The Crazy Bear Stadhampton - Oxford

Amanda J

We arrived on a Friday night and found the public area to be more rustic than the crazy bear at Beaconsfield which we had really loved a few years earlier, so we weren’t sure. However the meal in the Thai restaurant was absolutely fabulous, although the seating is not very comfortable . It was my significant birthday and this was acknowledged delightfully by the staff, so by Saturday we were really settling in. We were also joined by members of my family and they loved their rooms and again we had the Thai menu but in the English restaurant which is far more comfortable. I think the staff are absolutely the best, from Sophie in the admin bus to Tanya in the restaurant. Who worked so hard and was absolutely professional and thoughtful. To be fair all the staff were just top class, they appear to really love their jobs, and go out of their way to make their guests comfortable. So full marks from us.

Theo Benson

Room was great, dinner was great, breakfast was a huge let down and the service at breakfast was non existent. Odd to have that kind of lack of service in the morning leaving you with a negative final impression, no toast with £18 breakfast, forgot toast with salmon breakfast also, no butter, no salt or pepper until asked then almost 10 mins to bring each thing meaning breakfast was cold by then. Would stay there again as beautiful but poor morning staff

Maggie W

This was a 7 course tasting menu which was overpriced and disappointing for a number of reasons. Had to ask for the wine and for plates to eat first course breads. Asked to both choose the same menu to make it easier (classic or vegetarian). Given 6 courses not 7 as sorbet served on same plate as sweet treats. Sweet treats that were cakes left from afternoon tea. Rushed through the courses. Payment system failed and ended paying twice and now have to wait 5 days for money to be repaid. No option to change the 13.5% service which we did pay as the staff were pleasant but due to errors not worth 13.5%. Always wanted to go, glad I have and venue worth seeing. This was a birthday treat and sadly overall very disappointing for the price. Will not be returning. We have been to a number of tasting menu venues over the years for special occasions and this was the worst overall experience we have had.||

Chris Kowalski

Didn't stay. Went for lunch. The restaurant was a total rip off. Basically a medium good Chinese takeaway. We had the set menus which was a mistake. One dish didn't come. One dish was crispy seaweed and another was beansprouts which is rather cheeky considering £65/head. Tasted nice but for what you get was really poor value. The venue looks tired, is cluttered and cramped, needs a good clean (the skylights particularly). Staff were nice enough but absolutely will never be back and would warn away. If you're looking for a special occasion, look elsewhere. You will be disappointed with a large hole in your wallet.

adam mcdowell

Definitely a venue for the evening. Looks a bit tired during day but at night is a different venue!

We attended for a wedding which was great but service for food was a bit slow and some of the food was cold.

The manager (from Portugal) was brilliant and really made the night for everyone!

James G

Having emailed 3 times to the venue and having no response now decided to leave a review. ||Having had my parents stay, then my brother stay at Beaconsfield I was Gifted a voucher for a night’s stay and also a voucher for the 7 course tasting menu by them.|| ||I wanted to let you know how disappointing the whole experience was for us. On trying to book to use the vouchers we called up as asked on the voucher, but it took 3 days before our call was answered, then the person on the phone was very unhelpful or welcoming to help us.|| ||On arrival and parking in the carpark we saw the bus that is reception, and had been told about, however as from the car park you can only really see the top it looked more like it had been abandoned where it sat as the roof was dirty and a window hanging out of its frame.|| ||We checked in and was shown to our room. Room 3 in the attic. We settled in and went for a drink in the bar. We returned to our room to freshen up for dinner. The bathroom was impressive and different in its style, with the novelty of having to duck under a beam to get into the shower area which was very large. Very disappointing to then find a small domestic shower head in this vast area and even more disappointed when turning the shower on to be presented with just a dribble of water. Leaving the shower on for 3-5 mins the pressure finally came up to be able to have a shower but then to find that the shower gel bottle was empty on the wall.|| ||We arrived back in the bar at 7.15pm for our 7.30pm table and was shown straight through to the restaurant. Now baring in mind we had a 7 course tasting menu we were sat, eat and left the restaurant within an hour due to each course being brought straight out one off the other and in one case came out before we even finished the course we was on. We asked twice for it to slow down and have a break between courses but this did not happen.|| ||Now it is time to settle into the room for the night. Having the attic is vert quirky and different and the beams make it a real different experience but there is a couple of flaws in the design. The bedside lights are connected to the main lights, so it was a case of all the lights or none at all and then when wanting to turn off the lights to go to sleep the light switch is at the foot of the bed. Being the attic there is no substantial window, and the bedside lights going off with the main light this leaves the room pitch black, us hunched over so we didn’t hit our head on the overhanging beams and fumbling in the dark to get into bed.|| ||We rise the next morning to get ready for breakfast and it takes another 3-5 minutes this time to get any hot water to come through in the shower.|| ||We arrive into the bar to be met by the staff how says follow me. While walking through the bar and to the restaurant, still facing forwards while we follow behind, he say what’s your room number? This felt really rude as we are now talking to the back of his head. Arriving at the top of the stairs we get told “sit where you like” and he walks off. Throughout our breakfast the service was unfriendly and like he was just going through the motions. It made my partner feel so uncomfortable he wanted to leave before we had event eaten breakfast.|| ||On check out the lady asked if we had a nice stay and we told her how disappointed we had been with the whole experience and was asked to write this email.

Kelly T

On our exit we did leave feedback, the lady informed me management would be in contact.||Our stay wasn’t what I expected for a 5 star hotel, or for a crazy bear hotel. This has been a place I have wanted to visit for many years.||We arrived and was greeted by a lovely friendly lady, we then got into our room which was a fair walk away from the hotel itself. |Initially it appeared to be nice, then I walked through a cobweb and the amount of dust was just unacceptable for a £180 room. I then went. Back to the bus to ask to change rooms and no was available. ||We then decided not to eat at the hotel, and ventured out. When we got back we had a drink in the bar, which was filled wi the young teenagers with trainers and jackets. |Blocking the walkway to the bar, I asked the young boy to kindly move his chair so I could get past him. His response was rude and the bar man laughed so overall it was. Not a great experience.|It states prior to booking in no trainers are allowed, I wouldn’t recommend this hotel. The worse thing is we traveled. From Cornwall to stay in this hotel.

Gillian B

This hotel has a lot of nice things about it, the staff were mostly great, the food was good and the decor in the shared areas good. The room was very tired though, in need of maintenance and on the whole not worth the cost by any stretch of the imagination. I have stayed in far nicer rooms for less, but with a bit of effort this place could be great again.