Cromwell Lodge Hotel

What People are saying

Family weekend get together

Phil W on 20/11/2017 20:19

Our family had arranged to meet up in Banbury on the weekend of the 17th of November. One part of the family had booked a number of rooms earlier on and we booked a room much closer to the weekend but for two night as we were travelling the day before. Spoke to the hotel before we travelled to check out the parking which is located behind the hotel.

The hotel is a 17th century building so as you can imagine is winding corridors and stairs which give it huge charm and the ground floor has the main bar, reception and restaurant areas. As such an old building you can imagine it could do with some TLC from the owners, clearly well maintained by the team who work there, but overall an impressively kept building given its age and we found it clean throughout and easy to navigate the route to our room(s).

On arrival check in was straightforward and we got the key to our room. My girlfriend fancied a bath after the journey so we asked if we could get a room with a bath and were told that we could have one on the Friday night but that it was booked on the Saturday (by a member of the group coming in on Saturday as it happens.) So we switched rooms on the Friday night and the room was very nice with a large bed comfortable chairs and big TV (and of course the bath!) The room was excellent and the radiators adjustable so that you could get the temperature to meet your needs for heat! The staff were really friendly and more than happy to help with any questions. They asked if we planned to have an evening meal but we had already made arrangements for the Friday evening so were unable to partake.

On the Saturday we went down for breakfast and were served quickly by the extremely helpful chap taking the orders, which came quickly and the breakfast was excellent and prepared us for our day out. The restaurant area looks over the front of the hotel and gives a nice view of some of the other old buildings in Banbury

Later in the day when the rest of the party (around 20 people in total) had arrived who had booked another 5 rooms, part of the dining area was set aside for us effectively so that we had our own space to get together in the evening. As such we had a good location to get together on a night that was busy with private bookings and a Christmas party and didn't get cramped or intermingled at all allowing us to all catch up with each other. The location that we had was effectively the room that ran down the side of the hotel so had views out over North Bar and also gave us easy access to the bar, rooms and other facilities.

When we came back from going out at night we were able to get a last drink at the bar before going to bed. My girlfriend managed to leave her bag in the bar area which was located by the Manager the following morning and ensured that the panic over lost purse, phone etc. subsided.

Our original room for the Saturday night was also very nice with a very large comfortable bed and just lacked the bath which we hadn't originally requested! Again we had been able to make sure that the room was nice and warm when we arrived back after our night out.

Once again breakfast was excellent and service was efficient and again the food great. We then checked out on Sunday.

Overall, an excellent stay at a nice hotel. Many thanks to the staff who made it such a good experience, in particular Kiek, Jenny, Dani, Chris and Chandana who were all so helpful and sociable and added an extra element to our stay, they are clearly a great team that pull out all of the stops to make sure the guests enjoy their stay (and apologies for anyone I've missed off!)

I would certainly stay again and as a hotel for meeting up with friends/family in Banbury it is a great location and a great hotel. I think I'd request a room overlooking the front of the hotel in future purely for the view, although as we spent little time in the room due to our planned activities this is purely aesthetic!

Do not go!

katty1990 on 15/11/2017 17:40

Stayed for one night. On arrival instead of asking if we would like to eat in the restaurant the man at reception told us to eat else where we soon found out why when returned after eating out. Massively understaffed two people to serve foot and the bar customers waiting an hour for food to then send it back, this happened to every table around us! Everyone was getting refunds as they did not want to wait any longer! As for the room we were above the ladies toilets so could hear every flush which then made the pipes ring and the hand dryer would constantly be going! The tv took half an hour to turn on too. At 3am we got woke up by a drunk man right outside our door shouting for staff as he was locked of out his room he was then banging and kicking one of the doors below our room then came back banging and shouting again in the corridor this went on for about half an hour and was very intimidating! At breakfast there was again just one member of staff a young lad who did really well on his own as the restaurant got busier the receptionist had to help him serve so when we came to check out there was no one to complain to and we had to give the key to the cleaner!
When we got back we did get in touch with head office and made a complaint and were able to get our money back, we have stayed in many old English inns but this was by far the worst.

Dissappointing for Old English Inns

John K on 05/11/2017 18:38

Superior room for a weekend - but main light and extractor in the bathroom did not work. Radiator valve broken on 2nd floor landing so radiator uncontrollable and heat there overwhelming. Single waitress in restaurant rushed off her feet in coping with breakfast and dinner. Other guests were complaining, including one couple who had made several annual visits but 'would not be staying at that hotel again'. Place was clean, dinner good, but breakfast disappointing.

Part of me feels I'm being generous

dodgems on 05/11/2017 00:47

A lovely looking old hotel in an historic town centre. Private parking at the back. Check in made entertaining by the girl telling us how the chef had walked out that day and they were waiting for a replacement to arrive that evening and so the restaurant would be open till 8.00. OK..so we go to our room for a speedy turn round because we were hungry. Room: lovely bed, although very high; mishmash of old furniture that didn't qualify for shabby chic; the curtains were at least 6-inches too short for the window; the ensuite floor (and I accept it's a very old building) comprised a curious set of slightly alarming angles; the shower door only just opened far enough for me to squeeze into sideways, and I'm not that chunky. Service at the bar was OK and friendly, I reckon the lady was the proprietor. For dinner I ordered the risotto, which was sticky and lumpy like it had been made that afternoon. The cheese and biscuits appeared bored rigid. My partner ordered fajitas which didn't taste of Mexican spices at all. While we were eating, the replacement chef turned up in the dining room and loudly and enthusiastically started telling a family at the adjacent table how he would throw the menu away and cook them something very special. He kept talking... and talking...Hard to tell what they thought. God knows what he eventually cooked them but they seemed to be eating it. My partner went to the ladies' and passed by some kitchen staff who were talking angrily about the new chef. I went to pay the bill at the bar but there were no staff there. I waited....in the end I gave up. Luckily I bumped into the proprietor on the way upstairs and told her too. Breakfast - we thought there were no staff around. Eventually the same girl from check-in the previous night turned up and took an order. Some reviewers don't reckon much to the cooked breakfast - maybe it was the new chef, but the breakfast was plenty and pretty decent. Looking at the ceiling there was substantial water damage, and a more careful eye around the whole place revealed that a good amount of money needs spending on sorting it out. While we were eating breakfast we could hear the waitress talking angrily to the young lad sitting at the reception desk about why-had-he-left-her-to-do-breakfast-all-by-herself?. We were heading elsewhere so checked out soon after. The young desk lad hardly made eye contact, was dismissive and uninterested.

nice bed- shame about the room.

pen p on 26/10/2017 12:33

Dreadful dirty looking decor throughout, rubbish receptionists, stained woodchip,rotting shower room, 2 wardrobes - with no doors, a radiator which could not be turned down/off and it was HOT! TV remote didn't work. Comfy bed, good breakfast and pleasant barmaid were the only redeeming features. Glad I only booked one night- which cost me £82 for one person.