Rectory Farm - Cambridge

Address: Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB23 7PG, United Kingdom.
Phone: 7742272115.
Website: rectoryfarm.net
Specialties: Bed & breakfast, Hotel.

Opinions: This company has 754 reviews on Google My Business.
Average opinion: 4.1/5.

📌 Location of Rectory Farm

☎️7742272115

Rectory Farm: A Charming Bed & Breakfast in Cambridge

Located at Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB23 7PG, United Kingdom, Rectory Farm is a delightful bed & breakfast and hotel that offers a warm and welcoming atmosphere for travelers seeking a cozy and comfortable stay.

Specialties and Features

This establishment is renowned for its bed & breakfast services, providing guests with a home-like experience during their visit. Additionally, Rectory Farm offers hotel accommodations, ensuring that there is something for everyone.

The property boasts beautifully maintained grounds, creating a serene and picturesque setting for guests to enjoy. The rooms are clean, well-decorated, and offer a comfortable stay. In addition, the staff at Rectory Farm prides itself on providing impeccable service, ensuring that every guest's needs are met and exceeded.

Location and Accessibility

Situated in the heart of Cambridge, Rectory Farm offers easy access to the city's main attractions, such as the University of Cambridge and King's College Chapel, making it an ideal choice for those looking to explore the historic city.

Customer Reviews and Opinions

With a commendable 4.1/5 average rating based on 754 reviews on Google My Business, Rectory Farm has gained a stellar reputation among its guests. Many visitors have praised the hotel for its lovely ambiance, clean and well-decorated rooms, and friendly staff.

One satisfied guest noted that the hotel provides a "very friendly" atmosphere, with staff committed to delivering the best experience for their guests. Another reviewer highlighted the great value for money, stating that it is a "cheap place for a one-night stay" with rooms that meet expectations and exceptional service.

"The hotel is lovely The room was clean and very well decorated, the grounds are beautiful, and the service was impeccable. I accidentally left my dress there and they went above and beyond to help me. It’s a very friendly hotel run to give the very best experience for guests. Highly recommend," expressed another delighted visitor.

Recommendation and Contact Information

If you are seeking a charming and comfortable bed & breakfast or hotel in Cambridge, Rectory Farm is an excellent choice. With its exceptional location, delightful amenities, and outstanding customer service, it ensures a memorable stay for all who visit.

For more information or to book your stay, please visit their website at rectoryfarm.net or call them at 7742272115.

Don't miss the opportunity to experience the warmth and hospitality of Rectory Farm during your next visit to Cambridge.

👍 Reviews of Rectory Farm

zia H.

5/5

The hotel is lovely! The room was clean and very well decorated, the grounds are beautiful, and the service was impeccable. I accidentally left my dress there and they went above and beyond to help me. It’s a very friendly hotel run to give the very best experience for guests. Highly recommend.

JJ L.

5/5

Great cheap place for a one night stay. Rooms are what was expected from the pictures and the service was great as we were given an upgrade to our room. Definitely would be a good choice to stay at when travelling.

Mia W.

We stayed here for one night to enjoy a short stay in Cambridge for our anniversary. Whilst the location was perfect, about a 5-10 minute drive into the city centre and the rooms were clean we had a few problems. Firstly, check in was ok, a little confused as we were directed to a reception to check in having been told it was all digital access. Secondly, we slept terribly. The rooms were very warm, not typically a bad thing but made for an uncomfortable nights sleep. The major issue for me was the noise, until AT LEAST 12:30 am I could hear a washing machine pretty loudly through the walls, alongside other general banging noises and moving about. The other reviews are right, the mattresses are crazy uncomfortable. We had a noticeable dip in one side of our mattress aswell as it just being typically worn out. Check out, or the lack of, was odd. I went back to the same room I’d been directed to to check in, but it was closed and no one about. Tried to find a way to check out on the app, but again no luck. No email sent with a link either, and having seen reviews that they charge an extra night if you don’t check out it got us pretty frustrated! We ended up emailing the admin email to let them know we’d left the premises and would be checking out so as to make them aware!||Overall, an odd experience- this hotel could be great if only for a few improvements here and there that would make a WORLD of difference to the service provided.

Aviral M.

