The Wild Rabbit — Restaurant in West Oxfordshire

This is our 5th visit and am shocked by how much things have changed over the years!||Firstly, on arrival, I had a few issues gaining access to our cottage and was barely welcomed and offered help or direction to where we were staying. Luckily, I had a rough idea and it was only across the road. I had actually requested a personal shopping service from Daylesford and the Team said they would get in touch but this wasn't the case (Later on in our visit, we were told the kids menu was not served before 7pm...surely who would do your best to make general shopping items available for families, just for this reason) ||The cottage was lovely and we were so excited about our stay and our dinner - we had booked a babysitter specially. We arrived at the bar slightly before our reservation and ordered two cocktails, the bartender had to ask his colleague what they even were, and mentioned that he had never made them before, for £15+ a cocktail, you would expect the team would be super trained in making them and talking about what is in them! We did say we had a reservation but had to ask twice to see if the table was ready as it was well past our reservation time by now, when we were seated we were offered no wine list, and I had to get up to ask for one. Our courses were very delayed and we also had to ask whether bread was offered as part of the tasting menu after we received our first course, this was quickly rushed over. We also received several apologies about the delay even though we hadn't mentioned anything, so they knew there had been some issues. After our meal we were offered cocktails at the table or at the bar but decided we wanted to relax in the bar and have our cocktail there - the bartender at 22:55 had said the bar was closed and last orders had been called. At this point the bar was still very lively (it was a half-term Friday) and we were shocked to receive this response.. I'm sure in the room and on your website you advertise last orders at 00:00... we have never been turned away in the past especially paying over £800 a night.. this was a huge disappointment to our experience and we decided not to spend our last night in the bar or for dinner at The Wild Rabbit, we also cancelled breakfast on our last day. There were other smaller issues regarding our stay and I contacted The Wild Rabbit directly and they promised a response from their manager who never contacted us. ||We have always recommended The Wild Rabbit to our friends and family who have visited but from this experience, I would be hugely embarrassed for them to receive the service we did and so will not be recommending a visit any further. ||We have so many lovely memories, now tarnished by awful service and a rush for the staff to go home and not look after paying guests. We had made it a tradition to return year after year.. but now I'm not so sure, even though our daughters love it there so much.||I hope you will take this as productive feedback to regain guests trust in...

What an incredible disappointment. We first stayed at one of the cottages at the Wild Rabbit in 2019. The experience has gone significantly downhill since then. This will be our last time staying at one of the Bamford properties, especially given the plethora of lovely and accommodating alternatives in the Cotswolds.||We are lucky to visit the Cotswolds 5-6 weekends a year. We chose to stay at one of the Wild Rabbit cottages this time as we have a newborn and a two year old, and thought the proximity to the Wild Rabbit restaurant would be ideal for meals. To my surprise, nearly two weeks prior we were unable to get a lunch or dinner reservation during the duration of our stay, and they do not keep any tables for walk-in guests of the hotel/cottages, which was extremely frustrating. Even worse, when they did have a cancellation in the restaurant for lunch on Saturday afternoon, they booked the reservation in my name but did not email or call me to notify me of the opening and we missed the opportunity as we were unaware of the reservation. The Wild Rabbit only provides room service when the kitchen is closed (Mondays and Tuesdays), leaving you with very few options for meals. This makes no sense given you cannot get a reservation at the restaurant regardless. The cottage does not have a microwave, and the fridge is miniature, so you cannot expect to cook a full weekend of meals for a family with what they provide. ||A nearby option for meals is at Daylesford, which is complete madness on the weekends and I’d recommend avoiding altogether. Similar to the experience at the Wild Rabbit, the food has gone downhill over the years, and it was barely edible this time. The parking lot is a free for all with no one helping to direct the traffic (we ultimately missed a spa appointment due to there not being any dedicated parking for spa guests and no organization in the parking lot whatsoever). ||It appears that the real issue is that Daylesford/the Wild Rabbit/the Bamford group is having an identity crisis. They can’t decide who to cater for, and who they want their end customer to be, so they are unfortunately failing across the board. If they want the Wild Rabbit to be a chic countryside pub that caters to outsiders, then they should charge less for their cottages and people will expect less. £800 per night for a two bedroom cottage and not an ounce of customer service or courtesy is WAY too much. My friend rented a 2BR in Kingham during the same time for £200 per night. There are so many great cottage alternatives providing better value (ie: Bolthole Retreats, Airbnb, and Unique Homestays for larger/higher end properties). Estelle Manor is a better alternative for this price point as at least you have a campus of food and activities to enjoy. The Newt is a better option as well. ||It would only be a fair review if I also note the positives: nicely decorated and clean cottages, thoughtful welcome basket upon arrival with items stocked...

What an incredible disappointment. We first stayed at one of the cottages at the Wild Rabbit in 2019. The experience has gone significantly downhill since then. This will be our last time staying at one of the Bamford properties, especially given the plethora of lovely and accommodating alternatives in the Cotswolds.

We are lucky to visit the Cotswolds 5-6 weekends a year. We chose to stay at one of the Wild Rabbit cottages this time as we have a newborn and a two year old, and thought the proximity to the Wild Rabbit restaurant would be ideal for meals. To my surprise, nearly two weeks prior we were unable to get a lunch or dinner reservation during the duration of our stay, and they do not keep any tables for walk-in guests of the hotel/cottages, which was extremely frustrating. Even worse, when they did have a cancellation in the restaurant for lunch on Saturday afternoon, they booked the reservation in my name but did not email or call me to notify me of the opening. The Wild Rabbit only provides room service when the kitchen is closed (Mondays and Tuesdays), leaving you with very few options for meals. This makes no sense given you cannot get a reservation at the restaurant regardless. The cottage does not have a microwave, and the fridge is miniature, so you cannot expect to cook a full weekend of meals for a family with what they provide.

A nearby option for meals is at Daylesford, which is complete madness on the weekends and I’d recommend avoiding altogether. Similar to the experience at the Wild Rabbit, the food has gone downhill over the years, and it was barely edible this time. The parking lot is a free for all with no one helping to direct the traffic (we ultimately missed a spa appointment due to there not being any dedicated parking for spa guests and no organization in the parking lot whatsoever).

It appears that the real issue is that Daylesford/the Wild Rabbit/the Bamford group is having an identity crisis. They can’t decide who to cater for, and who they want their end customer to be, so they are unfortunately failing across the board. If they want the Wild Rabbit to be a chic countryside pub that caters to outsiders, then they should charge less for their cottages and people will expect less. £800 per night for a two bedroom cottage and not an ounce of customer service or courtesy is WAY too much. My friend rented a 2BR in Kingham during the same time for £200 per night. There are so many great cottage alternatives providing better value (ie: Bolthole Retreats, Airbnb, and Unique Homestays for larger/higher end properties). Estelle Manor is a better alternative for this price point as at least you have a campus of food and activities to enjoy. The Newt is a better option as well.

It would only be a fair review if I also noted the positives: nicely designed cottages, thoughtful welcome basket upon arrival with items stocked...