The little gem of Donnington…read more I have been staying here on business for a few weeks having stayed at some competitors' hotels in the local area and cannot recommend the Donnington enough. The service is always friendly yet efficient and the staff are more than happy to help with any queries or niggles I have during my stay. Rooms are split into two tiers; standard and executive (executive rooms being larger with a sofa, walk-in shower and separate bath, and robes/slippers included). Room service food is superb and always delivered promptly even during busy periods. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel. The bar area is great and the staff are friendly and attentive. The decor provides a warm, intimate and relaxing atmosphere and is great for winding down in the evening. Breakfast in the restaurant in the mornings is superb and well worth the money. The cooked breakfast is particularly tasty and features meat from local farms. The spa and gym facilities are where the hotel really shines. The pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room are not to be missed (quiet times in the week are from around 7pm). The changing room/shower facilities are well thought out and provide ventilated lockers, trunk/swimming costume drying, shower gel, shampoo/conditioner, hair straighteners and driers.

Stayed here on a business trip. Fairly standard hotel near Newbury in the South of England…read more Facilities for the meeting were very good. Staff were friendly and attentive. Rooms were clean and the price was reasonable.

Great bar that does food and has a large selection of drinks, including a regular change of ales…read moreand ciders. Indoor and outdoor seating. Check out the meal deals.

We live this place! Jerry, Hamish and cute little Marmite and Sparkle make this pub so homey and…read morewelcoming. This historic pub is amazing! We definitely look forward to each time we go and have been going here for 10+ years. In winter the fireplace is going and keeps it nice and warm. With two dining areas and outside seating (with a heated area too), there is a bit of room for groups and recommend booking for any special event. The food is always good and prepared using fresh, local ingredients. Recommend the Pork Medallions and any fish dish available. The cook is humble but gifted. You can also reserve a room as well. We do so when we have friends or family in. This is the only place we go to for the all year round. We rate this pub very highly for its warm and welcoming atmosphere, the staff are always friendly and understand customer service very well. The food is always excellent and the bar is always well stocked.

The most impressive wine list that I've seen in an English pub, even a gastro one. All dishes were…read moregood. The crab thermidor is yummy and fresh. The spring chicken is so tender. I will be back in this one.

We ate at the Crab on Saturday evening, having previously booked a table for two. Our expectation,…read morebased on other reviews and the awards on the website, was a fine dining experience. We were shown to a small table in a room that was quite possibly the worst decorated room I've been in since the 1970s. The ceiling was covered in fishing nets with shells. All the shelf space was cluttered with empty wine bottles. Our table was small and in front of a fireplace full of clutter. The service was attentive but a little confusing, we were served by, I think, six different people. The menu was badly laid out and the specials were announced to us, after we inquired twice, at high speed. We therefore decided to stick to the printed menu. Crab, Asparagus Cakes, Apple & Ginger Puree, Crayfish Vermouth. Not as expected from the menu. The menu entry implies Crab with Asparagus Cakes, so we expected some crab with some sort of asparagus patties, not crab cakes. The dish of crab cakes and cabbage was edible but so salty that I had to rinse my mouth several times. Disappointing. Grilled Red Mullet, Wild Mushroom Crust, Stilton & Thyme Risooto, Sauce Forestierre. My wife had expected a 'crust' of mushroom, not a creamy paste. She removed the 'crust' from the Red Mullet, in order to taste and enjoy the fish. The only flavour she got was one of over-fried fish. I also tasted the fish, it was quite hard and obviously over-cooked. The stilton flavour in the lovely creamy 'risooto' was undetectable, it just tasted salty. Disappointing. Pan Fried Wild Turbot, Scallop Girasole, Koffman's Cabbage, Confit of Cherry Tomato. A very pleasant dish! Roasted Monkfish, Ratte Potato & Cornish Crab, Courgette Puree, Basil & Olive The Ratte Potato was lovely! No taste of crab though. The monkfish was tasteless and chewy. Disappointing. The Crab's Assiette of Desserts for Two. Mixed reviews, mostly nice. Overall, the poor ambiance and poor food coupled with fine dining prices made for very poor value for money. I think the awards on the website are misleading, they are clearly living off past glories.

This pub and restaurant is convenient to Highclere House. The staff were number one friendly and…read morehelpful. We had a better food experience than room experience. Four stars for food, three for room. The dinner was quite excellent! We enjoyed two different draft ales. The best dish was the outstanding caramelized onion and goat cheese tart, served with a small salad of frisée and mixed greens. It didn't look like what I think of as a tart, it had pastry on the bottom, but it was baked in a larger square pan. We also enjoyed the flavorful and creamy butternut squash risotto. The scallops and black pudding received a very high rating. The portion was restrained, two scallops and two slices of pudding. The potato and leek soup was okay, very leeky. For pudding I had the strawberries and cream. That's exactly what it was fresh strawberries and plain cream. I admit I was expecting a bit of sugar, or perhaps a bit of a whip, but I decided to act healthy, and have my pudd unsweetened. We had the full breakfast the next morning. The eggs, back bacon, stewed tomate, etc were tasty. Skip the fried bread. I'd never seen fried bread on a menu for breakfast before. I asked the waitress about it, who encouraged me to try it. To an American taste it was not very nice. Basically a deep fried triangle of toast. The croissants were so-so, have the granary toast. As for the room, we had an attic room for a family with three beds. The price was reasonable, but I didn't love the room. I'd say ask for a room on a lower floor. You had to duck to use the bathroom sink, and the basin was teeny-tiny. Two of the beds were in the eaves, I pulled mine out, and my husband risked the head-bonk, but he seemed fine in the morning.

Nice looking pub & hotel on the A4 just 2 minutes from the A34 towards Newbury. The pub is warm and…read moreclean, the staff friendly and welcoming. There is a nice heated outdoor patio area and beer garden at the side of the building and plenty of parking. This is very much a food pub, with most tables set for food a good fixed menu and a couple of Weekly Special starters, two mains and a Catch of the Day. Starters range from around £3-5 and mains £11-16. I chose a special off the starter menu: button mushrooms, garlic, white wine & cream sauce served on toasted Brioche; it came with a small side-salad and was good, not wonderful, but good. For the main I went for Medallions of Beef Fillet, char-grilled red wine mushrooms and pancetta sauce served with sauté potatoes, roasted Mediterranean vegetables. I received two thin slices of steak served with button mushrooms and what looked like bacon (not pancetta), sat on some soggy potatoes. The Mediterranean Vegetables reminded me of Ratatouille: courgette, carrot and others in a lightly peppered tomato sauce. Quite nice, but not what I would have described as 'roasted'. Overall I enjoyed the food, it was good, but I think it could have been very good, nearly 4* ranking, so somehow just a little disappointing. The hotel part is rather Motel style with several blocks of bedrooms, each with their own external door, scattered around the side and back of the hotel. The blocks looking in keeping with the rest of the building, so it looks nicer than it probably sounds. Meals are served back in the main building. Breakfast is the usual cereal, orange juice and a choice from the traditional English breakfast: bacon, egg, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and fried bread. Tea, coffee and toast round off the choice. It was all well cooked, tasty and served with a smile.

Great little Inn in the center of Newbury. Nothing fancy, but it beats the hell out of staying at…read morethe local Hilton when travelling on business. I would absolutely stay here again if I was in the Newbury area.