I have been a regular visitor at this Lodge. There are pros and cons of staying here. Firstly it does not have Airconditioning so if you are vising in summers, its a no-no. Then in winters, their heating is not very effective, and heating is turned off automatically at night with the guest have no control over it. So it can actually become uncomfortable when its very cold. I usually stay in their master bedroom, which is aesthetically pleasing, and is very spacious, but on a cold night, the room is like a fridge, and bathroom like a freezer. The bathroom heating is very ineffective. There is a small soap bar in name of toiletries, and there is 0 service. Its pretty much a self-service accommodation. Parking used to be free, but not any more. So please watch out. Wifi is not reliable, and since its location is out of the town, some times the mobile internet can also be a problem.

Lisa H.

My room was lovely - beautifully decorated and comfortable. I fully appreciate the hotel's efforts to be environmentally conscious, which is evident in their limited toiletries and towels. However, a small touch like bubble bath would be a nice addition, as many guests enjoy a relaxing soak and a small hand towel to wrap wet hair in would be appreciated, I was disappointed that a small packet of biscuits was not available on the tea tray.

Liz N.

Great location, peaceful, almost rural setting with meadow views and very easy access to the city. |Spacious, well equipped, cozy room, in the small chalet building, immaculate and very comfortable - much appreciated the free upgrade. Very friendly and helpful receptionist |Plenty of parking close to all the properties on site, very easy to find

Stephen S.

