Bel and The Dragon-Kingsclere

I really wanted to like this hotel, and there's a lot to like. There are also a few things to dislike. It's a charming, old building that wears its history well. Our room was just off a communal lounge area that was littered with old books, had a vaulted, beamed ceiling and plenty of space to relax, including a complementary decanter of single malt whisky! The room though had some issues. It was booked as a "deluxe double" room but was quite small and not especially well thought-out. There was a large, claw-footed free-standing bath in the room with a shower attachment on the taps, but no shower cubicle, curtain or similar. There was a separate toilet room with a hand basin, but no soap dispenser at the basin, meaning you had to leave and use the other basin that was in the main room. There was no wardrobe space and nowhere to sit other than on the bed. Very little surface top space to put stuff down on too. The main issue was that our bedroom formed part of the fire escape route from this floor. This meant that there was a break-glass outside our room which unlocked the room to allow egress; anybody could access our room at any time without a key. In fact when we tried to lock our door to go out it turned out that this mechanism had been activated and the door simply wouldn't lock. The staff quickly reset and fixed this, but it's very disconcerting. Finally the extraction from the kitchen was right outside the window and very noisy during serving times. Great food though.

What an incredible place! The room was lovely and spotless and the bed super comfy and breakfast delicious ... but it's the extra special touches and extra special team there that takes this to another level!! There's free drinks in your bedroom, a very comfortable residents only lounge with more complimentary drinks (as you can see in the pics). That was a huge bonus and the staff were brilliant! We were struggling to get a taxi to Highclare Castle so the manager Darren stepped in to make arrangements for us to get there. The team have a lovely family like vibe about them and we left feeling as though we'd stayed with friends!

What a wonderful night away to celebrate our wedding anniversary, loved our lunch the steak was so good, All the staff were really welcoming, Such a lovely atmosphere! We went for a stroll around the village, when we came back the bar was busy but everyone there was enjoying the evening, We felt really lucky to have the huge lounge to ourselves, Our room was perfect 👌 gorgeous big bed and a role top bath just set it all of nicely, Breakfast was amazing!!

A really nice overnight stay and dinner at The Swan / Bel and Dragon. The building is delightful - full of beams and historical atmosphere but very well maintained. The bar was certainly very well patronised and appears popular with locals while most of the 9 rooms appeared to be occupied, based on the numbers at breakfast. We had a good evening meal and an excellent breakfast with a wide range of choice. Nice touches were the residents-only sitting room, which is a lovely large room with a vaulted beamed ceiling and a decanter of whisky available for a complimentary nigh-cap! Would certainly stay there again if in the area.

This is lovely hotel situated in a very cozy area! On site parking was convenient. Staff were extremely helpful! Breakfast service was great and the hotel restaurant was outstanding. Very close to many sites especially Highclere Castle. Rooms were updated, clean, and spacious with all of the amenities. There was even a very comfy sitting room on our floor!

My husband and I are Brits but live in the US, we were visiting family for the week and decided last minute (literally 24 hours notice) to spend one night between long car journeys at a B&B halfway, did a quick hotels.com search and found Bel and The Dragon, the only place with a King bed at such short notice. I called to let them know we'd probably not arrive til about 7:30/8pm and spoke to Luke, such a professional, he told me it was no problem and that he'd book a table for us for dinner so we'd catch the kitchen in time. The room was stunning, everything thought of, down to the complimentary tea and coffee, the food in the restaurant was delicious, there is a rec room with games and whisky to help yourself! the staff were amazing, especially Luke the Manager, Lee the barman and Chloe in the morning at breakfast, who was helping this branch due to short notice. We never think to stay in a B&B because we're always staying with family when we come back, but we loved every minute of our stay at Bel and The Dragon, Kingsclere. Beautiful location and most importantly the staff were fantastic.

We stayed on an incredibly hot weekend. We were given a small room which overlooked the outside dining area and the extractor fans (noisy & pumping out even more hot air) for the kitchen. We were given a fan, which redistributed the already hot air around the room. It was impossibly difficult to sleep - both noise & heat - including kitchen noise, dining & drinking noise, kitchen staff noise (til late), road noise & then all the bins being emptied very early the following morning. I ended up sleeping in the floor in the shared sitting room space. The staff were apologetic the following morning and moved us to a room at the front of the hotel which was significantly better. Request that you are not in a room called Kisby. I am gluten free and the staff tried hard to provide gluten free alternatives. These were limited but I appreciated their efforts. Beware - Avocado on toast in the morning is overprocessed guacamole. It’s a young team - that tried hard - were friendly - but not what I would have expected for the price we paid. Kingsclere is very pretty and the walking locally was great. The food was good but expensive. Slightly bizarre to have a menu fit for deep autumn when the weather was so hot.

