommodate us although staying over night.
Review 6：Rooms, clean, tidy, well equipped, bathroom particularly new and modern.
Review 7：Breakfast was a disaster. 7.30 is too late to start serving on a week day when you have to get up and get out. A barman the night before said if we came down at 7.15 there would be things on the side we could have. However, everything was locked up till 7.30 and then when we came back at 7.30 nothing was ready, chef turned in at 7.35. The pleasant waitress quickly made us some toast before we had to leave. Only stay if you are happy with a leisurely late breakfast. It feels like it's run by students.
Review 8：Lovely bathroom and comfortable bed
Review 9：This is an amazingly good deal, and if we must pick on small details: there was no luggage rack and It would have been even nicer if the wardrobe were renovated too.
Review 10：Superb value for money. Very conveniently located. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Newly renovated room is very comfy, especially the bathroom which is very nicely designed, well-lit and sparkly clean. Breakfast came fairly promptly and the toasts were very good.
Review 11：The moaning couple near us who complained about everything!!!! Felt sorry for the staff who had to deal with them!!
Review 12：Couldn't fault it best fish and chips ever lovely pub lovely one fire lovely room just great!!!! Lovely quaint room warm and cosy!!
Review 13：Fire alarm going off after midnight causing guests to stand outside with no staff arriving to see if we were OK (apparently set off by a guest so no actual fire).
Review 14：Bed was very comfortable. Hotel seemed a higher standard than a 2 star.
Review 15：Hearty breakfast but limited in range. Bathroom could do with update. However, we did not find it a problem.
Review 16：Very pleasant, cosy atmosphere and welcoming, friendly staff. Excellent location.
Review 17：Cleaning taking place while we were eating breakfast. Wardrobe door does not shut properly and had to ask for shaving light to be replaced even though it was obvious it was not there. Had to wait for spoon to eat dessert, had to wait for sauces to be brought to table after the meal had been placed on table.
Review 18：Enjoyed evening meal in restaurant area
Review 19：All rooms have been very well refurbished but they missed a trick: not a bath in any of them. Women like baths. They were a little short staffed at breakfast . The whole event took 40 minutes .Good job I wasn't t in a hurry.
Review 20：Service here is competent and always sleep well.
Review 21：Arrived at 9.00pm, response from staff slow and asked about food - none. Room was cold when I arrived. Breakfast was told would be from 7.30. Truth is, staff start turning up at 7.30 but my order for breakfast wasn't taken until 7.50. Breakfast arrived 8.05, by which time I was running late. Please don't state breakfast at 7.30 if it's not. People on a schedule will be let down.
Review 22：The room was quiet and clean. Lovely wet room style shower.
Review 23：Booked the four poster bedroom for my birthday given another room due to refurbishment. Room had roof view, bathroom dated no shower or hot water.Noise from air con unit from kitchen droned all night.Would have cancelled if told I wouldn't get the room I wanted.Should have been informed of refurbishment before stay.
Review 24：The breakfast was poor. My wife ordered poached eggs on toast - the toast was cold and rock hard and the eggs were overcooked. I had a full English but wasn't offered any toast/bread. We had to ask for fruit juice and there was no fresh fruit on offer.
Review 25：Our room was very good although a couple in our party were moved into the attic which was poor . They did receive a full refund.
Review 26：No chef to cook breakfast
Review 27：Solved the problem about having no chef by paying for breakfast at the Wetherspoons over the road, this wouldn't stop us returning
Review 28：Breakfast was very disappointing. There were only two tables occupied, but it took the kitchen 40 min to put a breakfast together which was pretty dreadful when it arrived. Its a shame the stay was let down by very poor kitchen service as there are other excellent alternatives in the town.
Review 29：Location was great
Review 30：Room needed some upgrading, especially the bathroom. Breakfast offer was a little poor - would have liked some fruit & yoghurts, and a bit more care re the presentation!
Review 31：Location & car parking good, food for lunch/evening meals very good. Quiet for a good night's sleep!
Review 32：The service in the restaurant was terrible even though they were not busy. Went out for the day and on our return found our room had not been serviced, no manager around during our weekend stay and no apology received, emailed on return home and did not even receive an acknowledgement.
Review 33：Central location and clean comfortable rooms
Review 34：The only minor issue was finding the car park as you have to go in the back way. That's being very picky though we had a great stay.
Review 35：The room was loveley and clean. And breakfast was very good.
Review 36：this is our third stay, and had a different room each time.the previous two were excellent and well serviced daily. this stay we had room 7 the room was fine but the bathroom needed a redecorate and update. our coffee tea etc. were not replenished during our 3 night stay, even after we mentioned it to the evening staff. shame but we will be back to stay on our next visit to oakham.
