The Crown Inn — Restaurant in West Oxfordshire

I have made a weekend stay at the Crown Inn a quinessential feature of the summer over the past several years, dropping in to & from the spectacular Royal International Airshow. Woodstock is a timeless charm, and until now, The Crown Inn matched that charm. Sadly, those days are past.

As I write, I am sitting in the Crown Inn's top-floor "suite"... on an Ikea-quality sofa drenched in sweat, the temperature a balmy 32 celsius... several notches hotter than the street below. A less-than-a-fiver fan spins in the corner to no effect, and the only window facing the coming breeze is largely bolted shut (though the bolts attaching to the wall have been partly pried loose, no doubt by prior sweaty and infuriated patrons). I expect that a long line of unlucky and unsuspecting customers have been duped into this sauna-like trap, so it's only fair to offer the market a fair warning of the misery that awaits.

I approached Bill, the manager, about the heatbox of a room. He'd accompanied us to the room upon arrival and gasped audibly when he felt the heat upon opening the door - not dissimilar to opening the door of an oven you've forgotten to turn off. After I asked what solution he could offer, he stutteringly blithered a panoply of excuses - "I just started here," "I don't have the authority to... X... Y.... Z..." "I'll have to speak with the owner." Not a single apology, suggestion, idea... only a pathetic gurgle of wimpering, adolescent excuses.

So, to dinner... an order placed, a half hour vanished... crickets. Alas, a dish arrives... wrong. Returned. A second... wrong. Returned. More "terribly sorries" & "we apologize for the inconveniences"... and at last, over an hour later, a salad. Don't be fooled, the time was not well-spent crafting something spectacular - run of the mill rocket, feta, and beetroot. A solid 5 out of 10, priced like an 8. By the time of our departure, no dirty dish had been taken from the table, and the spread was a junkyard of filthy plates stacked helter skelter, one on top of the next. A proper full-stop at the end of a painful meal.

We scoured the internet for an escape - an alternative, but "no room at the inn" all around. So, I sit in my airless one-night sauna and share this minor catastrophe with you, dear reader, reflecting on the least pleasant night I've spent in a hotel in years of peripatetic living and near-constant travel to some of the world's most far-flung corners. The crown, Crown Inn, is yours.

A scam is when one party knowingly misleads another for his or her own misbegotten profit - flipping back the odometer before selling a used car, a counterfeit note, a lead-filled bar of gold. Sadly, Crown Inn is, simply put, a scam - Bill felt the vicious heat himself, knows beyond doubt that the product he's sold will be a night of sweaty discomfort, but he's perfectly happy to charge the unsuspecting £175 for the unpleasantness.

You've...

Having made a reservations several days in advance, arrived to find our reservation got lost and waited 15 min. to be seated. Then ordered drinks before food, waited another 15 min before flagging our server to be told the bar seemed to have lost our drink order, so had to tell the server again what we ordered. Finally got drinks after another 15 min. Should have been more aware of the writing on the wall pertaining to service here. We all decided turkey sounded good for Sunday roast and clearly said to the server we only like white meat and asked if we can specify that, to which he said yes. We waited quite a while for our food to see it was clearly dark meat. I would not have ordered it if I had known. Brought it to the server's attention who went to check and came back saying the manager was on break, so he mentioned it to the cook. The cook came to our table already angry and said what's the problem. His response was what we have is thigh meat only and stormed off. We were really hungry so proceeded eating some of it. I went to find the manager and explained what had happened, and was I shocked that he didn't seem to care that ee were unhappy with our meal. First he said we'll, thigh meat is white meat, to which I corrected him. He never apologized or offered to comp us whatso ever. Very disappointing experience on the food, the service, and the cooks and manager's attitudes. Cannot with clear conscience recommend this eating place to anyone. Very poor customer service and ensuring accuracy of menu and training of staff by...

Beautiful, clean and spacious room on the top floor. There is a steep narrow staircase but we managed it ok and we’re both nearly 60.|Freestanding bath that filled quickly with plenty of hot water so although there was only a shower attachment, it was a real treat to have a luxurious bath with lovely Cowshed bath and hair treatments. |Fresh milk and cold water provided plus loose tea leaves, fresh coffee, teapot and cafetière. |The bed was huge, very comfortable with crisp covers and pillows. |We were staying for 4 nights as attending Salon Privee at Blenheim Palace. Plenty of room for our luggage and clothes plus room to sit and feel like home. |As mentioned in other reviews, it is a characterful room in the eaves and hence warm. They do provide fans but they were a bit noisy so maybe an upgrade is needed but that said, how lovely to have warm weather in England!|We had breakfast 2 mornings and it was delicious and plentiful, served by friendly and attentive waiters. The vegetarian breakfast was one of the best I have eaten. We did not eat in the evening as had events on most evenings. We did try to eat one evening but hadn’t booked a table as we had been told that a table would be kept for us if needed. Not a problem though. ||The Crown is very close to Blenheim Palace and a lovely stroll through Woodstock to get there. We would definitely recommend to people and would stay again. It was quite expensive but I think that was due to the event at Blenheim. However, it was half the price of The Bear...