We visited Rectory Farm on Saturday 2 November 2024, below is an email, slightly altered to remove the names of the innocent, but in feeling and tone as it was sent on Sunday 3 November. ||||As of 16 December we have not even had a courtesy email response saying ‘we are sorry that you felt this way, this was not our intention’. ||||We have heard NOTHING. ||||Having heard nothing, we feel it is fair that you, the public, can see what we felt. If it helps you decide one way or another to use them. Then we are grateful to have been of service. ||||To all those out there planning their special day, Good luck, be kind to yourselves, you always deserve the best. ||||||We thought we’d be declining your offer for purely financial reasons, given that Rectory Farm was always going to be at the top end of our budget without any of the not-so-optional add-ons… plus the caveat that was clarified to us upon asking, about on-site accommodation (should we opt for that), and the commitment to pay for 20 rooms regardless of them being used or not… which we found a bit harsh.||||It would have been ‘nice’ if that was just that and only that – no hard feelings, it’s business. Instead, and regrettably, in this follow-up we’re raising serious concerns about the language—both verbal and non-verbal—as well as the attitude of one of your staff during our visit on Saturday. We hope you will take the time to read, and more crucially, to pass on the detailed account below of what we were unfortunate to experience, which left us quite frankly dismayed, angry, hurt and distraught. Not what you’d expect from an enthusiastic couple planning their wedding!||||To be fair, the visit started off on a very positive note. A short drive from home, the gates opening automatically when our car pulled up on your drive, your receptionist fully expecting us and knowing our names (a warm sign of friendliness), and then kindly ushering us to the beautiful lounge a short walk across the grounds, greeting a cleaner who was busy keeping the entrance hall immaculate. We thought this was a promising start and were hoping it would perfectly counteract the dreary weather.||||Enter Roger and this marked the beginning of a long list of micro-aggressions which made us feel not just uncomfortable but simply unwanted.||||From the off, there was an awkwardness about how to greet us or make us feel welcome: “I suppose this is…err…congratulations…?” he asked, with an unsettling raising intonation combined with a straight (almost stern!) face that was difficult to read, and gave off the vibe that he did not want to be there. The hesitation did give the impression that it felt like a real effort for Roger to congratulate two men on their engagement. Please note that this is our perception and is as equally valid no matter his intent. The unease was palpable, but… we did not let that put us off and hoped a few minutes into the conversation, we’d break the ice eventually – banking on the professional look that his unquestionably dapper outfit gave him. Sadly, things did not warm up.||||After a brief outline of what this visit would entail – the movie mentioned in the email, then a tour of the premises –, we were introduced to some practical and useful information, namely your brochures and leaflets detailing options for catering, flowers and photography. Roger then propped up the laptop open and exited the room so as to give us some privacy as we watched the movie. Fine, we were prepared to overlook the mildly rocky start and kept an open mind at that point.||||The laptop being old, the movie started to to get jittery after the first 3 or 4 minutes, causing the need for additional concentration when really we wanted to relax and simply let ourselves get impressed by it. We then found the content was a bit dated as it featured the signing of registers in church, and the way the story was told, it was more about that couple’s whole wedding day whereas we were expecting to see Rectory Farm itself to be shown off a lot more. Still, we decidedly weren’t going to let that put us off either, because Roger would be there to answer our questions afterwards.||||Right on cue, as per a well oiled routine, Roger comes back into the room at the exact moment when the credits go up. We naturally stand up, ready for the tour. You’d expect Roger to ask us if we had any questions thus far… but nope: it was time for a swift transition to the tour – only delayed by the awkward false start as he had to disappear off again due to having forgotten a key to collect.||||We set off and, to our surprise, found that Roger walked at a noticeably hurried pace. Plus, he was leading the way a good three to five feet ahead of us and talked facing forwards (therefore not looking at us), which made it difficult to even ask to slow down, let alone repeat any of the things we only half-heard.||||Through Roger’s whole body language it was evident a clear distance had to be kept between him and us and we did not exactly feel ‘accompanied’ on the tour. More like a duty he had to fulfil that early afternoon. ||||While on the tour, we were asked which season we were hoping to get married in. The fact that in our initial email enquiry and the form he asked us to fill out and quickly scanned afterwards when we put the exact date, didn’t seem to have been noticed and therefore our details were not even worth remembering. ||||While in the house, we asked if there were any accessible rooms, Roger advised us that there were none in the main house but in the other building there were ground floor rooms (no lifts), unfortunately we were not able to view this room. Roger even went on to say that the toilet didn’t have any handrails ‘but the wall was close by’. In our experience a person who is in a wheelchair and not have full use of their lower limbs may possess a higher upper body strength but can not climb walls – these ‘arm rests’ are to help a person move from a wheelchair to a toilet with dignity. Having walls ‘so close’ does not give us the impression that a wheelchair was able to fit. So should we need an ‘accessible’ room this is now 21 rooms we would need to book.||||Let’s give him his dues, though. The tour continued in what looked like a polite exchange throughout – at least, at surface level – nothing wrong there. And Roger did do his job of sharing extensive information at various stopping points (marquee, rooms in the house and other facilities…). However, if his aim was to deter us from buying services from you, then that aim was achieved with flying colours and effortlessly too!||||Halfway through the tour, it became a little more obvious that Roger had stopped making eye contact with one of us, and for the parts where he was facing us, he ended up talking to one side of the triangle as he mainly addressed myself. This is a questionable attitude when you’re trying to sell stuff to a couple.||||Just so you can picture things even more blatantly, please allow us to share a few examples of Roger’s wording quoted as we remember them:|| ⁃ Standing outside as he was explaining about the ‘bridal’ suite, we were quick to diplomatically point out that the preparation ritual would necessarily be different for two men. Sadly, it did not occur to him to adapt his speech, where, instead of repeating the phrase ‘bridal suite’, maybe talking about the WEDDING suite instead would have helped us see the relevance of that room a bit more and imagine the proceedings of the day in a more relaxed way.