I must say I stumbled upon this restaurant by luck. I had been spending my summer with my boyfriend…read morein his hometown in Wickham (which is why my previous reviews are all in England). We were fortunate enough to come across a livingsocial deal for The Old House. He had heard great things about this restaurant from his family members, so with luck we purchased this voucher and wandered into a top end restaurant having paid fairly little money. Let just say, England's bad food reputation is relatively true if you don't know where to look. There are plenty of small gems like these in little towns, though frankly you might have to pay an arm and a leg for this place. Most people reading this review probably won't even live in England but if you happen to be in the Hampshire area, near Winchester I urge you to try out The Old House Hotel & Restaurant. The setting, if you have good weather like we did, seems like something out of The Great Gatsby (without the infidelity and murder). I am under the assumption this place was once a residential home (hence the name) and been transformed into classy dining experience. The decorum in an American point of view, very old, classy, New England with the Fitzgerald's and the Kennedy's. There is a quiet garden out back with a few picnic tables where you can enjoy some champagne and a smoke and when you're ready to come in you go in. In the end, the real winner of the night was the food. Most of the food I chose was the ones I thought were interesting. I started with a Tuna tartare, with an avocado sorbet, wasabi caviar, and a dark soy reduction. This was my most adventurous choice, and in the end I was mildly disappointed with my choice. It wasn't that the food wasn't good, it was just the combination was too weird for me. I, naively, was under the assumption that the avocado sorbet was going to be something more like a whipped avocado cream but it was actually an avocado flavored ice cream placed on top a bed of tuna tartare. The wasabi caviar was too bitter and really detracted from the natural flavor of the tuna. All in all, I think the right idea was behind on this dish but needed a bit more tweaking. The other hand, the plating was the most beautiful thing Id ever seen. As my main, I chose the Lobster with Crayfish (or Crawfish if you're American) garden pea and lemon risotto with a parmesan crisp and Thermidor Sauce. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous, everything worked so well together, the lobster was cooked to sweet succulent seafood perfection. The risotto was creamy and with just a hint of the sour lemon taste to help bring out the flavor of the craw(cray)fish. I thought I couldn't eat another bite but then I saw the dessert menu and well... I'm a sucker for the sweets. The dessert, we had the "assiette of Old House desserts for two" which roughly translates to the best way to eat your way to heart disease and diabetes. The plate came with a dark chocolate brownie the length of a brick, summer pudding, toffee creme with a banana bread base, and peanut butter parfait (which is really just peanut butter ice cream). I ate until I thought I was going to burst and then picked more at the plate. The banana bread was served on the opposite side of the toffee delice but were meant to be eaten together and damn, they are the new Mac and Cheese. Barring from the fact, I love brownies I spent most of my time engulfing this amazing dessert. All in all, if you can't tell from my long-winded review, you should probably eat at this place. It's really pricey so don't splurge as much if you don't have the money. Remember I lucked out because I got a voucher but this is definitely one of the best restaurants I've been to in England if not ever. So by all means, if you're here already spend a little, live a little. It's a great restaurant. They do require reservations, It does seem to get a bit busy and make sure you dress for the occasion. 1920's flapper girl dressy but with class of course. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

this place was nice...cute outdoor seating and clean room! it wasn't the best bed or best comforter…read morebut it was nice and people were friendly

ANother Work Christmas Lunch at the Lysses. Port/Duck Terrine, Salmon, Peach Melba Pavlova,…read morefinished with coffee & a mini mince pie, very enjoyable yet again.

Lovely hotel and spa. The room offered a robe and slippers. The room was clean and comfy…read more While I didn't use the pool, it looked very nice. My colleagues who tried to use the work out room were frustrated that it couldn't be used without charging to the room. This inconvenience deterred them from using. The breakfast was good, but the service was slow. The people were pleasant, but be cautious if you're on a tight schedule

Came here on a business trip. The hotel is very quaint and rustic looking. There is a Fireplace in…read morethe main atrium/lobby that is running a real fire in the winter, so you can smell it all over the room. If thats your thing, its a very cozy lobby, with a couple of chairs in front of the fireplace and a couple of benches with tables for those that want to sit and have a drink or work. On the first day I was there, they were just starting a 5 week renovation of the Pub and restaurant area, although I never heard any banging or work from my room. The rooms were nice, appointed in the 1950s style with minimal amenities There is no safe in the room and only a couple of outlets that are strictly European. In the bathroom, there is a towel warmer that barely heats up the towels. If you want the Air Conditioning to turn on, you need to turn it on yourself. They do have flat screen TVs in the rooms and a trouser press, but that doesn't really work. Barely gets warm. I stayed here for 3 nights and was glad when I changed to a more modern hotel. If you like the quaint hotels for the architecture and charm, then this would be great. The service was very good. The breakfast in the morning was OK and buffet style with daily specials that they can make for you in the kitchen upon request. If you want coffee, they will bring that to you and you can request a latte, and it is considered a regular coffee, so there was no extra charge, if you get the breakfast included rate. Its not a great latte, but it should do the trick.