Review 37：this is our third stay, staff are so welcoming and friendly.food is superb, so is the bar love the atmosphere especially the log fire in winter.
Review 38：Very noisy, right next to a club, if you are looking to actually sleep then don't book here, also music played at about 7:30am as well. It hadn't had a good clean, there were cobwebs behind the drawers. Not worth the money. We ended up staying somewhere else for our last night at £40 a night and were much happier. Also parking was a bit of a nightmare!
Review 39：Staff were nice
Review 40：Superb central position in town. Very friendly and helpful staff. Great room! Lovely food and beautiful courtyard/beer garden. Well worth a visit.
Review 41：TV and radio didn't. Weak wifi - only worked in one corner of the room. Shabby bathroom - apparently rooms gradually being refurbished. We had an upgrade - what were the other rooms like?!
Review 42：Restaurant food very good. Attractive old building with character. Own car park.
Review 43：Very poor breakfast.Very limited selection of cereals, no muesli, no fruit. No marmalade or any other preserves available - had to ask for some. There were only two other tables occupied at breakfast but it took ages for even the pot of tea I had ordered to appear.
Review 44：Really friendly and helpful staff
Review 45：The manager was off duty and the deputy had rung in sick. This left a young guy who was on his second day and a young girl on her first shift. Our TV didn't work and although he tried his best we were without the TV during our stay.
Review 46：The staff were friendly and helpful but inexperienced.
Review 47：No wardrobe of drawers.Noisy fan in room below. Nobody seemed to know what was going on lovely staff but training needed. Someone needs to check each room to see whats required.
Review 48：Good food and friendly staff.
Review 49：Uncomfortable bed Breakfast service was exceptionally slow. The toast was then burnt - we were the only one in the restaurant so no obvious reason or explanation.
Review 50：Location, room size, free parking
Review 51：No BBC1 or BBC2 (on commercial programmes) on the television although that might have been a temporary problem
Review 52：An excellent chef both for dinner in the bar, and for the scrambled egg at breakfast
Review 53：The bed was a bit hard for me . However, my husband thought it was fine. Personal preference I suppose.
Review 54：The location - it was in the centre of town. The helpful staff. The roll top bath.
Review 55：Excellent staff, really friendly and diligent. Very good food. Pretty place, nicely furnished and done up. Oakham is a charming place, and Rutland water nearby a great place for walks and cycle rides.
Review 56：Car parking; the car park was already double parked and with the parking restrictions on the nearby roads, we ended up having to park on the pay and display.
Review 57：The staff were very friendly, helpful and very efficient. The food was delicious and good value for money.
Review 58：the streetlight directly outside the room was flickering and turning itself on and off all night, making it impossible to get a good nights sleep I had to leave early in the morning but they were not able to accommodate an early morning breakfast.
Review 59：spacious modern room and huge bathroom with a big shower. teas, coffee and biscuits in the room
Review 60：Breakfast was not served till 8am on the sunday morning and I had to leave early I think I should have had a discount for not taking the breakfast, seeing as a £10 charge is added for additional people having breakfast. The wifi was poor in the rooms, I was unable to plan my journey or do any research.
Review 61：The bed was very comfy and the staff were very friendly.
Review 62：On arrival member of staff attempted to show me too my room. Initially she could not gain entry to the room and thought she had the wrong key. It turned out it was not the wrong key the room had been double booked! They suggested I could find another in the town but intially offered no assistance a until I questioned them! I was already running late for a friends funeral and did not have time to book other accommodation! No refund has been received as of yet!!!
Review 63：Breakfast was disjointed and could have been hotter. Rooms at the front suffer from road noise but this is because of location on high street. Not sure if under change of management but things did not flow smoothly.
Review 64：Nice beer garden. Evening chef specilal meals were very good.
Review 65：I clean holiday homes for a living and that room had not been properly cleaned for a while. Most things were clean but the blinds were thick with dust and I had to clean out the shower myself so that it didn't flood! There was a huge clump of grungy hair clogging the plug hole :/ Lovely stay apart from that though, thanks
Review 66：Location and room decor
Review 67：noise from the front as window was a sash window and had a significant gap which let the cold in. The ensuite had loose floor tiles and mould on the ceiling and around shower door (I did not use the shower as it looked unclean), Alex Polizzi wouldn't recommend this.
