It's getting there slowly…read more Recently bought out this once magnificent hotel is back on the up after having had some money invested in it. You enter via a splendid great entrance and are instantly cocooned in peace and quiet. A bustling commuter hotel this certainly isn't. One side of the hotel overlooks the Thames with a great view of Leander and down the course of the Regatta. If we have Americans visiting on business, I usually try to get them into this hotel as it seems to typify a genteel hotel in a genteel town. Service in restaurant and bar can be a little patchy at times, but is unhurried and easy. There are plenty of little nooks and crannies to sit and read and pass the time away. The rooms themselves are very comfortable and beautifully appointed. In terms of value, although not cheap, for a hotel of this standard in such a lovely location, it offers great value for money.

Situated on the banks of the River Thames the front entrance to the Red Lion is very impressive…read morebuilt with red brick, clad with wisteria (the back entrance is definitely for tradesmen only!) It is an older English style hotel and the bedrooms contain period furniture and antique paintings, some of the bedrooms have four poster beds although I have never stayed in one with a four poster! Dining room is decorated in the same style and there are slightly bizarre 'wicker' style chairs to the dining tables! Food is good but service has been fairly slow, although definitely not painful, on the times I have eaten here - so make sure you allow enough time to have a leisurely breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Relaunched and great…read more The Anchor is now under new management and is transformed. One of the best (but not the best) pubs in henley. Good food, friendly staff and large Proseccos. Compare the buzz in here to when it was run by the previous tenants.

Good food. Good atmosphere. Parking is a bit cramped but at least it exists! Nice options for…read morevegetarians. OK wine list. But we really didn't appreciate what we took as persistent up-sell tactics. We left feeling over-fed and feeling sorry that we had stepped through the door in the first place. It is likely that we will return to give it another chance, bit we will be looking out for their sales techniques...

Wow, wow, wow. Danesfield House is such a dream for a stay in the English countryside. I genuinely…read morefelt like I was in the setting of Pride and Prejudice the entire time...half expecting Mr. Darcy to emerge from the fog in any second. I was incredibly lucky to visit with my company for a 25th anniversary work trip/holiday party, so we spent 3 days in the conference rooms by day and had drinks near the fireplace by night. It was early December so it was incredibly cold, but you still can't beat that view. I imagine I would be frolicking in the gardens in the summertime lol. The service was absolutely impeccable from the folks at the bar to those who served us at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The staff made our experience and team bonding time truly unforgettable. The grounds are not only beautiful, but also holds fascinating history! I wish I took more pictures of their stories in the lobby, but I may have to settle with whatever I find on their website. Some events we had were clay pigeon shooting nearby and a tour of their charming town Henley-on-Thames, and my goodness I would come back to the UK just to explore the town more. I loved the local pubs we visited and learning about the famous British celebrities who have homes there. I can't wait to be back!

I fell in love with the property, a house hotel on landscaped grounds which were both beautifully…read moremaintained. Everything was spotless and fresh. The reception staff were friendly, but not always knowledgeable. The Hotel ought to make smart tv's standard in all rooms. It was disappointing to be stuck with only the commercial channels (without even a menu option). Our bathroom lacked a toilet brush. The food was adequate and could certainly be upgraded to enhance the Hotel. The spa was disappointing, except for the facials we two had. Those were very well-done. Avoid the massage therapists here; they are insecure, inexperienced young people. For whatever reason, the staff appeared to be 100% women. Especially disappointing was the reception staff at the spa. I would say it was worse than disappointing; it was almost infuriating. Again, the staff was very young women who undoubtedly had little experience in their roles. As insecure young people will do, they will compensate for their lack of knowledge and experience by acting 'in control' and official. They seemed to think the role of reception at the spa was to enforce rules and keep clients in line. This is a major error. Their role is first and last, like everyone at an hotel, to serve a hospitality function: to be welcoming and conveying the wish to facilitate the client's optimal experience. Some re-training is definitely in order. As for the massage staff, I'd say re-hiring is in order; pay more and get more experienced and effective masseurs or masseuses. Consider the good package I got and the high standards of housekeeping and groundskeeping as well as the divine venue, I would definitely stay there again, but would not make use of the restaurant or spa in future.

Top flight business school - one of the largest and oldest in Europe, and the oldest in the UK. The…read morelargest supplier of triple-accredited MBA ( AMBA, EQUIS, and AASCB) education in the world., it is ranked by the FT as number one in the UK for career progression. Henley offer a wide range of MBAs ( Exec, distance learning, and full time), as well as DBA and other specialised executive courses. On the UK Government's preferred list of Exec MBAs, unlike Cass, LBS, and LSE; see http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/f43a05d2-c007-11df-9628-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss The student population come from all over the world, and from across all manner of sectors. Many of the courses have a distinct international flavour; Exec MBA courses have historically included at least two overseas study visits ( China, Turkey, Hungary, and South Africa have been recent destinations). I'm told the average age of MBA students is around 37 ( compared to 26 at Harvard) , hence students tend to have a good deal of professional experience.Recently (2008) was taken over by Reading University. Beautiful campus location next to the Thames; the main building was acquired from Viscount Hambledon in 1952. Non-academic facilities include a bar and gym. Accomodation, all en-suite and many rooms recently refurbished, now available to the general public via Late Rooms etc; works out about £95/head B & B.

This review is just for the restaurant…read more Came here for a work meeting and my first impression was-- I feel so tall. I'm petite, but the doors are short, which was fun. The spot is very charming and quaint. Staff are really nice and friendly. Food was quite good. Really enjoyed the soup and banoffie dessert was yummy. No complaints. I'd definitely come back!

