The Bell — Restaurant in England

Visited from January 29th 2022 through to January 3rd 2023.

Hospitality is their business, but unlike many restaurants, hotels, pubs and motels that I've visited on my travels here and abroad, this place goes the extra mile where 'hospitality' is concerned.

Firstly, it is a well appointed country inn. It has a modern touch without losing the charm and character of it's 300 year old history. It's set in the small English village of Ramsbury, Wiltshire, and is well established in the local community. Many locals visit with their dogs and that alone was a joy to behold. Dogs, after all, have shared our lives for thousands of years.

The food was exquisite. Piping hot, on hot plates. Presentation, excellent. Taste, excellent. Indeed, there were "sparks of joy on my taste buds!"

I had two different rooms due to my request for an extension. Both rooms, clean, charming, lots of towels, a couple of bathrobes, plenty of soap, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. Tea and coffee making facilities, bottles of still and sparkling water. My 2nd room was huge, and very comfortable, as was the first. The beds, wonderful. There were original beams in my second room.

Now the staff. I hope they will forgive any incorrect spelling of their names. The hospitality sector is run by hard working individuals who - especially in this case - work hard to make every effort to address your needs; even those that 'one' may not push forward, but they took the trouble to notice and fulfill. As such, they are 'people' with names, and I want to give each one a high five, and name them.

Cameron and Chloe who helped check me in. Liz the manager - you deserve your 2 week break - by the time this is printed, I hope it was a good one. Jess, Izzy, Rosy, Ellie, Mia, Zack, waitress and bar staff, James the chef, Sheryl housekeeping.

You all went above and beyond the call of duty. I live in the States, and was so glad to "rest my jets" as they say, before my long journey home. "You are all Awesome Doggies" (US saying), " Good Eggs!"...

Travelled down to The Bell for a two night stay to celebrate my birthday. The journey was pretty awful so we were looking forward to a warm fire, a cold drink and a snack to cheer us up. ||On arrival there was a small group of staff gathered at the bar who, after a while must have wondered what two people standing in the entrance with two heavy bags wanted, so they checked us in. ||Room was OK on first impressions (Roebuck, on the ground floor, dog friendly). We headed back to the bar, no food until 6 and it was freezing. The sofas around the only fire were occupied with various laptops and notepads, staff I presume. ||The fires in the main bar had a note saying they were sorry but they couldn't be lit. A problem with the flue apparently but not to worry, they's have it all sorted come next winter (yes, they did say that). ||Dinner was pretty good and although still very cold there was a good vibe in the bar (no dogs in the restaurant an FYI). Mostly a good night's sleep with not much traffic overnight (the road runs within a metre of the back of the room) but woken at 6am by a staff members dog in the adjacent ground floor office barking from 6am until 6.30 when I went over to the pub to find someone to come let it out. ||They did apologise at breakfast and refund a night's stay. The room itself had defective blinds that wouldn't open so the room was quite dark in the morning and I couldn't get to the windows to open and air the room. ||Overall only an average stay and I'm not sure I'll be going back. My recommendation if you're going; go for an upstairs room. The walks by the River Kennet are awesome as is the scenery. Ramsbury Estate is...

Travelled down to The Bell for a two night stay to celebrate my birthday. The journey was pretty awful so we were looking forward to a warm fire, a cold drink and a snack to cheer us up. ||On arrival there was a small group of staff gathered at the bar who, after a while must have wondered what two people standing in the entrance with two heavy bags wanted, so they checked us in. ||Room was OK on first impressions (Roebuck, on the ground floor, dog friendly). We headed back to the bar, no food until 6 and it was freezing. The sofas around the only fire were occupied with various laptops and notepads, staff I presume. ||The fires in the main bar had a note saying they were sorry but they couldn't be lit. A problem with the flue apparently but not to worry, they's have it all sorted come next winter (yes, they did say that). ||Dinner was pretty good and although still very cold there was a good vibe in the bar (no dogs in the restaurant an FYI). Mostly a good night's sleep with not much traffic overnight (the road runs within a metre of the back of the room) but woken at 6am by a staff members dog in the adjacent ground floor office barking from 6am until 6.30 when I went over to the pub to find someone to come let it out. ||They did apologise at breakfast and refund a night's stay. The room itself had defective blinds that wouldn't open so the room was quite dark in the morning and I couldn't get to the windows to open and air the room. ||Overall only an average stay and I'm not sure I'll be going back. My recommendation if you're going; go for an upstairs room. The walks by the River Kennet are awesome as is the scenery. Ramsbury Estate is...