Free Gin in the room, lovely breakfast, comfy beds

Great short stay. Our room oozed character and history, enhanced by top quality fittings. Bed was enormous and super comfy. Breakfast was absolutely spot on. Complimentary bottles(!) of gin and whisky and the posh shower toiletries topped it all off.

This is a go-to property every time we come over. The food is through-the-roof good, the rooms are clean and beautiful, and the parking is great. The bar is a local hangout, and everyone is VERY welcoming and they love to chat and share stories. Don\'t hesitate to eat there. The food is one of the reasons we stay. Staff is amazing. The ground floor room we had opened up onto the chef\'s garden, and it was quiet, and even pastoral. A lot of people come there to go to Kingsclere castle, i.e. "Downton Abbey" -- but we stay there for the food and service, and it\'s a wonderfully quiet place with great people.

I really wanted to like this hotel, and there's a lot to like. There are also a few things to dislike. It's a charming, old building that wears its history well. Our room was just off a communal lounge area that was littered with old books, had a vaulted, beamed ceiling and plenty of space to relax, including a complementary decanter of single malt whisky! The room though had some issues. It was booked as a "deluxe double" room but was quite small and not especially well thought-out. There was a large, claw-footed free-standing bath in the room with a shower attachment on the taps, but no shower cubicle, curtain or similar. There was a separate toilet room with a hand basin, but no soap dispenser at the basin, meaning you had to leave and use the other basin that was in the main room. There was no wardrobe space and nowhere to sit other than on the bed. Very little surface top space to put stuff down on too. The main issue was that our bedroom formed part of the fire escape route from this floor. This meant that there was a break-glass outside our room which unlocked the room to allow egress; anybody could access our room at any time without a key. In fact when we tried to lock our door to go out it turned out that this mechanism had been activated and the door simply wouldn't lock. The staff quickly reset and fixed this, but it's very disconcerting. Finally the extraction from the kitchen was right outside the window and very noisy during serving times. Great food though.

Enjoyed our stay. Staff lovely. The only negative was service at breakfast extremely slow and nobody at hand if we needed anything. In the bar area nobody cleared the glasses from the tables.

What an incredible place! The room was lovely and spotless and the bed super comfy and breakfast delicious ... but it's the extra special touches and extra special team there that takes this to another level!! There's free drinks in your bedroom, a very comfortable residents only lounge with more complimentary drinks (as you can see in the pics). That was a huge bonus and the staff were brilliant! We were struggling to get a taxi to Highclare Castle so the manager Darren stepped in to make arrangements for us to get there. The team have a lovely family like vibe about them and we left feeling as though we'd stayed with friends!

A really nice overnight stay and dinner at The Swan / Bel and Dragon. The building is delightful - full of beams and historical atmosphere but very well maintained. The bar was certainly very well patronised and appears popular with locals while most of the 9 rooms appeared to be occupied, based on the numbers at breakfast. We had a good evening meal and an excellent breakfast with a wide range of choice. Nice touches were the residents-only sitting room, which is a lovely large room with a vaulted beamed ceiling and a decanter of whisky available for a complimentary nigh-cap! Would certainly stay there again if in the area.

This is lovely hotel situated in a very cozy area! On site parking was convenient. Staff were extremely helpful! Breakfast service was great and the hotel restaurant was outstanding. Very close to many sites especially Highclere Castle. Rooms were updated, clean, and spacious with all of the amenities. There was even a very comfy sitting room on our floor!

This is a go-to property every time we come over. The food is through-the-roof good, the rooms are clean and beautiful, and the parking is great. The bar is a local hangout, and everyone is VERY welcoming and they love to chat and share stories. Don\'t hesitate to eat there. The food is one of the reasons we stay. Staff is amazing. The ground floor room we had opened up onto the chef\'s garden, and it was quiet, and even pastoral. A lot of people come there to go to Kingsclere castle, i.e. "Downton Abbey" -- but we stay there for the food and service, and it\'s a wonderfully quiet place with great people.

I really wanted to like this hotel, and there's a lot to like. There are also a few things to dislike. It's a charming, old building that wears its history well. Our room was just off a communal lounge area that was littered with old books, had a vaulted, beamed ceiling and plenty of space to relax, including a complementary decanter of single malt whisky! The room though had some issues. It was booked as a "deluxe double" room but was quite small and not especially well thought-out. There was a large, claw-footed free-standing bath in the room with a shower attachment on the taps, but no shower cubicle, curtain or similar. There was a separate toilet room with a hand basin, but no soap dispenser at the basin, meaning you had to leave and use the other basin that was in the main room. There was no wardrobe space and nowhere to sit other than on the bed. Very little surface top space to put stuff down on too. The main issue was that our bedroom formed part of the fire escape route from this floor. This meant that there was a break-glass outside our room which unlocked the room to allow egress; anybody could access our room at any time without a key. In fact when we tried to lock our door to go out it turned out that this mechanism had been activated and the door simply wouldn't lock. The staff quickly reset and fixed this, but it's very disconcerting. Finally the extraction from the kitchen was right outside the window and very noisy during serving times. Great food though.

