Beechwood Hotel & Restaurant — Hotel in North Norfolk

My wife booked this charming hotel as a last minute one night only stay, due to us missing out on another break recently. What a find! From the moment we arrived we were treated like VIPs, rather than last minute guests staying one night only. We were warmly welcomed to the hotel and taken on a quick tour of the hotel and the gardens and shown to our rooms. The rooms are of a good size, we got room 7 at the front of the hotel upstairs for myself, my wife and our dog, and my mother was in room two on the ground floor in the extension at the back, with a door opening straight out into the delightful back garden area, even with her own table and chairs. As soon as we were settled, we were treated to a lovely warm scone cream tea and hot drink which we took in the garden. We had opted for an all inclusive deal of dinner, bed and breakfast but could not have imagined the quality of the food we were provided. As a complete meal it is definitely in my top five, three of which were from Michelin starred establishments. We had olives and nuts, then some amuse bouche including smoked salmon on cucumber, and a delicious cup of savoury puree / soup which I was enjoying too much to remember the details of. All this was before the meal we actually ordered started arriving! Starters were of the highest quality, including some of the best scallops I have ever had. The main course was arguably even better. Exemplary meat, cooked to perfection, and accompanied perfectly. The champagne was perfectly chilled and the red wine which we had to accompany the main was lovely and came from the owners own vineyard in South Africa! Dessert rounded the meal off wonderfully, and finally a coffee in the bar after capped off a perfect evening. The meal was taken in a separate private dining room as dogs are not allowed in the main restaurant which actually made the meal feel even more special. Location is wonderful and we were only 10 minutes or so from the lovely quiet sandy beach at Bacton. Breakfast was also of a very high quality, and I enjoyed smoked haddock in a cream sauce rather than my usual full english order (although this was available too and looked great) and was not disappointed. The service throughout was of the highest order and felt like a throwback to when customers were genuinely valued. The whole feel of the hotel is very Art Deco and plays heavily on the time that Agatha Christie spent in the building when friends with the former owners. If I had to find a niggle it would be that we were quite warm in the front of the building with the weather we have been having due to the lack of air conditioning, but honestly we did not let it spoil our stay one bit. I would rather experience this beautiful old building in its original state. We all said as we drove home that we must not let it be our last stay at Beechwood. Thank you for a...

We booked a three night break on a bed and breakfast rate with dinner on all three evenings in the in-house AA Rosette restaurant. The first surprise was that the dinner menu was a la carte (i.e. not a limited set menu) and alternated every other day (Menu 1 and Menu 2) offering a superb choice of local options. Breakfast was a treat as well. Eggs poached to perfection every time (I had the Eggs Fiorentine, Eggs Royale and the Poached Haddock with Poached Egg over the three days and the "off menu" side of local sausages were divine). Nothing is too much trouble. The staff are attentive but not intrusive. The front of house and waiting staff - mostly young adults from the town, were superbly trained, exceedingly polite and professional. Whoever trains them and coaches them deserves a lot of credit. The room itself was spacious and faced the car park, with a four poster bed, proper bath and separate shower - all vintage. I had a great night's sleep, with the only minor complaint being the feather pillows, which even when augmented with a third, harder pillow, were a bit soft and flat - but that may be a personal preference. We had a wonderful, relaxed stay, with much time spent in the secluded garden, nursing a G&T while reading or playing backgammon. The package included a cream tea to welcome us on arrival, which we took in the garden, but quickly retreated inside when the wasps mistook our treat for theirs (they are endemic in North Norfolk, and we found the best solution was to give them what they wanted - the jam obviously - and they soon left us alone). The biggest compliment I can give is that we stayed three nights, but we felt so relaxed afterwards it felt like we'd stayed a week. We...

Took a punt and booked the Beechwood Hotel for a one night birthday getaway. Wow, what a great surprise!! We made a booking for one of the garden rooms with a hot tub and sauna with dinner bed & breakfast, first of all the service is absolutely top notch, everything done tradionaly. The greeting at reception was warm and informative. We were offered a tour of the hotel (including the Agatha Christy connection) morning papers, wake-up calls, and our luggage to be delivered to our room while we had a drink in the bar. Our room was large and the bathroom was almost as big, nice furniture and everything you could need during our stay, the bed was comfortable and the pillows soft (we were offered a choice of feather or foam). The hot tub and sauna were very good, and we made use of both throughout our stay. The bar area was in the art deco style and very traditional (table service and traditional cocktails) we were not rushed at all and felt very relaxed chatting until our table was ready, the food was amazing (cooked perfectly), Pork Belly starter, followed by Filet of beef and completed with a brioche bread & butter pudding, washed down with a great bottle of Malbec. Cocktails in the bar after dinner were delicious (long Island ice tea), all the waiting staff were fantastic and very professional (even though they were mostly under the age of 24) an absolute credit to the owners to put their faith in a very young work force and train them in the traditional way of hotel service. Breakfast and check out were smooth, and very well organised.

Five stars are really not enough for this old style but up to date hotel, it's definitely worth a go just for the facilities...