Nent Hall Country House Hotel - Alston, United Kingdom     

There's just a chef between okay and above average in my judgment of the Nent Hall. LOCATION is great, especially if you're into walking in nature - the scenery is absolutely worth it. Just avoid the road, as 9 out of 10 drives like they've stolen both the car and the petrol. Walking along the roadside are recommended only for those who find real danger to be a thrill. RECEPTION/STAFF: Arrived to the hotel after a long drive from Scotland and was welcomed by a nice and smiling young lady in the reception. I'd rate the staff and service as "above average". ROOMS: Had booked one family room and one double room, both were absolutely great. Spacious rooms with comfy beds. Big plus for TV + DVD player in family room, even though we didn't get any information if the hotel had any dvd's or not. Spacious bathroom with bathtub and shower, combination in family room and both separately in double. FOR CHILDREN: A well equipped playground for children outside. Be aware that the hotel is situated next to the road and the playground is at the end of the carpark. You probably wouldn't let young children be unattended outside anyway, but the road is absolutely one more reason not to. FOOD: When it comes to food, Nent Hall is not the right place for children! Lucky thing I went to check the pub menu in good time before dining time. A big sign outside saying "Tradiotional pub food". Visited Nent Hall two years ago, and then the sign was correct - now it's not! You can eat either in the restaurant or at the pub. Travelling with three children and knowing the pub had lots of food for kids two years ago, I went to the pub with confidence. Just to find that all the pub food was history. In stead they offered four main courses; bangers and mash, some sort of pie, duck and one more course (almost said curse). And they didn't even have a childrens menu. Why on earth bother having a family room and a playground, when you don't offer food for children? I don't think there are too many 5-years old who find duck or pie to be their first choise on the menu. Looks like the chef really want this to be a fancy restaurant or maybe he's a "french-cuisine-wannabe", but in my opinion this must be bad for business. The sign outside should be removed promptly - I'm not British, but from more than 20 visits to Britain the last 10 years, and lots of pub meals, I think I'm right when saying this is NOT traditional pub food! Thanks to the friendly young lady at the reception, we was given good advice about where to eat in Alston. Which is ok, but woud have been better if we could park the car and enjoy our dinner on site (and the hotel would have earned another GBP 90 - their loss!). If you're a couple looking forward to a intimate dinner, you should know that guests must pass through the dining room on their way to the room - maybe right beside your table. The building itself, the surroundings and the very welcoming staff makes it worth a stay. If you don't mind driving to Alston to have your meal that is. Shame on the chef.

This was just what the doctor ordered.A lovely relaxed weekend in the tower suite did not dissapoint,and while it maybe is not quite the 5 room suite the website boasts it is much larger than the average available at an hotel at this price.The bedroom was a good size with a half tester bed, 3 seater sofa,small TV and a seperate dressing room.The bathroom was large although dated , and the seperate living room was spacious with a portable TV/dvd player and a choice of two 3 seater sofas.the other room was up in the tower via a steep set of wooden stairs which are not for the faint hearted,and had no furniture or fittings but was ideal for a bit of peaceful loving if thats what you fancied. The food in both the bar and restaraunt was good and the quality of the meats used was high.Service was slow but as we were not in any rush it did not bother us too much.The cost of the drinks were very reasonable with a decent bottle of wine at ?10.95, Theakstons bitter at ?2.60 and J20 at only ?1.40.Breakfast service was also slow,but every thing was cooked fresh to order so no sausage and eggs and bacon being kept warm for ages.Again the quality of the produce was high and it was refreshing to be served proper Cumberland sausage as well as good quality preserves.We shall definately return for a relaxing break,and while I have stayed in better 4 star hotels non have ticked as many boxes as this one,and despite the lack of staff it cannot be beat at the price.