The Hare & Hounds

We enjoyed a last minute stay. A lovely lady in reception was kind enough to show me the available rooms before we booked and then when we asked about swapping rooms (due to some noise issues), she kindly showed me 2 other rooms to choose from. Nothing was too much trouble, all the staff we very friendly and accommodating and despite a birthday party of 50 guests, we did not see this impact the service in any way. The rooms are beautifully decorated. Breakfast was delicious, lots of choice and all extremely high quality. There is a continental selection as well with fruit, yoghurt, pastries, some meats and a large choice of jams. Fresh high quality juice as well. The only things that were not so brill were the temperature of the bedroom, it was very hot, however would rather be hot than cold! And the room we originally had, 18, you can hear everything outside as the front window and door are essentially in the car park. We had no noise issues at all after changing room though. Thank you to all staff who made our stay thoroughly enjoyable and we will absolutely return and recommend this place!

Our first visit to The Hare and Hounds for a late Sunday lunch was an absolute delight. The setting is charming — a beautifully restored old building with a tasteful equestrian country theme and a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. The staff were attentive, courteous, and knowledgeable, and service was excellent throughout. The food was exceptional: the twice-baked cheese soufflé and wild mushroom risotto were outstanding, and my companions thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday roast with its wonderfully light Yorkshire puddings. Desserts were superb, particularly the hedgerow sorbet. A truly elegant country pub with outstanding food and gracious hospitality — we shall certainly return.

We had a lovely one night stay and dinner here. The staff are helpful and friendly. The food is really good. A good mix of friendly locals and guests. The room we had was small, but comfortable. The bathroom was a bit compact, but fine for one night. Overall recommended.

First time staying here and wow it’s such a lovely place. The rooms are so nice, impeccably clean and modern, such a classy style. Really would recommend. The staff are very attentive, couldn’t do enough for me and my family. The food is very good, and the style of the place is just lovely. Will be returning the next time I’m in Newbury.

Staff are lovely. Restaurant is good. However, the rooms are disappointing. We booked a 3 night stay and on the first day we noticed the shower was covered in black mould. We reported it to reception and we were moved to another room straight away. We did appreciate that they upgraded us to a nicer room for the inconvenience. After seeing how bad the mould was, it made us nervous to what other things haven’t been cleaned. We also did not receive a daily room service for our full stay which we were expecting. The amenities aren’t great which is why I would agree with the 3 star hotel rating. There was only 1 dressing gown and 1 bath towel in the room, beds were uncomfortable and lots of dirty marks in the rooms. If you are looking for a comfy and cosy UK holiday I wouldn’t recommend but I’m sure there are far worse hotels out there. If you’re just using the restaurant, the food and the staff are good. - Don’t buy the cocktails, they were awful at £12 a pop! All in all, I wouldn’t return but we appreciate you pay for what you get £100 a night isn’t going to be a 5 star!

I'll start by saying the staff were amazing ...nothing was a problem for them.||We stayed in one of the stable rooms and our initial impression was that it was small but had everything. |However... a few little things were amiss or could be improved.|Sound from next door could be heard.|Cups and glasses were upright but should have been turned over to stop dust.|Kettle looked good but would boil over if it was filled for 2 people.|Although there was a Nespresso machine, instructions for it would have been good.|TV only had main channels when we managed to get it on... I should have got new batteries for the controller!|Goodness knows how the radio works but the alarm came on at 7am Sunday morning!|The toilet was quite difficult to manoeuvre onto with the door shut!|Cobwebs from shower head to screen and more above the bed and lights.|The shower was lovely.|The bed was really comfortable and the towels were thick and fluffy. The toiletries were lovely.||Not sure about the contents of the decanter...||Breakfast was ok although... what is wrong with a good full English? Everything seemed very small and trendy with sourdough bread the size a thumb on one plate! Also normal bread would be good as an option... when I asked for it they didn't think they had any but managed to find a slice of medium white! Croissants were fantastic though and the staff amazing.||

Beautiful decor matched by the welcome and hospitality, food was amazing and reasonably priced, All staff were in top of their game, particularly the guy who I assume is the manager, so much pride in his work and exceptional customer service skills, talked me out of my desert order of Eton mess by recommending the biscof cheese cake and of course he was right, this cheesecake is worth a visit alone. I dont over praise for the sake of it but I can honestly say this place is exceptional on all counts, first class! Oh also the toilet decor deserves a mention! We will 100% be bsck, we live an hour and a half away but i would happily travel it to visit this place again. Well done to the whole team and thank you !!!

