Food was absolutely fabulous. Desserts were spectacular. Highly recommend this restaurant!!read more

Best roast dinner in the cotswolds. Loved finding this cosy pub on our visit to the cotswold. the…read moredrinks, food and team were outstanding

This is the perfect B&B. I can't think of anything that wasn't excellent…read more The owners are kind and gracious and have created a lovely establishment. Sometimes guest houses are either extremely cluttered or filled with cheap Ikea furniture, but this house is well furnished and up-to-date. I particularly liked the breakfast room with antiques and green walls...so British! Location is perfect, just a 5 minute walk to the train station or to the center of town. Our room was very spacious and well appointed. The windows are double pane so it stayed nice and warm. Water pressure and heat was excellent. Breakfast was delicious. The portions were so large I could barely finish everything. There's of course a full English, but also some other options like omelets and cereals. Don't miss the homemade jams! They also offer a packed lunch for £7 which I highly recommend. I don't know where they got that ham for the sandwich, but it was some of the best I've had in ages. The lunch came with sandwich, quiche, crisps, cake, and water - all in an insulated bag. For my fellow Americans, you may see some reviews or house rules mention that the Emsley doesn't allow "all male or all female" parties. In Britain, that refers to bachelor/bachelorette parties. It doesn't refer to same-sex couples, which are gladly welcomed at the Emsely. I thought I'd point that out because that terminology might be confusing to some travelers.

This was the first bed & breakfast I've ever stayed in and it spoiled me for any others, I think!…read moreThe people who run it were so kind & helpful! The room was really nice & they even gave us homemade cookies to go with our tea & coffee in our room! The decor was beautiful! We had afternoon tea when we got there & it was delicious! They gave us tips for where to go in the city and how to get there. I would highly recommend everyone to stay there!

This was a lovely little place. Our room was beautiful, clean, full of light, and comfortable. The…read morestaff were friendly and went out of their way to help when we turned up three hours early (we were just planning to leave our bags, but the room was ready!) Short walk from the train station and equally short walk from all the goodness of Stratford, this place really couldn't have been better. Super affordable! Great breakfast! Well. It could have had a fun Shakespeare-based name like so many of the neighbors, but I suppose all the good ones are already taken. Oh, and the shower was a bit small. But really, everything else was super lovely. Highly recommended.

We had a really nice stay at Woodstock but there are a few caveats…read more Cons: water pressure is almost non-existent so you'll spend lots of time in the shower & your toilet probably won't flush until the evening We were not provided clean towels for our 2nd day- our old towels were folded up & placed back on the beds which was a bit shocking to discover but in all fairness, we could have asked for new towels Our room had a weird smell that we equate to cat Pros: The owners are super-nice and will make reservations for you, accommote all our picky food needs (insert Veggie here) The breakfast was substantial w/ cereals, fruit, and Full English Breakfast..... And can we say *real* coffee!! Location is the absolute best as we could walk from the Train Station AND walk to town w/ no problems & this was w/ us schlepping luggage. The house itself is lovely & rooms were very quiet - no neighbors were heard. We had our own set of keys which not all places will provide So would we stay here again? Definitely. Quaint B&B to welcome us to Shakespeare's home & get us to our Special play "As You Like It"

Fantastic B&B, handily placed for the town centre tourist attractions and also only a mile's easy…read morewalk from Anne Hathaway's cottage. Clean and comfortable, run by a lovely friendly couple who will provide leaflets about local attractions, maps of the town centre and recommendations of places to eat (and they even called up and booked a table at a restaurant for us). It has off-street parking round the back and free wifi, the beds are comfy and all the rooms are en-suite. Breakfast is exactly what you want - cereals, fruit and fruit juice on the side to help yourself from and a full cooked breakfast. I'd have no hesitation booking this place again if we returned to Stratford.

Organising a trip with a group of friends is never easy. If they all live in another country with a…read moremulti-hour time difference between you and them it's even tougher. But from my first phone call with Wendy at the Old School, I knew if anyone could make our dreams of a car-less, stress free, food forward holiday in the Cotswolds come true it would be her! Wendy sorted out transportation from the Kingham station to the Old School and our people carrier was there waiting as soon as we stepped off the train. We stopped en route at Daylesford (highly recommended) and bought some fantastic food souvenirs. When we arrived at the Old School Wendy warmly welcomed us, showed off each room and then let us have our pick. Not long after she met us in the sitting room with plenty of tea and two types of cake. Prior to our arrival she'd booked us a table at the nearby Red Lion Inn for dinner. As we left to head there on our first night we told her about a walk we planned to do the next day. At breakfast the following morning, Wendy let us know she'd given it much thought and come up with an alternative walk that would require less time on the road, more time on footpaths and a stop at a country pub. We were sold and she gave us a map as well as verbal and written directions. Hours later, after we'd finished lunch at the pub, we received word from our server that Wendy had phoned to make sure we'd gotten there and to have him remind us not too eat too much since she was preparing our Thanksgiving dinner. I don't think there was a single thing we wanted for that Wendy did not provide: - An extravagant four course Thanksgiving dinner at a very reasonable £30 per person - Rubber boots, gloves, hats for those who forgot theirs to keep us warm on our walk - Clotted cream (because I love the stuff!) - Transportation to and from the station (hello hassle free!) - Tea and homemade cake each afternoon She even laundered my friends' jeans after they got muddy on our walk. Have you ever heard of such hospitality anywhere, ever? The Old School is an absolute dream for folks wanting a food-centric holiday in the Cotswolds. The breakfasts, bundled into the nightly rate, are dreamy indulgences which include yogurt, numerous fruit compotes, cereals, smoked salmon, tea, coffee, toast with homemade jams, eggs any way you like, bacon, sausage and black pudding. The B&B makes an excellent base if you want to go walking and take in the gorgeous countryside on foot. I feel as if I've stumbled upon a unique paradise in my discovery of the Old School and can't recommend the place highly enough. My only disappointment? I didn't spot any stoats while at the Old School. Pretty sure that means I shall have to return soon to continue my search!

