the upgrade for our Anniversary with card and chocolates was a lovely surprise - reception team are fantastic happy and willing to help for anything.

The poor choice on the Menu - very boring nothing special for an up market hotel - and very expensive for the actual choices. Breakfast is extremely expensive @ £26.00 for a a nice but not exceptional choice. But I must say the Cooked Breakfast was delicious.

Our room was a deluxe King and was spacious and well equipped with storage, a huge, comfy bed, a good sized tv and coffee machine. The ensuite had both a bath and shower. The staff were friendly and helpful. The location of the Bear is excellent and close to shops, restaurants, pubs and a two minute walk to Blenheim Palace.

Parking is chargeable but secure. However, there isn't much of it and all on-street parking is either metered or requires a permit. The restaurant menu isn't cheap or especially inspiring so we chose to eat both dinner and breakfast in the town.

We loved the 'creaky' uneven floors of this 700 years old English guesthouse with its lovely oldie worldly atmosphere. It sends you back in time! Our room was up in the attic where the floors and stairs are uneven which we loved. We had snow on the night we stayed but our room was lovely and warm thanks to great heating that could be controlled. We had a superb bathroom and the shower was amazing with lots of hot water. Coffee machine also in the room with fresh milk available on request. Breakfast in the morning was freshly cooked English fayre with a selection of great choices. Some of which do carry a supplement charge if you want to upgrade your food choice. Also there was ample continental options. All the staff were friendly and helpful. Special shout out to Leena (spelling, apologise) covering reception for being very customer driven. The location is perfect to walk everywhere including into Blenheim Palace and for exploring Woodstock. Private car park at the rear with limited availability! Lovely inviting open fire burning in the hotel bar....

Only one minor negative - there was no soap in the bathrooms of both the rooms. We were told there was none available to supply the rooms so we purchased some in the local co-op supermarket.

Fantastic location, Blenheim palace was just around the corner at the end of the road. In centre, short walk to shops, restaurants, coffee shops but room was at the back - didn’t hear any noise from outside. Room much better than looks on photo’s, spacious & we had a separate bath & stand alone shower. Breakfast was great, 2 sausages & 2 slices of bacon on full English. Only negatives were the breakfast staff appeared miserable & we had to wait until 3.30 for room to be ready, not too much of a problem but had said we’d be arriving early (normal check-in is at 3) & there was no explanation why it was late, just expected to wear it (as though it was normal & ok) & we weren’t the only ones waiting for our room.

See above

We were meant to be visiting Blenheim Palace but it was unfortunately cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. The hotel was perfectly situated to visit Blenheim Palace and the village was lovely. We had a very good meal in the hotel restaurant, food was lovely, service good and the waiter was very friendly. Room was clean but a bit small.

The quickest way to our room was by walking outside along the front of the hotel which would have been ok had it not been pouring with rain and very windy. The room could also be accessed through the hotel but it was a bit of a long walk and the receptionist never really told us how to do this we found out from our friends who we were with. The room was very clean although on the small side. There was some black mould on the bathroom window but the shower was nice and powerful although because of the screen on the side of the bath the water did go on the floor.

Character and location

No food available after 8 PM. I have previously stayed here and had some lovely bar food late evening. This time around 2030 I arrived and asked about food and was told there was none. There were still people eating in the dining area however. Even an offer of a steak sandwich or similar would of been nice. When I asked a lad in the restaurant about it, he looked at me like I was asking to sleep with his girlfriend and walked away. Reminded me of Fawlty towers and the Americans, arriving late evening looking for food. Was a result in the end as we had a great curry and a beer up the road. Wont be my first choice of stay next time as I’m a regular visitor to Woodstock with work.

Plenty of good things to say. Great Oxford gateway location with still close distance for those arriving by the car. Close distance to beautiful park (we have a dog and she loved it) Minute walk to palace ( we weren’t bothered as I find it too expansive) Great vibe in the village lots of restaurants and Saturday market too. Breakfast just great and we were able to keep the dog in the bar (not in restaurant though) Room great and spacious with car park in the front. Couldn’t really fault anything in this accommodation. Very polite staff, only barman hasn’t best day I am afraid. Not big deal. Almost perfection.

Was struggling to access wifi from room 5. Had plenty of data from network but not best signal in area. Not big deal for me

Nice room in Courtyard and lovely to be able to park right outside the room. Two good chairs so no having to sit on bed to watch the television. Not the largest room but well set up and very clean. Nice toiletries. Decent Lighting. Extremely comfortable bed. Staff friendly and helpful. Fantastic location and lovely outside seating when weather allowed.

Do not understand why in such a large dining room, the night we dined in the hotel and at breakfast the first day, everybody was seated all so close together using only a tiny part of the room. With no background music it was uncomfortable to chat. Second breakfast experience was much better with people spaced out.

Our room was spotless and we loved the space and comfortable armchairsT. he food was excellent and beautifully presented. Staff were attentive, helpful and friendly. The overall ambience of the hotel was welcoming and comfortable. Car parking was available and very convenient.

Our initial contact at Reception was somewhat cool and disinterested. Wish we'd known about the lack of a lift and the tricky staircases (2) - we'd have booked a room on a lower floor! The light from the bedside lamps was inadequate for reading by.

Our rooms were upgraded to a room with a seating area and a mezzanine bedroom at no extra cost to ourselves. This was a delightful suggestion. Dinner was served in the restaurant, it contained a variety of choices. The restaurant manager was delightful and provided excellent service and recommendations. Likewise breakfast was plentiful and the staff very attentive.

There was very little to remark about negatively, there were a number of insects in the chandelier which was visible from the mezzanine.