What a wonderful night away to celebrate our wedding anniversary, loved our lunch the steak was so good, All the staff were really welcoming, Such a lovely atmosphere! We went for a stroll around the village, when we came back the bar was busy but everyone there was enjoying the evening, We felt really lucky to have the huge lounge to ourselves, Our room was perfect 👌 gorgeous big bed and a role top bath just set it all of nicely, Breakfast was amazing!!

Loved our stay here . Second time we’ve been here . Staff are so friendly you feel welcomed straight away . Room large and super king comfy bed . Had excellent sleep . Food and drinks in bar and restaurant were excellent .

My husband and I are Brits but live in the US, we were visiting family for the week and decided last minute (literally 24 hours notice) to spend one night between long car journeys at a B&B halfway, did a quick hotels.com search and found Bel and The Dragon, the only place with a King bed at such short notice. I called to let them know we'd probably not arrive til about 7:30/8pm and spoke to Luke, such a professional, he told me it was no problem and that he'd book a table for us for dinner so we'd catch the kitchen in time. The room was stunning, everything thought of, down to the complimentary tea and coffee, the food in the restaurant was delicious, there is a rec room with games and whisky to help yourself! the staff were amazing, especially Luke the Manager, Lee the barman and Chloe in the morning at breakfast, who was helping this branch due to short notice. We never think to stay in a B&B because we're always staying with family when we come back, but we loved every minute of our stay at Bel and The Dragon, Kingsclere. Beautiful location and most importantly the staff were fantastic.

Delightful 15th century pub with very comfortable rooms. The food in the pub was superb at both dinner and breakfast and we would highly recommend staying here.

A wonderful hotel. Our bed was large and very comfortable. The bathroom had all you need. We ate in the restaurant and the menu was very varied with lots of local produce. The evening meal and our breakfast were delicious. We would definitely stay again. The staff were very friendly making the whole experience execeptional.

We stayed on an incredibly hot weekend. We were given a small room which overlooked the outside dining area and the extractor fans (noisy & pumping out even more hot air) for the kitchen. We were given a fan, which redistributed the already hot air around the room. It was impossibly difficult to sleep - both noise & heat - including kitchen noise, dining & drinking noise, kitchen staff noise (til late), road noise & then all the bins being emptied very early the following morning. I ended up sleeping in the floor in the shared sitting room space. The staff were apologetic the following morning and moved us to a room at the front of the hotel which was significantly better. Request that you are not in a room called Kisby. I am gluten free and the staff tried hard to provide gluten free alternatives. These were limited but I appreciated their efforts. Beware - Avocado on toast in the morning is overprocessed guacamole. It’s a young team - that tried hard - were friendly - but not what I would have expected for the price we paid. Kingsclere is very pretty and the walking locally was great. The food was good but expensive. Slightly bizarre to have a menu fit for deep autumn when the weather was so hot.

Great short stay. Our room oozed character and history, enhanced by top quality fittings. Bed was enormous and super comfy. Breakfast was absolutely spot on. Complimentary bottles(!) of gin and whisky and the posh shower toiletries topped it all off.

Great choice food. Separate lounge for guests if want to use it and a very spacious room.

We stayed here as local to Bombay Sapphire, the location was ideal (7 miles away) and the hotel was perfect, comfortable, friendly staff, food amazing and room spacious and extremely comfortable. 10 out of 10 from me.

Enjoyed our stay. Staff lovely. The only negative was service at breakfast extremely slow and nobody at hand if we needed anything. In the bar area nobody cleared the glasses from the tables.

What an incredible place! The room was lovely and spotless and the bed super comfy and breakfast delicious ... but it's the extra special touches and extra special team there that takes this to another level!! There's free drinks in your bedroom, a very comfortable residents only lounge with more complimentary drinks (as you can see in the pics). That was a huge bonus and the staff were brilliant! We were struggling to get a taxi to Highclare Castle so the manager Darren stepped in to make arrangements for us to get there. The team have a lovely family like vibe about them and we left feeling as though we'd stayed with friends!

Very enjoyable stay food great and staff great

Staff were so polite and informative. No question was too small to answer. Room and food were excellent and the surrounding are beautiful Would stay here again

Loved our stay here . Second time we’ve been here . Staff are so friendly you feel welcomed straight away . Room large and super king comfy bed . Had excellent sleep . Food and drinks in bar and restaurant were excellent .