My stay at the Old School was truly one of the most wonderful travel experiences of my life…read more Wendy is an absolute gift of a hostess. She was so immediately kind and welcoming, it basically felt like I was staying with my favorite English auntie for the week. She's also quite talented in the kitchen, and whipped up the most delicious cakes. (She even offered to email me the recipe.) Make time for your breakfast - you will definitely want to linger. My room was very comfortable and quiet. I believe there are only two other guest suites in the three-story house, and everyone has plenty of room and privacy for themselves. During the day we all adventured our separate ways, and it was a treat to reconvene over tea or the next morning's breakfast and compare travel stories. The Old School is an easy walk to a local pub for dinner and ales, and is also a short jaunt to a local garage where you can rent a car. It's well-situated as a base for daytime trips as far as Stratford and Bath, though there's more than enough to see within 15 or so miles of the Old School. Leading up to the visit, every step of making arrangements with Wendy was easy and pleasant, allowing me to focus my mind on the fun side of planning a vacation. Wendy is also an excellent resource to those not familiar with the area. She loaded me up with maps, brochures and advice to make sure I had everything I needed to make the most of my brief visit. I could have stayed another week, and am already plotting my return with friends and family in tow. Definitely book a visit - you'll be so happy you did.

Stayed here recently for 2 nights in Stow. We had 3 adults so we got 2 rooms - rooms 1 and 3…read more Number 9 only has 3 rooms, so it is a cozy place but with everything you would want. We were tended to by James quite diligently, and he cooked a great breakfast for us all. All 3 rooms overlook the main street of Stow, but never fear - with the double paned windows it is absolutely quiet. The beds were super comfortable and everything was clean and tidy. Room 1 is a good size, with a shower, while Room 3 is the attic room, has a tub bath, and does require more of a hike up some steep stairs. Room 3 has sloped ceilings, and is a bit more of a squeeze, but it is priced accordingly to what you get. Perhaps my only complaint with the rooms were the towels which are a bit on their last legs and should be replaced. Breakfast is great, and James offers everything that you could possibly want. There is a living room, which we didn't take advantage of, but also was overseen by the family dog, Snoop Doggy Dog (yes that's his real name), who presides over a pillow in the bay window and tends to bark at....everyone. The other complaint I'd have was that WiFi had a tendency to go in and out, and was definitely weaker in Room 3. Otherwise, it is a great location very centrally located and surrounded by a ton of restaurants. They do not have a parking lot of any sort, but James had staked out a spot right in front with his car for us - just be sure to arrange it with him ahead of time so that you know. Otherwise, it's a free-for-all parallel parking situation on both sides of the road!

The B&B was a few blocks away from the train station so was a perfect location for us. Our room…read morewas clean, quiet and cozy. Dorothy's full English breakfasts were delicious! She was very helped with the bus schedule and other sight seeing info and was a life saver with our laundry emergency (the laundry mat across the street had a broken soap dispenser and Dorothy gave us the cup of detergent we needed to clean our clothes. Because we travel with a small backpack, we plan time in our trip to wash our clothes so this small act of kindness was extremely helpful to us)! We were so well taken care of, we would definitely stay at Acacia Guest House again.

This was the best place I stayed at during my trip to England. The moment you walk in it smells…read moreclean. It is in a fantastic location and the breakfast there was the best I had during my three weeks in England. The room itself was so clean and wonderful. It honestly felt like a fairy tale. The owners were so sweet. I honestly didn't want to leave. Whenever I come back to England I will always include a visit here.

Such a wonderful stay! The full english breakfast in the morning was absolutely delicious. The b&b…read morewas just a short walk to the RSC. You could not trouble Juan with anything, they were so wonderful and helpful.

The house is lovely and the rooms have a sweet, "decorated by a loving grandmum" feel, which fits…read morethe adorably motherly owner. She, the manager and the maid were all very accommodating and kindly, always earnestly pleased to go the extra mile for the comfort of the guests. Conjoined to the Hollies Guesthouse next door, they handled our university group of 22 (plus some other guests) with a little wiggling, and they handled dietary restrictions on breakfast with grace and eagerness to make us all comfortable. My only complaints are these: the slightly cramped quarters for large groups and the fact that each room has only one dedicated key (both of which are symptomatic of b&b's in general), plus the steep walks up to the third floor room I lived in, and the alarming rate at which the shower ran out of hot water (again, likely only a problem with large groups). Oh, and the free wi-fi was hard for my iPhone to reach from the third floor, but my companions had no problem with their computers. It was only a short, pretty walk to the main street of Stratford, and every room is apportioned with a color, cable tv, free wifi access, and tea/coffee, cups, sugar and electric kettle (although I recommend either bringing your own tea bags or waiting for the excellent breakfast tea, rather than drinking the instant in the rooms). The teacups and towels are changed daily when the beds are made. All in all, a lovely place to stay and a friendly home-away-from-home.