Broadlands Hotel — Hotel in Cotswold District

We stayed at Broadlands for two nights in late July of 2024. On this trip we have stayed at numerous places, but I have never felt the need to complain about any so far. I simply must do so now however.

In no particular order:

The beds were springy, lumpy, saggy and uncomfortable. Completely worn out. I had to remove the mattress on one of the beds in order to place a blanket underneath the centre saggy portion.

The stairs to the loft are dangerous, with two near the bottom fully rotten/broken under the carpet. All the stairs were comically loud and creaky, even for my 115 lb daughter who slept upstairs.

One of the bedside lamps upstairs is just for show, having nowhere to plug it in.

One of the cupboard knobs upstairs is stripped and useless.

We never did manage to get any hot water from the bathroom sink.

The bathroom would not look out of place in a cheap motel. The pretend-wood vinyl still has glue and paint smears on it. There isn't enough caulking and white paint anywhere to hide all the problems here, where loose and bent panelling and chips and scratches abound. The shower door system is not up to the job of containing shower spray. There is no fan to exhaust steam or remove odours. The soap in the dispenser has been watered down heavily. There are insufficient places to hang the wet towels they encourage you to reuse.

The carpet was of poor quality, badly laid (wrinkled), poorly vacuumed, stained and improperly finished at the borders.

The curtains, when closed, sit in a pile on the rotten stairs, making them even more hazardous.

The kettle for in-room tea or coffee was badly lime-scaled and had flecks of something floating in a sort-of sludge at the bottom. When I found this, I went to reception to ask for a replacement, but no one was there to answer the call-button. When we asked the next morning we were told nothing could be done. Apparently no one knows about de-scalants here.

The bar appeared to clean, but was uniformly sticky all over. There was also a nice supply of dead flies on the windowsill in the bar/reception area.

I asked for heat in the room, but received push-back. Apparently guests are not permitted to have heat in their rooms. Heat was eventually turned on when I reissued my request, but for just one hour. When I tried to adjust the radiator control in the living room, the know came off in my hand.

The room-safety notice on the door was present, but the information about the muster point and emergency phone number was not present. Basic compliance, but less than useful.

Our large hotel key fob was clearly emblazoned with the hotel address and room number. This would be very useful for anyone who managed to find a lost key. This practice is totally inappropriate.

There is no waste receptacle upstairs.

There are no tissues provided for guests.

Their website mentions the presence of Light Blocking curtains. This was not true, at least for our room.

On the flip side, reception and kitchen staff was polite and friendly. Breakfast was very nice.

To finish, there's a difference between quaint and simply run down. We expected a lot more for the 170 pounds per night that we spent, especially since their website explicitly states that "All rooms are tastefully and traditionally furnished to a high standard". In our room at least, this could not have been further...

We had a lovely stay at Broadlands Hotel in Bourton-on-the-Water. The highlight of our visit was without a doubt the incredibly friendly and welcoming married couple, Charlotte and Ross, who run the B&B. They offered fantastic recommendations for local attractions and places to eat, which made our trip all the more enjoyable.

The location is perfect, tucked away yet central, with plenty of free onsite parking which was a huge bonus. The breakfast each morning was delicious, with a good variety of options served quickly and fresh. The hosts were very attentive when it came to drinks and service, which made for a really pleasant start to each day.

We stayed in the coach house and absolutely loved the layout. Having the living space upstairs and the bedroom and bathroom downstairs was a brilliant touch. It gave us somewhere to relax and watch TV without being on the bed the whole time. The room was spacious, very clean and well-equipped with plenty of storage including drawers, a wardrobe, a fan, ironing board, extra pillows and blankets, and a tea and coffee area complete with biscuits.

A really thoughtful surprise awaited us as Charlotte and Ross had decorated the room and left champagne for my partner’s birthday. Such a lovely personal touch that meant a lot to us.

While we’d have loved to give a 5-star rating, there were just a couple of things that held us back. The bathroom, though charming and fitting with the character of the coach house, had a few practical issues. The shower wasn’t electric, and unfortunately we struggled with the hot water throughout our entire stay. One of us would end up with a boiling shower, the other with a freezing one, the cold tap didn’t work in the shower so there was no way to regulate the hot shower. There was no hot water from the sink tap either.

The toilet flush also initially didn’t work, but Ross was quick to help and once we were shown how to pump it properly, it wasn’t a problem.

Lastly, the bed, while a good size, wasn’t the most comfortable. The spring mattress felt uneven in places and could use an update.

All in all, this is a charming and friendly B&B in a stunning location with hosts who clearly care deeply about their guests’ experience. With just a few updates, this would be an easy...

The Negatives||1. Refused breakfast: My booking clearly shows that a free breakfast is included. At check in, I asked where I had to go for breakfast, but was told I had booked room only. I was surprised and checked my confirmation, I went back with my booking confirmation, but she still refused to accept that my booking included breakfast. She said I had to pay an additional £12.50 per person for breakfast. See photo of my booking confirmation. ||She said I had booked a special offer which didn't include breakfast, I had to disagree as yes it was on offer at £110 but it clearly stated that breakfast was included, that's precisely why I had booked it.||2. Attitude! We had arrived early after a long car journey, so I asked if I could use a toilet before we returned at the appropriate time to check into our room. I wasn't allowed, she told me to find one in the main street, which fortunately wasn't far away.||3. The bathroom was not to the standard I would expect for such an expensive hotel, see photos of cracks in toilet and basin, damaged paintwork, dirty window blind etc. I don't mind that sanitary products can't be flushed down the toilet as we have a septic tank at home, but I do provide sanitary bags and a closing bin for my visitors, I expect the same in a hotel.||4. The radiator in the sitting area would not come on, it was definitely needed at this time of year as it was quite chilly in the room, and about -4 degrees outside. I accept she can't control the weather but she can control the heating!||5. At just after 11pm I received an email from the hotel with an invoice attached for a room only booking. It was as if she thought that by issuing this, my booking confirmation showing breakfast included, would somehow disappear!||6. Expedia contacted the hotel on my behalf, asking them to refund £25 for the 2 breakfasts that they refused to give me, but she said no.||7. We could hear voices or TV from the room next door.||The Positives: |1. Great location just off the main street.|2. Large...