Birmingham Council House

I stayed here for one night in a double room. This hotel is nice but clearly has some teething issues as a relatively new establishment. The room: - The room is nice, the bed is comfortable and the bathroom was very clean. However, there is an alcove with a wardrobe that has no lighting, so at night you cannot see into the wardrobe at all. There is one overhead light and some lamps near the bed. Only one side of the bed has outlets, not very useful for a couple. Lots of empty wall space but no mirrors. There was a kettle and some tea/coffee but no mugs. Staff: - Staff are kind and polite. However, there was never anyone staying at the reception desk even at peak times. When you ring the bell someone came quite quickly but they seemed very rushed of their feet. The restaurant spans over several rooms and outside but there were only a few wait staff who were also dealing with the reception of guests. So sometimes you had to wait a bit. When we were splitting the bill, the waitress got very confused what we wanted to do and it took a few attempts to get the card machine right. In addition, when resting in our room both at 6pm and 9am the day after a handyman came and disturbed us. Restaurant: - We ate breakfast and dinner. The food was very good and came quickly. The menu is a range of classic dishes and Sri Lankan. The pancakes at breakfast were nice... although it was a bit cheeky to say the pancakes come with chantilly cream and then serve it with canned whipped cream.

A great place full of character. The evening meal and breakfast was outstanding and the staff were particularly friendly and helpful. If you want a taste of the Cotswolds without all the hype and commercialism then the New Inn and Lechlade are worth a visit.