This is a review on the restaurant. It's a nice cute pub and the food is excellent. The waiters…read morewere kind and the service good. Overall this was a nice place to come and have a delicious and slightly posh meal with the family.

I can't rate the hotel (see their website for lots of detail), but I can say that the…read morerestaurant/pub was good. Stopping in for lunch with two colleagues, we were greeted warmly and chose our drinks. There are several cask ales and drafts available as well as many bottled beers and soft drinks. At our table, we were brought menus and ordered. Coronation Chicken looked good, as did the half pie (chicken and ham). My crab linguine was delicious, though I think it needed a little grated cheese on top. Parking is around the corner, 60p for two hours. Good food, good service, nice and clean establishment with a welcoming vibe. Nice big fireplace in the room, which I wish I had snapped. Looks like a great local hangout. I would absolutely return.

Stunning beautiful restaurant grounds next to the river. I love the quail or various foil roasting…read moreon the spit on the old open fireplace! Service is always great and you feel well catered to. Food is typically good. Fairly expensive. Great for special occasions.

The French Horn is a superb top-end restaurant in a picturesque location next to a well-known…read moreThames traffic jam. The first thing that strikes you about this place is how difficult it can be getting across the road from the car park to the main building because of a surprisingly heavy flow of traffic. Having gone into the creeper-covered building, cordially greeted and sat in the bar, I was presented with table d'hôte and the à la carte menus and some nibbles: olives and home-made cheese straws. I was offered a glass of champagne, but opted for a glass of red wine. The bar area is comfortable and (nicely) old-fashioned. Surprisingly for a summer evening there was a fire and duck spit-roasting in front of it: this apparently is one of the house specials and was strongly recommended by a friend. On the à la carte menu starters typically range from over £10 to £22, with lobster and caviar much dearer; the main courses range from around £25 to £40. I went for the table d'hôte menu and chose Pâté de Foie Gras with toasted Brioche for £11.50 followed by Foie de Veau: liver and bacon served with potatoes dauphinois, mange tout and braised fennel for £21. I decided to be good and not have a pudding, but there was a nice selection including cheese or a soufflé for £9.50 and coffee & Petit Fours was £5.50. Overall I'd highly recommend the French Horn for a special occasion. The food and service are excellent. The French Horn is also a hotel, with rooms ranging from £125 to £170 per night, but I haven't stayed.

Really nice hotel in Nettlebed (not far from Henley-on-Thames)…read more The building must be hundreds of years old: it's got heavy beams, uneven floors, creaks everywhere. But all the rooms have been done in a very modern style, from the bedrooms to the bar to the dining room. Our room wasn't big, but it was fairly luxurious. And at £100 it should be (a quality breakfast was included). The bar has service. The food looked amazing, and the restaurant was busy, but we already had reservations elsewhere.

Have been here 3 times nows and probably won't be going back any time soon. It's gradually got…read moreworse with each visit; the first time was for lunch, it was empty and the service and food both pretty good relatively pricey, but good. The second time was less impressive; the food was ok (tough steak) and the service slow fair enough, it was Christamas Eve and that's to be expected. Third time was ridiculous 7.30, Saturday night. The restaurant was busy but not full and the service was ABYSMAL. It took an hour between starter and mains arriving, we then waited another 30 minutes before giving up and getting the bill we weren't even offered dessert, let alone coffee. When we complained it was because 'there was a function on' (about 10 people having dinner) not sure how this relates to not getting dessert, but if you can't provide the service, don't take the bookings. Bear in mind it's £12.95 for fish and chips (well, half a fish, some potato wedges and cold peas) and you might want to consider elsewhere.

Arriving for dinner with a colleague with no res, we were directed to a small table next to a…read moredraughty window in the far corner of the almost empty dining area on a cold night. No choice of tables offered. The menu is a fairly robust sounding British gastro pub menu but with very upmarket prices (£17-20) for mains. The food had the potential to be satisfying and my pork was quite tasty but was served in such tiny portions that it firmly crossed the line to meh. Even the side dish of carrots and swede (£3.50) was tiny and bland - about 2 tablespoons and served almost cold. For dessert I opted for the poached pear and gingerbread. A half pear that was sliced and arranged on the plate, and just reminded me of tinned pears in syrup, accompanied by a mini rectangular piece of brown but completely flavourless cake. The propped up and fanned out pear on the tiny finger of cake with 3 blobs of some sort of sauce was just silly and it was completely bland and uninteresting...Just give me some decent home made hot pudding with enough to leave a customer satisfied. The overly arranged food with tiny portions doesn't work for me and just seems at odds with the descriptions of the dishes on the menu which sound hearty and satisfying and ends up being just mean. Does small portions and arranged food alone equate to gourmet dining? I think not. When we were ready to leave, we became invisible to the wait staff, stuck as we were in the corner. After several attempts we put our coats on and walked up to pay to finally get their attention. Left hungry and irritated and just wanted to leave. So overall not a good dining experience, ham fisted service and high prices with relatively poor value quotient.

Spent more than two days at The Olde Bell Hotel for a team event…read more The main part of the hotel was build in 1135 AD. Amazing and the place is rich with history including meetings between Churchill and Eisenhower. As with any old buildings, it was a little cold...who am I kidding...a lot cold but charming. Food is OK but they have Guiness on tap so...it's OK. Service was great. Probably would have been better if it wasn't so cold.