Arrived for a large conference. Was told some minor repairs were being made. Walked in and had to…read morewalk around a huge scissor jack inside the entrance. Then reception was a couple tables. Rooms not ready, and construction was going on late into the evening and all day Saturday. I know work needs to be done, but not all at once.

The room is spotless but it is a bummer that the internet is not free. What is the deal as the…read moreprice of the hotel goes up the internet becomes pay as you go... luckily work is picking up the tab. Room Clean, quiet, super hot water in the shower and aromatherapy toiletries in the bath. Gym Apparently small towns buddy up with the big hotels and the hotel gyms are well outfitted. Classes are offered. Pool is decent as well as a steam room and spa. All the machines and weights you need to help fight off jet lag. Bar dining area How is it that molten chocolate cake with it moltey chocolatey goodness topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream makes the preceding meal go away... and quickly. Even after finding the crusted, fire of the gods fused on crumb of food on the bottom of my spoon... the chocolate still made me happy. I did try to not lick the speed bump of food on the bottom of my spoon. Harbor town, they specialize in fish so i ordered the sole fillet in a wine sauce. What i get is a rolled up sole fillet smothered in something of a hollandaise sauce... luckily it didn't splash over onto my boiled new potatoes. Bland would have been an undeserving rave review for the flavorless tornado rolls of fish I was served. I had such high hopes too after the mini terrine of seafood chowder - hot- with topped with an over cooked half strip of bacon... pancetta for the gourmands. Overall come for the gym and nicely appointed rooms... tomorrow night I explore the tastes of Portsmouth thank you Yelp for expanding your domination of the Universe.

Husband took me for lunch on a Friday. I went for fish & chips with tartare sauce, cod you could…read moretell was fresh & freshly battered, homemade chips & tartare sauce was homemade as well I would say. Enjoyed & husband said the same about his ham, proper ham slices, lots, homemade chips & 2 fried eggs.

Excellent food, conversation, and atmosphere! The steak with peppercorn sauce is very good. Lots…read moreof room.

This is a Holiday inn you would expect at any location. The service I experienced was very…read morefriendly, accommodating and helpful. The hotel is modern, and has a very spacious lobby and dining area. they have a bar, which has a very limited selection, but did the trick, for food and drinks. They don't have many chairs at the bar, which I did find odd. The room had the standard amenities but no safe. The room did have many outlets, so it was convenient when there is an outlet not far from the bed, so you can charge your phone. The room is a decent size and the bathroom, is a typical Holiday Inn bathroom, with a Bath/shower combo and a towel warmer. The breakfast area had a good selection of food and the coffee machine made a pretty good latte. The WiFi did stop working at 1AM, while I was still working and I found that very annoying. When your an international traveler and cant sleep, but work, you need the WiFi

reception staff were nice enough, room was clean but the bathroom floor was vile. hold time for…read moreroom service and drinks was ridiculous that we cut our losses and ordered just eat. phone manner of any staff I spoke to was poor. they were more concerned about a party function going on in one of the rooms. mainly a double rum on its own was £11... correct me if I'm wrong but I wasn't in London and you can buy a bottle for £18 - greedy money grabbers. 4 outsiders walked out while I was paying for my rum so they must've been unimpressed too.

Nearly missed writing this review; it was all very pleasant indeed. Just off a motorway and easily…read morefound, in our case after a five hour drive. Parking is free; there's a nearby minimum wage Tesco - 'every penny counts' or something like that - and a Pizza Hut. The staff gave a warm welcome and when I realised I needed a document printed they very kindly and gracefully took trouble to print for me at short notice, despite being noticeably busy. The room was a good space, cosy very warm, darn comfy bed with a telly, tea and coffee facilities. I think ours was a premium room. For reasons unknown to me there is the ability to change the in-room bedroom lighting, greens thru blues and maybe more. I think it's called 'mood lighting' but it's a bit naff. These places always are a nuisance when trying to get through heavy internal doors with suitcases - here a room card was needed too just to make life more difficult - maybe there's the reason for mood lighting after all to dilute the exasperation to get from reception to a room. I do wish the designers of these places would come up with novel ideas to sort this out. The one thing we always avoid in these places is the food as it tends to be low grade (and relatively low and fairly priced) and prepared off site to a high degree but it's not an issue as a car is needed for most of these places so getting food that is appealing isn't too much of chore. The staff make it. We'd go back anytime.

Literally situated next to Portsmouth and Southsea mainline station, EXTREMELY convenient if…read moretravelling by train. Easy check in by machines in the 'lobby' although I was helped by the efficient, helpful friendly Andy who also took my breakfast order the following day. Comfortable bed and nice TV hub gadget in the room which also had a kettle and a hairdryer. Two double plugs situated at the desk to charge up phone, ipod etc. Would have been nice to have another plug by the bed at eye level but not a game changer. Only downside was that the shower curtain was a bit smelly in the otherwise neat and tidy bathroom.