Great location, fascinating building, amazing views. Lots of history and many nooks and crannies to explore in and around the Bear. Our bedrooms were warm and cosy, beautifully decorated and well maintained. Comfy beds and lots of little touches - good quality tea and coffee, nice toiletries, super soft towels - that were much appreciated. Food and drink was top notch. We ate in the restaurant and enjoyed a superb dinner of fresh, very well cooked, high quality food. Breakfast was of a similarly high standard. Possibly a little pricey overall but then again the UK is an expensive place to eat/drink out no matter where you go. As a final point, the staff at the Bear were all excellent. A credit to their employer. From reception to the restaurant, everyone was welcoming, friendly, knowledgeable, and truly customer focused. They deserved to be mentioned in this review because they were great!

Nothing

Room size, views, bed, bathroom decor and breakfasts were all great. The decor throughout the inn and restaurant was fantastic, especially with the Christmas decorations on display. It's a really special place to stay.

Very disappointed with the shower - hardly any water pressure. Despite the nice toiletries available, it was a real chore to get clean (not a pleasure as hoped). Other minor niggles also in the bathroom related to the toilet roll holders. The main (uppermost) holder was just off horizontal and had no end piece, so the roll kept sliding off. The lower holder was barely attached to the wall and was just a hindrance that made it awkward for my husband (who's 6' tall) to sit comfortably. Also, not enough milk for tea and coffees in the room, and our room was the furthest from the main inn.

On arrival we found out we had been given a free room upgrade, so we had two rooms next door to each other which was great. The rooms were lovely - nice decor and quality duvets and pillows, although the bed was not the most comfortable. Loved the complimentary Molton Brown toiletries in the bathroom and the shower was great. All of the staff were very friendly and helpful and the hotel is in a lovely location with fantastic views. We had a nice dinner in the restaurant, however a salad option on the menu would be great. There is plenty of free car parking.

tried 2 bedrooms , first facing the road and changed to one towards the side of building. didnt expect traffic noise in such a location.

Excellent location and super friendly staff, we have been many times and love it , we have lot of memories : ) and love to go back !

Prices went up a lot in the last few years and now is quite expensive for the level of room (we travel with a dog so we stay in the annex, where the decor is bit run down respect to other inns and lodges in costwold where the dog friendly rooms have poster beds and lovely design..).. would appreciate bit lower prices in the annex, considering that the fee for the dog also adds up (20 £ per night)..

The Bear of Rodborough is a a lovely hotel that I’ve know all my life, set in a stunning location, surrounded by national trust common land and scenic views. There’s plenty of parking, and signage to reception, restaurant and bars. The inside is welcoming with cosy decor, comfy chairs and open fires. Bedrooms are perfectly practical, with tea and coffee making facilities, iron and hairdryer. And a lively bright well equipped bathroom with a powerful shower. I only stayed one night, and didn’t have neednor time to use bar or restaurant, but will definitely book again and recommend to family and friends.

Nothing not to like! Only wish I could have stayed for longer.

Charming traditional hotel. Excellent staff who were very welcoming and helpful with useful local knowledge of the area. Restaurant staff attentive and efficient, nothing too much trouble. We stayed in a superior country house room. Nicely furnished with plenty of storage space and good selection of hot drinks and toiletries. Bathroom small but perfectly adequate. Wide choice of options at breakfast in very attractive and spacious dining room. Plenty of car parking spaces.

Disappointing and very limited choice evening menu. Lighting in room could have been better

On arriving, we realised that I had inadvertently booked the wrong date for our stay and that we were, in fact, a day early. The lady on reception was extremely helpful and allowed us the option of either changing our booking to two nights or to simply rearrange the booking for that night instead. We liked the character and history of this interesting hotel.

There was a small mix-up over the drinks ordered with the meal, I asked for a tawny port and received a ruby port instead. The waitress queried this for me with the bar staff who, it turns out, had run out of the more expensive tawny port. Perhaps they thought I wouldn't have noticed! I was happy to drink the ruby but it should have been explained.

The location, the view from my room, and the historic building were all fabulous, and my room was very comfortable. But it was the staff who excelled for me. I'm clinically vulnerable and asked to have my (delicious!) breakfast outdoors in the courtyard. The staff were so kind, nothing was too much trouble. This meant so much to me, as this kind of understanding is far from universal.

One tiny thing, probably an oversight - there was no bedside light in my room. Fortunately there was a large table lamp on the dressing table, so I moved that to the bedside table.

The fact that they had dog friendly dining rooms and rooms with grass outside, etc was impressive. The decor was great too. Parking close too. The view from the room was great though!

The £20 dog surcharge.....I feel as it was quite steep for a night. She got a bowl, a plastic bed (wouldn't even let my dog sit in that tbh) and the breakfast for dog (a frozen sausage)...... it was a bit disappointing. They should update their doors too, they were creaking a lot, old style key, I could see and hear everything and especially because dogs are in, any noise sets them off easily. Soundproof rooms maybe could be a good idea?