Review 68：bed was comfy and clean, amenities was for the standard of the room
Review 69：times for breakfast - 7.30am - too late! street light flashing on an off outside window all night bath in room - slow to run - no stand in shower
Review 70：Location Quaint hotel
Review 71：Cleaning at breakfast time. A little indecisive where service concerned, Some staff didn't seem to know what they were to do
Review 72：Room with character, very hot water, comforable bed. Good braekfast.
Review 73：Hotel is undergoing full refurbishment but has excellent potential. There were staffing issues when we had dinner but these were resolved to our satisfaction.
Review 74：The location with a newly refurbished room near to all facilities including both train and buses. Food was of a good quality
Review 75：N/A
Review 76：Close to train station and registry office to attend cousin's wedding. Loved the historic town and early Sunday walk to North Shore of RW. I'll return for a w/e with my girlfriend.
Review 77：Generally stained and dirty carpet, more significantly carpet had not been hoovered and when it has been probably not properly (dust accumulated around edges)
Review 78：I travelled to Oakham by rail, and the property is only 5 minutes' walk from the railway station. Very friendly welcome, excellent real ales in the bar, and comfortable, en-suite room.
Review 79：Car park isn't easy to find first time!
Review 80：Good location if visiting Rutland Water. Dinner was good and the staff helpful. Sunny weather meant we could sit in the garden.
Review 81：Room was odd: a house could look in the window yet there were no nets, curtains were only hanging by a few old hooks, TV was small and not secure on its bracket. Bathroom light over mirror was broken.
Review 82：Bar area was nice.
Review 83：The experience was good nothing bad to report.a
Review 84：The close location to Rutland Water for the walking and views. Oakham was lovely town with all the facilities you required.
Review 85：Some parts were quite tatty e.g broken tile on bathroom floor, window which didn't close properly and made the room draughty.
Review 86：Friendly staff, low cost.
Review 87：The green fire exit light in the room!! Difficult to sleep with a lit up room
Review 88：Clean accommodation. Comfortable, quiet. Friendly staff. Good cooked breakfast & evening meal. Loved the local ale. All good value for money. Would definitely return.
Review 89：I was very very satisfied with every aspect of my sray at the Hornblower, and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. i will definitely be stayyng again
Review 90：the rooms were nice the overall cleanliness was good but the bathroom had quite a few large cobwebs that were all over the extraction fan and from the doorframe to the light.this was the only thing that let the rooms down the facilities were spotless.
Review 91：we enjoyed a meal in the restaurant,free breakfast was lovely,the rooms were adequate .
Review 92：A few minor gripes which will no doubt be ironed out when the refurbishing has been carried out.
Review 93：The staff could not have been more helpful and we enjoyed our breakfast and evening meal.
Review 94：VERY POOR LIGHTING IN ROOM POSITION OF TV! NO PLUG SOCKET NEAR MIRROR NO YOGURT OR FRUIT FOR BREAKFAST ROOM QUITE SMALL
Review 95：NICE TOUCH OF BOTTLED WATER IN ROOM GOOD BASKET WITH GREAT SELECTION OF COFFEES/TEAS/BISCUITS ETC AND LOTS OF THEM! COOKED BREAKFAST GOOD
Review 96：The cleanliness of the room was poor. There were cobwebs throughout. The wardrobe top, bathroom shaving light and extractor fan were thick with dust.The carpet would benefit from a good clean too!!
Review 97：Basic but adequate room. Breakfast was excellent.
Review 98：Room a little cramped. Not enough circulation space. A few things needed attention eg lamp not working, loose floor tiles in bathroom.
Review 99：Central location, parking on site. Our room was in the annex which was lovely and quiet. Friendly and helpful staff. Good breakfast.
Review 100：Room small - tripping over stuff. Not all plugs worked Car park hard to find and allocated guest room parking was already taken. Took 20 minutes to book in on arrival, and no clear system for telling if one had paid for the room or not.
Review 101：Good location Good breakfast Clean
Review 102：No sky TV to watch rugby international. Think this is a mistake to remove!
Review 103：Very pleasant staff . Lovely evening meal. Location very good. New owner seems to be making very good progress noticed quite a few new touches. Have been visiting horn blower for many years all looking good.
Review 104：It was cold! on the first night the heating in the restaurant had broken down. In our bedroom the radiator was only lukewarm, and the heating went off at 9.30 p.m. two nights running. It ttok the edge off a very pleasant stay
Review 105：Food excellent, staff very friendly. Large comfortable bed
Review 106：We stayed five nights I was with my mum and we felt looked after and comfortable. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Cooked breakfasts were excellent. Exactly what you want a B&B to be.