We had a great meal here tonight, all the staff who served us were friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. Service was prompt and the food was delicious. Special commendations to Robson at the bar who had a very professional manner and knowledge of the wines!

This pub and restaurant is convenient to Highclere House. The staff were number one friendly and helpful. We had a better food experience than room experience. Four stars for food, three for room. The dinner was quite excellent! We enjoyed two different draft ales. The best dish was the outstanding caramelized onion and goat cheese tart, served with a small salad of frisée and mixed greens. It didn't look like what I think of as a tart, it had pastry on the bottom, but it was baked in a larger square pan. We also enjoyed the flavorful and creamy butternut squash risotto. The scallops and black pudding received a very high rating. The portion was restrained, two scallops and two slices of pudding. The potato and leek soup was okay, very leeky. For pudding I had the strawberries and cream. That's exactly what it was fresh strawberries and plain cream. I admit I was expecting a bit of sugar, or perhaps a bit of a whip, but I decided to act healthy, and have my pudd unsweetened. We had the full breakfast the next morning. The eggs, back bacon, stewed tomate, etc were tasty. Skip the fried bread. I'd never seen fried bread on a menu for breakfast before. I asked the waitress about it, who encouraged me to try it. To an American taste it was not very nice. Basically a deep fried triangle of toast. The croissants were so-so, have the granary toast. As for the room, we had an attic room for a family with three beds. The price was reasonable, but I didn't love the room. I'd say ask for a room on a lower floor. You had to duck to use the bathroom sink, and the basin was teeny-tiny. Two of the beds were in the eaves, I pulled mine out, and my husband risked the head-bonk, but he seemed fine in the morning.

Nice looking pub & hotel on the A4 just 2 minutes from the A34 towards Newbury. The pub is warm and clean, the staff friendly and welcoming. There is a nice heated outdoor patio area and beer garden at the side of the building and plenty of parking. This is very much a food pub, with most tables set for food a good fixed menu and a couple of Weekly Special starters, two mains and a Catch of the Day. Starters range from around £3-5 and mains £11-16. I chose a special off the starter menu: button mushrooms, garlic, white wine & cream sauce served on toasted Brioche; it came with a small side-salad and was good, not wonderful, but good. For the main I went for Medallions of Beef Fillet, char-grilled red wine mushrooms and pancetta sauce served with sauté potatoes, roasted Mediterranean vegetables. I received two thin slices of steak served with button mushrooms and what looked like bacon (not pancetta), sat on some soggy potatoes. The Mediterranean Vegetables reminded me of Ratatouille: courgette, carrot and others in a lightly peppered tomato sauce. Quite nice, but not what I would have described as 'roasted'. Overall I enjoyed the food, it was good, but I think it could have been very good, nearly 4* ranking, so somehow just a little disappointing. The hotel part is rather Motel style with several blocks of bedrooms, each with their own external door, scattered around the side and back of the hotel. The blocks looking in keeping with the rest of the building, so it looks nicer than it probably sounds. Meals are served back in the main building. Breakfast is the usual cereal, orange juice and a choice from the traditional English breakfast: bacon, egg, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and fried bread. Tea, coffee and toast round off the choice. It was all well cooked, tasty and served with a smile.

The Barn is a nice restaurant with great food. Do not stay at the Inn in summer. We were put in the top floor with a tiny window and no fan on an 85 degree day. The room was not possible to sleep in so we were moved to other rooms downstairs. These rooms were much cooler but still not great. The bathroom smelled of a septic tank and the faucets did not operate properly. The water went from ice cold to scalding hot, burning one of us while showering. TV & internet did not work (for some phones it did, others didn't).

Stayed here several times now, as we think its very good value for money compared to places like the Travel lodge. Friendly and helpfull staff, nice clean rooms with everything you need. The pud is very nice too, a good atmosphere. The restuarant food is nice but we do prefer to eat elsewhere. The breakfast however is lovely. We go here simply to enjoy a night out and its a lovely place to stay. Will be using again for sure.