Ye Olde Bell Hotel & Spa - Retford

Jeff Deveaux (HG)

Beautiful historic pub, friendly staff and friendly atmosphere. Plenty of comfy chairs to sit in while drinking and maybe making new friends. Loved the glass floor panel that showed part of Roman Road.
My wife and I stayed overnight in one of the adjoining courtyard room which gave easy access and were able to park outside. The room was quite spacious and had the usual tea / coffee making facilities. Bathroom was compact and had a corner shower, sink and WC, did the job. Surprised to find the bed was 2 singles pushed together but made up as one. My wife thought the bed was very comfortable and slept well. I thought the mattress was very firm and felt like I was sleeping on a wall. I didn't sleep well, thinking I might roll off the bed! The room was clean but tired looking, especially the wooden furniture. I didn't spoil our stay, somewhere to sleep!
The main building is mostly very old and needs a lot of TLC. It must be a very difficult job keeping on top of the repairs and in the main someone is doing a good job.
Overall a lovely place and would not hesitate to visit again.

Aimee M

Restaurant Review Only- Booked in for the 3 course Sunday lunch for £40pp , upon arriving it looked lovely and the staff were very welcoming, we ordered some drinks at the bar and was promptly shown our table . we had the Mushrooms and Brie , chicken and pork and the moose and stick toffee pudding. The room was cold with a cold draft coming in from the door and the food was only just luke warm. the apple sauce tasted of cinnamon and the meals all had a n old cooking oil taste to them . such a shame . staff lovely and puddings lovely just disappointing rest.

Claire Stephens

Had a lovely stay here with a friend. I did the Dreamy Spa stay with the spa split over 2 days. It was bliss! The staff were extremely friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them. The spa was divine and the food delicious. The common areas of the hotel are a little old-fashioned for my taste, especially all the prints of foxes and hounds, but I guess that's in keeping for an old country hotel. My room was lovely though,and the spa very modern. I will definitely return if I'm in the area again and have already recommended it to friends.

Matthew Bell

I've had a lovely overnight stay here - they've spent some money on the Olde Bell since I used to bring tour groups here in the late 90s! Room was very nice, comfy bed and both dinner and breakfast were very good. I'll be back it's a lovely place the Olde Bell.

Nichola B

We visited Ye olde bell hotel and spa for a special occasion and booked the full day spa with overnight stay, dinner bed and breakfast.
The spa was very indulgent, the service was impeccable, and the treatments were wonderful, possibly the best I have ever had. It felt like a special treat. There are 3 hot rooms, 1 steam (which I'd would have liked to be steamier), a salt inhalation room, lots of places to relax and a lovely small pool with several hydromassage stations and the food at lunch was amazing. As such I had high expectations for the hotel.
The hotel is old country style and the rooms are lovely and spacious, personally I found the pillows a little hard but overall a nice experience and the breakfast was very nice with great service. What I was disappointed by was having been very clear we were there for a special occasion and booked for dinner we did not eat in the restaurant but the bar, which wasn't communicated in advance or at check in. While the food was lovely, it just didn't have that special treat feeling. Also, while it is in the T&Cs that the £30 credit was on food only and not drinks this was not made clear to us by our server and so after the meal when we were told that we would pay x amount on check out, that wasn't the case.
I would certainly go back to the spa, the hotel perhaps not.

Jasoncounsellor

The location is beautiful, the spa fantastic with lovely and attentive staff. The room was very traditional, which was a lovely touch. The double bed however was too single beds pulled together and the mattresses were very hard, which made for an uncomfortable night's sleep. The food in the restaurant was lovely, but a little pricey for what it was. Overall, it was a pleasant stay, and whilst I wouldn't modernise the rooms as they would lose their appeal, upgrading the beds and mattresses would be really beneficial for the guests.

Emily

I had a really positive experience staying over at the Ye Olde Bell Hotel and Spa! Staff were warm, friendly, and helpful from the moment we stepped in! The room was stunning and very clean with a lovely big bathroom and a very comfortable bed. The breakfast was also really lovely with lots of options, great food and amazing service! I would highly recommend it and I would also recommend the spa which is excellent! Access is through a car or taxi but there are lots of local taxis services in Retford who were very friendly - there is also a nearby bus service which is a helpful option; however, car or taxi is recommended.

Joesph Williams

The Rooms were in poor condition and not particulary clean especially around the windows, the mattresses were in terrible condition and collapsed, I completely failed to get any good sleep. The pillows were like concrete and the duvet needed burning it did not breath, was heavy, very stiff, old and unforgiving.

The rooms had damage and stains in most places, and were baddly thought out and serviced and the showers were useless to anyone over the height a 6ft.

The road noise was quite loud and the banging and crashing was very irritating coming from the rear of the hotel, The Tv was laughably small for the sheer distance from the bed was madness.

The food was terrible, incredibly salty and the breakfast was rediculusly small and very poor quality and cold.

For the price it was not worth it, and was seriously upset and angry at the end of the stay.
I find it hard to say anything positive about the stay, bar it was quite pretty, Staff seemed helpful and friendly and had good parking.