The Kings Head — Restaurant in England

Stayed at Kingshead from September 12th to September 15th, 2023. Check-in on the 12th at 14:00 was a breeze, although the staff member at the front desk initially appeared a bit distant, as if preoccupied with other tasks. Our room, Room 6, left much to be desired. It showed signs of wear and tear, with wallpaper peeling in places and cobwebs lurking in various corners. The curtains were unevenly hung, and a broken curtain rail made it impossible to close them properly. Some white paint stains adorned the curtains. The bedside lamp had a short cord, making it inconvenient to use from the bed. Our first evening meal on the 12th was acceptable. The staff, however, were a delight—pleasant and exceptionally helpful. On Wednesday, the 13th, we were rudely awakened by the noise of a delivery truck unloading goods at 6:30 AM, right below our bedroom window. Breakfast was a letdown, with lukewarm cooked items and underwhelming poached eggs. The sourdough bread was inedible. Dinner with friends that evening was mediocre, with overcooked chicken dishes and dry fish cakes. The battered fish was passable but lukewarm. Again, the staff shone with their pleasant and helpful demeanor. The 14th brought another disappointing breakfast with overcooked poached eggs, cold mushrooms, and unpalatable sourdough toast. The traditional English breakfast on the menu was far from what was served. We opted not to dine at the hotel in the evening. On the 15th, breakfast was a slight improvement, thanks to a detailed order given to the waitress, which the chef executed well. In summary, the Kingshead is in dire need of a renovation. We stayed in various rooms during our visits, and all were in need of a makeover. Broken and cracked windows, ceiling water stains, and sweltering rooms during the summer months were recurrent issues. The bathroom was functional but had a cumbersome tap system, and the hot water tap sometimes jammed, making temperature adjustment tricky. Rooms were reasonably clean, but small touches like changing water glasses and a more thorough cleaning would have been appreciated. The food quality was inconsistent compared to previous visits, leaning more towards pre-packaged items rather than freshly prepared dishes. The absence of the appealing specials menu of the past was noted. However, the standout feature of the Kingshead is its exceptional staff. They were unfailingly brilliant, always ready to assist with a smile and engage in friendly conversations. The staff truly made this...

So there's nothing really bad about this place, there's just nothing that great about it either.

Generally the place feels like it could do with a facelift or a new lick of paint. Our twin room was spacious but felt kind of drab, it had tall windows with cobwebs at the top. The shower worked fine and the room had a desk fan that was definitely needed.

The full English breakfast was fine but the eggs benedict I tried on the first morning was poor. The hollandaise was watery and pale yellow, it tasted like melted butter with way too much vinegar. I ate it because I was hungry but I stuck with the full English every other morning after that. The pastry and toast were fine, the coffee was ok but I wasn't expecting much.

The fire alarm went off twice during our three night stay - once at 6am and the following day at breakfast. We were also told that the hot water might be unavailable after 10am on our last morning due to a fault that was being fixed.

We had drinks at the pub one evening before going somewhere else and that was OK. I didn't have to wait long at the bar to get served but my GF ordered her round through the website and we had to prompt the staff to get our drinks after waiting 15 minutes. We ordered some halloumi fries and fish goujons as snacks - they tasted good but my plate had sauce smeared on the side.

Overall this place was OK for a short notice booking but I'm not in a rush to return or even recommend it. The staff were friendly enough but it was sometimes hard to identify who works there because the hotel staff don't wear uniforms. The car park also fills up quickly so parking after say 7pm might...

We visited on Easter Monday expecting a lovely meal, as we always have done previously. We were very disappointed and it is unlikely that we will return again.

We were told that numerous items on the menu were not available including the sirloin steak. When the food came, the rump steak (which we had ordered instead of sirloin) was not cooked as requested - it was dry and cooked through when asked for medium rare, so we requested another steak cooked properly to be told that they didn’t have any rump steak left but they had sirloin steak (which we originally wanted but were told they didn’t have!). When the sirloin steak came it was completely unseasoned and we didn’t enjoy at all.

Another person in our party ordered the salmon with new potatoes. The new potatoes were completely raw and rock hard.

Another person in our party ordered the sea bass with prawn risotto (something like that). The prawns were questionable and left to one side.

Whilst sitting at our table, we witnessed at least 3 other tables raising complaints about their food. One table ordered extra sides of chips which were still frozen and sent back. Another table said that the prawns in the risotto were raw, after ordering this as a second dish (after the first was also inedible).

You get the picture! All in all, a very unenjoyable experience.

The only good thing was that the waiting staff were understanding and the assistant manager took two dishes (out of the 5) off of the bill.

Such a shame as we used to love...