Review 107：Price of room considering the awful decor, frayed carpet, cracked tiles in bathroom, damp patches/mould and dust/ cobwebs in the room not good. A discount was not offered even though the price to book direct had been reduced for November to £60 per night. Very noisy as window did not close properly. Kettle had to sit on floor to use as lead not long enough to reach any socket!
Review 108：Friendly, helpful and polite staff. Great real ale and wine. Breakfast very good.
Review 109：All of the lights in our room had fused, we told the staff but they were not fixed, so no lights for us when we got home. Card machine not working, which was inconvenient. Carpet frayed in the bedroom and a bit rundown in general.
Review 110：Lovely staff, good location, good shower, parking-although it was really tight!
Review 111：The boy didn't explain how to use the key in my door and about breakfast times and location for breakfast.
Review 112：Excellent sleep aided by the Clocks Going Back. Help with leaving our 2 suitcases. Very satisfying breakfast breakfast served at table by friendly and helpful Suzie. Able to get back in easily after our retun from my niece's wedding in Owston.
Review 113：Breakfast. Overall the full English was good, but mine was let down by the awful poached egg. In contrast, the fried eggs were spot on!
Review 114：Loved our room and how welcoming and friendly the staff were.
Review 115：Took a while to find free car park but local people very friendly and helpful
Review 116：Took the trouble to advise I had left car lights on. Happy for me to leave car well past check out while I sorted problem out had to get RAC. Very helpful and friendly. Had twin beds were very wide and comfy. Would stay again
Review 117：Difficult to find parking at rear. High Street frontage rooms a bit noisy, back rooms however were quiet.
Review 118：Clean, large rooms, friendly staff. Good breakfast (no marmalade was available however on the day we stayed). Staff worked hard to make rooms available early as we needed to change for a wedding. Good communication by email prior to our visit.
Review 119：In room 5, the bathroom had no shower , just a bath and a hand held shower, terrace door was rotten and not really secure.
Review 120：Location was great, staff were friendly. Service good - food great
Review 121：No sunday meal after 7 and only roast till then. Price of gin and tonic ridiculous! Half the price at whipper inn. Poor wifi. Ground floor room nice but no means of having fresh air no windows.
Review 122：Comfortable room except heating on in bathroom and bedroom on hot summer day. Staff friendly Excellent breakfast
Review 123：Stayed for one night. Very surprised to be told the bar was closed at 10pm on the Sunday evening. As it was a birthday celebration we had to go elsewhere to complete our evening.
Review 124：Great location
Review 125：Single glazed windows straight on to the main street. Won't bother some people, but it was also bin day so quite noisy. As above, when we mentioned this to the staff, they moved us immediately. May be worth mentioning when booking if you want a quiet room.
Review 126：Great location, great breakfast. Staff moved us rooms without batting an eyelid. We also ate at the restaurant one night, which was great value and very tasty!
Review 127：parking, very difficult access, probably insufficient
Review 128：I went there without any great expectations and found a good old High Street pub/hotel, nothing wrong, unpretentious and very willing staff.
Review 129：The overall size of the bar restaurant and garden, comfortable large bedroom, very helpful staff & great service. Good beer well presented, looking forward to staying again next month for another value for money few days.
Review 130：7.30 start for breakfast, 7.00 preferable. Car park space limited.
Review 131：Managed to park outside. Our room was away from the main building, so quiet. Staff very helpful. Hotel very central. Good choice for breakfast.
Review 132：Room 1 not good for disabled. The bath takes some getting in and out of...didn't appreciate faulty fire alarm. Very noisy Saturday night but finished just after 12.
Review 133：Central location. Room 1 lovely and large. Staff cheerful if a little vocal on private matters.
Review 134：no one gave me a key to enter at night.I returned at 10.45 one night to find I was locked out.Another guest let me in but I had to search building for my room key.
Review 135：Not much
Review 136：Very poor Wi-Fi coverage, only possible in the public bar not in bedrooms despite stating full coverage was available. Unfortunately a large extractor for the kitchen was next to our bedroom wall which did cause a lot of noise, this was on until the kitchen closed approx 9.30 pm.
Review 137：The room was very spacious and the beds comfortable. The staff were friendly and helpful and the breakfast was generous and freshly prepared.
Review 138：Wi-fi only worked in bar area although it was advertised as throughout. Entrance to car park was poorly signed and difficult to find.
Review 139：The reception was quick and slick. The staff were all very helpful and attentive to customer needs. Meals were well cooked, tasty and wholesome.
Review 140：they rushed us when dining in the evening eg we ate at 8.45pm and they wanted to close down and go home - no coffee was offered as it would have taken time etc
Review 141：the food and friendly staff