The Barnsdale Hotel, Rutland - Oakham

John W.

We recently stayed at the Barnsdale with other members of family, who gathered to celebrate a big birthday, which took place nearby in Oakham.|Our stay was delightful, as was the hotel. The staff are all so pleasant & helpful; the rooms are very comfortable, & it seemed like most had proper King-sized (or 'superking-sized') beds. The decor is classy & tasteful. The surroundings are beautiful. We didn't try the spa, but other family members used the heated pool & changing facilities, and were complimentary.|The food & service in the bar / restaurant was excellent. We had 2 breakfasts, and drinks/dinner one night. All were very good.|The only negative was the booking process, and difficulty in getting hold of anyone on the phone when there was an issue. We were not the only members in our party who experienced the latter. We had chosen to stay in a 'Royal' room, and had enquired via e-mail whether such a room would get the benefit of the group discount which was being offered on 'regular' rooms. The price we were quoted was actually significantly higher than the rate which was available online via the hotel's own website, for Royal rooms. When we queried this we were told it was a mistake, & immediately offered a rate matching their website rate. We were also told that we had to pay the full amount up front (3 months in advance), as that was part of the group package 'arrangement', even though we were paying the same as the online rate (i.e. no discount). Then there was a problem with the hotel accepting my American Express card.|However, aside from the issues with making/paying for the reservation, our actual stay was lovely. Its in a great location, very close to Rutland Water and nearby Oakham.

Sara V.

We had a private dinner with a small group of friends, with a one night stay, and had an excellent experience throughout. The team were very helpful in arranging the dinner, and certainly delivered on the day.

The private room for our event was ideal for our group size, the food and service over dinner was super, and the rooms and hotel were welcoming and comfortable. As an added bonus, they let us use the private room again for breakfast the next day - an unexpected nice touch.

Thank you to the whole team for a memorable experience.

D T.

Mainly a positive stay.
The good things. Staff polite and helpful. Food and breakfast good.(There is an added 12.5% service charge that is optional but as mentioned staff were great). We didn’t get time to use the spa so unable to review.
The not so good. No mattress cover, I found this on stripping the bed to leave. This is a real negative for me. Bedside table dusty, lighting very subdued which was nice but difficult at times to see well enough.

Trevor S.

A lovely rural hotel retreat. Excellent facilities. Just had Christmas 2024 here. Food Excellent. Service Excellent. A little expensive but worth it. Really recommended. My wife is stuck in a wheelchair, but here they have ground floor rooms with walk-in shower and toilet facilities, really helpful. (See last pics)

Anthony M.

The hotel offered us a wonderful welcome and the staff were engaging , service was excellent and nothing was too much trouble. We stayed on New years eve the hotel was very tastefully decorated. The hotel was full and service and standards remained excellent. The food was likewise. We will recommend Barnsdale to friends and family. The General manager and team are doing an excellent job.

Pauline W.

Lovely boutique hotel with an outdoor spa that sets it apart from other spa hotels making it quite unique in offering a different and pleasing spa environment. Both my husband and I enjoyed spa treatments, which were divine. Dog friendly with a dog bed provided, feed and water bowls & dog treats waiting in the room. We had a family room and the inter-connecting kids room was delightfully decorated with a book and soft toy waiting for our daughter; she loved her special room. The food is very good and the whole hotel is tastefully decorated and the whole place is just very nice indeed. Highly recommended and we will certainly be returning.

Lisa C.

Took a family group for dinner (in the Exton private room) plus B&B for my husband’s 60th. All staff were very pleasant and helpful and there were some nice touches like the glass of wine on arrival and ginger liqueur in the room. The evening meal was delicious and we had a wonderful time.
As check in was from 3pm but last entry to the spa is at 4:30pm this doesn’t give much time to enjoy the facilities. I wasn’t expecting the outdoor pool to be heated/usable in February so hadn’t brought swimwear. Maybe this could be made clearer?
Also we were all disappointed with the portion size of the full English breakfast. But they did bring out more bacon in request.

Donald A.

Stayed for the New Year's Eve party, generally the planning and execution was fine, (good food), however the post dinner musical entertainment was very poor. Music was far too loud and the band ended up driving many of the guests away and back to the main hotel bar, (which initially was not 'open for service' even at 11 pm).
This was a relatively smart and expensive black-tie event and most guests had made an effort in respect of their attire; the band however , particularly the lead singer was dressed as if she was going to spend a day on her allotment..