Cisswood House Hotel

The end of an era… the less for more approach.
We have been visiting Cisswood House Hotel for many years, on a regular basis (our usual Sunday afternoon treat), enjoying their afternoon tea and bringing friends and family on numerous occasions for birthdays and other special occasions. Sadly, after a recent visit, we won’t be back for a long while.
We sat in our usual spot and ordered our ‘usual’ (afternoon tea). We were surprised to see that things had changed somewhat; we had half the sandwiches we would usually have and the cakes and scones had changed. That’s okay, things have changed now and then over the years & sometimes for the better. Sadly this wasn’t the case today.
We were eating our sandwiches, a bit surprised at how few there were, and I noticed that there was a new menu on another table. I had a look and noticed that the afternoon tea had skyrocketed from £13 per person, to £19.50 per person! Sadly, the afternoon tea we had been served was nowhere near as good as the previous visits and it was costing us an extra £6.50 per person! For £13 per person, you ignore the occasionally chipped cup and the cheap cutlery, but at £19.50 per person these things are not acceptable. The thing that was noticeable was that the price had been hiked up and the quality had gone down; the scones were previously lovely but this time they were crumbly and airy and fell apart when cut open, the jam was so runny that it was more like a strawberry sauce (not even thick enough to be a compote) and there wasn’t much clotted cream. The new sandwiches were odd (dry ham hock and a strange spiced chutney with the cheese). The new cakes were tasteless and if anything, there were too many! I didn’t finish any of mine because they were odd (this was partly my fault because I don’t like coffee cake).
We were asked if everything was okay and I said that we were shocked to see that the price had gone up so much, the chap serving us said something about prices and apologised and that was that.
As much as I think change is needed, I think Cisswood have really missed the mark, which is a huge shame. It’s usually nice and quiet (relaxing, which is what we need after week-​day commuting) on a Sunday and if they are trying to fix this, I’m not sure that they have thought it through by increasing prices. If it does work for them, then I’m pleased, but it is with regret that our regular visits have come to an end.

Have been to weddings here and it cannot be faulted for the amazing servicce provided. I am going to the Wedding Open Day on May 22^nd. should get a few freebies while I’m there. In the meantime you can’t go wrong in The Garden Restaurant. &13.95 for a three course lunch!!! Try a visit and find out.

This is an OK hotel, first impressions of the room were good but then you see things that should be seen to for the price you pay. I was allocated a room which was like trying to find it in a labryrith, all doors and corridors, so if this is the case for you, don’t order room service as your food would probably be cold by the time it arrived. The food is nothing to write home about and from observations the staff are all really young so service standards may not be what you expect, but in fairness they are polite and do their best. £11.95 for breakfat I find a tad excessive for what you are offered, don’t have the poached eggs as they are cooked in far to much vinegar and the scrambled eggs are gross. Oh and the bell on the bar doesn’t work, so don’t expect the staff to turn up soon after pressing it.

I had my wedding at Cisswood House Hotel in 2008 and we loved it. They were very reasonably priced which was one of the main reasons we chose the venue. They were well organised and helpful. The food was absolutely fantastic. The staff were very friendly particularly Martin who looked after everything to do with our wedding day. We had a refurbished room and it was great, but there were a couple of guests who weren’t happy with their rooms for a few reasons such as noisy radiators and showers not working –but I understand these things may have been taken into account upon settling their account.