|| ⁃ Under the marquee as we were discussing practicalities, we expressed our appreciation of having the toilets so close. Roger attempted a lighthearted comment as he was proud to show off the large mirror in the ‘Ladies’ so that they could freshen up their makeup. One of us interjected just as lightly that men sometimes wear makeup too and we both pushed a playful sigh of relief when we walked around to the ‘mens’ and saw that “we too have a large mirror”. We naïvely hoped this would finally be the tongue-in-cheek icebreaker that would build a bit of a rapport at last… Nope, no such thing either. Instead, Roger reverted to his safe distance and straight face firmly on as he made no acknowledgment of our response on makeup. Did he feel embarrassed in that moment?|| ⁃ Back to the marquee’s main floor, a beautiful and very well maintained marquee by the way, we softly explained that a large proportion of our friends (unsurprisingly) are gay men. As such, we asked about changing or adapting signage to non-gendered toilets, which would have felt more appropriate (in hindsight, we regret not using the word INCLUSIVE). He reassured us we’d have the liberty to stick temporary laminated cards easily onto the existing signs… However, he couldn’t help commenting that “the whole concept is dissolving anyway” – a sentence that we struggled to interpret in the flat way that it was said, bordering on dejection. And in light of the uneasy feeling on the tour thus far, and the general lack of enthusiasm in the way his speech was delivered, that sentence simply didn’t ‘wash’ well (no pun intended).|| ⁃ Back in the gardens, as Roger was trying to boast how safe the premises are with fences all around “…so mum doesn’t have to worry about her toddler running off…”, we reflected at a later stage (and in private) that this suggested a fairly dated and patriarchal view that it is women’s responsibility to care for children… And if this worldview resonated with Roger, then has he ever heard of heterosexual relationships where there’s a stay-at-home dad? Or households where both parents are male as they raise their children happily? But we digress with speculation here.||||Now comes the final nail in the coffin. As the tour ended and we were back at reception, we asked if there had been any same-sex weddings here over the years. Roger’s answer was a hesitant ‘yes’. The we went on to explain he failed to spot anything on the website or in the promotional materials and asked if there were any photos of same-sex couples. This time a markedly confident ‘no’ came out of Roger’s mouth. At that exact point in the conversation, again due to the uneasiness of the preceding 45 minutes, we and Roger ended up unintentionally talking over each other – not out of rudeness or tension, but by sheer happenstance in the flow of speech. And Roger commented “They are what they are”, very matter of fact in his same indecipherable flat tone of voice, and the mistiming in that brief exchange unfortunately caused us to interpret the “They” as referring to same-sex couples. In hindsight we are now realising (and hoping!) he might have been referring to the promotional materials instead… but this was not clear at all and the conversation ended on this fairly awkward, less than warm note.||||We still politely shook hands but by that point, we were fuming internally. We somehow managed to keep composure as we put our bravest faces on and promptly made our way to the car park, sadly relieved to finally be turning our backs on Roger as we both exclaimed in unison: “NO!” while exchanging a brief look, knowing exactly how heavy the shock was of what we had both been through just now. This has a name: homophobia. And it is homophobia even when it’s insidious and there is no direct attack, no overt rejection, and the signs pointing to discrimination are less explicit, harder to describe. We hope the sheer length of this email is helping you appreciate how a ‘micro’-aggression, or in this case, a staggering amount of micro-aggressions, certainly cannot be minimised.||||We’d like to make it clear that we’re not expecting any compensation whatsoever from this account of events. And even though you may feel inclined to send us an apology on behalf of the company, it still wouldn’t repair the real damage this has caused on our mental health (we were hoping to relax over the weekend, and feel excited about “wedmin”… We did not expect to literally lose sleep over this, given how much it has been weighing on our minds since yesterday!). ||||We sincerely hope our feedback will cause the decision makers at Rectory Farm to take a hard look at any shortcomings in staff training – we suggest starting with addressing unconscious bias in homophobia and other forms of discrimination, followed by solutions on how to improve diversity and inclusion in your setting.||||Such a shame that, on this occasion, Roger did not do any justice to your otherwise prestigious venue in a bijou location as well!||||The whole experience taught us the harsh lesson that even after nearly 19 years, we made the mistake of taking for granted the fact that same-sex unions (be this a Civil Partnership or Marriage) are legal and commonplace in the western world. And this was a sore reminder that attitudes are much slower to change, thereby calling us to stay constantly on our guard – which is exhausting. How sad to have to be so militant about love!

Donna Y.

Booked a 'suite ' here as we were attending a wedding in Cambridge. The whole party booked rooms so as to all be together. There are no facilities for breakfast which we knew in advance however the place they recommend wasn't open for breakfasts sadly. The so called suit was 2 rooms and a hallway, with a toddler this just was not acceptable. After a conversation with the one team member available we did manage to get a key to the hall way though it still ment my husband and myself had to sleep in separate rooms as it just wasn't safe enough to put our child in the other room alone. We couldn't lock the windows there was no key meaning an active climbing toddler could easily have got out and did attempt it! The two room were very small with a basic tea and coffee set up, kettle full of limescale along with the warm water jug. Bed was comfortable but the rooms themselves need a huge overhaul. Very dated with yellowing skirting board and trims. Something sticky was left on the bathroom wall I dare not think what. Green toilet seat stained from products and very dusty towel rail. Could do with a deep clean. Checked out 5 days ago and most of the party are still waiting for returned deposits, no response on chats and when you do finally get through to them after about 20 attempts all they say is it has been reversed and to wait another week. Not great when they advertise you will get deposit back in less than 24hrs! Sadly not a great service which let's down this hotel. Lovely settings real shame about the service and rooms. Sadly I won't return for another visit.