The Dinton Hermit

My hubby and I stayed here for one night on our way to Bath. My first impression wasn’t great, the “reception” is effectively a table in the Pub. The lady who gave us the key was Eastern European, not overly warm and to the point. The room was outside in courtyard (reminded me of a chalet). I must say it was well set out and they had thought of all the little details like hooks on doors, nice toiletries etc, the bathroom was a wet room but it was fine. The bed was comfortable and it was very clean - no complaints about the room at all. We went into the pub for our dinner. I’d booked a table online for 6:30pm but our flight was delayed so in reality it was more like 6:55pm, although I did ring to let them know. As we walked in I said to the lady “oh I’m starving” and she said “we can do something about that”… however it all went down hill after that… We waited for a bit and then finally the waitress came over to take our drinks order but told us she couldn’t take our food order because the kitchen had too many food orders and then even when she took it, again it couldn’t be put it in straight away. This saga turned into 1 hour 30 minutes before we got our starters and say 10 minutes later our mains. I mean from the inside it didn’t look like there were that many tables, one group of about 6 beside us, another couple and another group of about 4 .. I couldn’t see any more within our vicinity but apparently one chef finds it hard to cope. They should have at least brought us out bread and dips or olives or something to keep away the hunger pangs. I had ordered the chicken pie with chips & mushy peas. My hubby had a burger and chips, the burger was awful - very dry. The food was average and definitely it worth the wait.. very disappointing. Never again!! The breakfast the next morning was quicker but we feel they omit too many of the usual options eg. a cold food buffet eg. Cereals, Fruit, Yoghurt, Juice or Toast.. everything is charged per item. We were told the night before when the lady was bringing us to our room “one juice, one coffee and one hot food option” - seems a bit too regimented for our liking. We both had omelette which were very tasty but no offer of bread/toast. The waiter was however very friendly and apologised about the delay in service (more than what the lady/Manager did the night before!) but funnily we hadn’t noticed and thought to ourselves “after last night, that’s nothing!!” It’s a pity but taking everything into account, value for money, customer service (lack of it), we won’t be back.

Excellent room, Happy Hour and great evening menu. Fabulous Breakfast. Short drive to Aylesbury. Sadly only stayed one night!

We arrived late on a Thursday Evening just as the pub was closing but the staff went above and beyond to make sure we had a drink and even showed us to our barn room, in appalling weather. In the morning we had a fantastic breakfast and was made most welcome.

This country Pub Hotel is a perfect piece of English hospitality, in one ! The staff are very caring and helpful food is excellent at night and for breakfast lots of choice as for the rooms they have everything required and a little more if you stay location is ideal quite at night and on a Friday night some music provided outside for the dinners dependent on the weather. Its really very nice all the bases you would like on your stay are covered The value for money is just as good, Well done to all the team !!