The Blue Bell Inn

Conveniently situated for pleasant walks along the waterfront. Well appointed accommodation, including a mini-fridge (although there was no milk, either long-life or fresh, in mine). A very good breakfast was provided in a different restaurant as there had been a fire in the catering side of the Blue Bell building, which did not affect the rooms, and there were plenty of attractive places for other meals Emsworth itself is quite small and friendly; a pleasant place to relax for a couple of days. If you are coming by train, be aware that the walk to the Blue Bell is longer and trickier than you might expect, but there is no shortage of passers by to point you in the right direction.

Communications with the host were late and poor. Gaining access to the building was difficult as we did not know that we would need a key code and that there would be no one to meet us. The last time I checked my e-mails that morning before travelling, there was nothing. On arriving in Emsworth, I couldn't access my e-mails to check again (not the property's fault). A phone call to Booking.com revealed that an e-mail with codes had been sent just before 2pm and we were due to check in at 3pm. We tried multiple times to contact the host by phone and finally received an apologetic response. We gained access at around 4pm, then the alarm went off and we had no way of stopping it, but it finally turned itself off. Another concern was security. There did not seem to be any way to lock the main door from the inside therefore anyone could have climbed the stairs to the corridor where our rooms were. In summary, communications were poor: I should have been notified at least a day before about the key code situation, and there was insufficient information about security.

Good location. Well equipped and clean room in good order.

Nothing

A lovely pub with rooms, beautifully decorated and very well equipped, in a nice town. Sadly, the pub itself was closed during our stay as they had tragically suffered a fire. However, they had thoughtfully arranged for us to enjoy a delicious breakfast at a local café, which was much appreciated. We would love to return and stay again once the pub has reopened. Wishing them all the very best with the restoration.

Lovely room. Comfortable and nicely furnished with thoughtful touches. Great location. Fab breakfast at The Driftwood.

The smell of fire lingering in the hallway and outside. Waiting sometime to check in and rude welcome from the owner. The very late notification that breakfast would be served somewhere else due to burnt out kitchen below and no chance to cancel. We were lucky to park for free on the quay nearby but most parking is chargeable from 8am-6pm