My husband and I are Brits but live in the US, we were visiting family for the week and decided last minute (literally 24 hours notice) to spend one night between long car journeys at a B&B halfway, did a quick hotels.com search and found Bel and The Dragon, the only place with a King bed at such short notice. I called to let them know we'd probably not arrive til about 7:30/8pm and spoke to Luke, such a professional, he told me it was no problem and that he'd book a table for us for dinner so we'd catch the kitchen in time. The room was stunning, everything thought of, down to the complimentary tea and coffee, the food in the restaurant was delicious, there is a rec room with games and whisky to help yourself! the staff were amazing, especially Luke the Manager, Lee the barman and Chloe in the morning at breakfast, who was helping this branch due to short notice. We never think to stay in a B&B because we're always staying with family when we come back, but we loved every minute of our stay at Bel and The Dragon, Kingsclere. Beautiful location and most importantly the staff were fantastic.

Breakfast was amazing, with excellent service.

Nice hotel and food. Friendly staff. Our waitress was lovely. Easy check in/out and good room to spend the night.

This is a go-to property every time we come over. The food is through-the-roof good, the rooms are clean and beautiful, and the parking is great. The bar is a local hangout, and everyone is VERY welcoming and they love to chat and share stories. Don\'t hesitate to eat there. The food is one of the reasons we stay. Staff is amazing. The ground floor room we had opened up onto the chef\'s garden, and it was quiet, and even pastoral. A lot of people come there to go to Kingsclere castle, i.e. "Downton Abbey" -- but we stay there for the food and service, and it\'s a wonderfully quiet place with great people.

We stayed here as local to Bombay Sapphire, the location was ideal (7 miles away) and the hotel was perfect, comfortable, friendly staff, food amazing and room spacious and extremely comfortable. 10 out of 10 from me.

What a wonderful night away to celebrate our wedding anniversary, loved our lunch the steak was so good, All the staff were really welcoming, Such a lovely atmosphere! We went for a stroll around the village, when we came back the bar was busy but everyone there was enjoying the evening, We felt really lucky to have the huge lounge to ourselves, Our room was perfect 👌 gorgeous big bed and a role top bath just set it all of nicely, Breakfast was amazing!!

This is a lovely property in the heart of Kingsclere village. Very happy with our stay.

This is lovely hotel situated in a very cozy area! On site parking was convenient. Staff were extremely helpful! Breakfast service was great and the hotel restaurant was outstanding. Very close to many sites especially Highclere Castle. Rooms were updated, clean, and spacious with all of the amenities. There was even a very comfy sitting room on our floor!

Staff were so polite and informative. No question was too small to answer. Room and food were excellent and the surrounding are beautiful Would stay here again

My husband and I are Brits but live in the US, we were visiting family for the week and decided last minute (literally 24 hours notice) to spend one night between long car journeys at a B&B halfway, did a quick hotels.com search and found Bel and The Dragon, the only place with a King bed at such short notice. I called to let them know we'd probably not arrive til about 7:30/8pm and spoke to Luke, such a professional, he told me it was no problem and that he'd book a table for us for dinner so we'd catch the kitchen in time. The room was stunning, everything thought of, down to the complimentary tea and coffee, the food in the restaurant was delicious, there is a rec room with games and whisky to help yourself! the staff were amazing, especially Luke the Manager, Lee the barman and Chloe in the morning at breakfast, who was helping this branch due to short notice. We never think to stay in a B&B because we're always staying with family when we come back, but we loved every minute of our stay at Bel and The Dragon, Kingsclere. Beautiful location and most importantly the staff were fantastic.

We stayed on an incredibly hot weekend. We were given a small room which overlooked the outside dining area and the extractor fans (noisy & pumping out even more hot air) for the kitchen. We were given a fan, which redistributed the already hot air around the room. It was impossibly difficult to sleep - both noise & heat - including kitchen noise, dining & drinking noise, kitchen staff noise (til late), road noise & then all the bins being emptied very early the following morning. I ended up sleeping in the floor in the shared sitting room space. The staff were apologetic the following morning and moved us to a room at the front of the hotel which was significantly better. Request that you are not in a room called Kisby. I am gluten free and the staff tried hard to provide gluten free alternatives. These were limited but I appreciated their efforts. Beware - Avocado on toast in the morning is overprocessed guacamole. It’s a young team - that tried hard - were friendly - but not what I would have expected for the price we paid. Kingsclere is very pretty and the walking locally was great. The food was good but expensive. Slightly bizarre to have a menu fit for deep autumn when the weather was so hot.

This is a go-to property every time we come over. The food is through-the-roof good, the rooms are clean and beautiful, and the parking is great. The bar is a local hangout, and everyone is VERY welcoming and they love to chat and share stories. Don\'t hesitate to eat there. The food is one of the reasons we stay. Staff is amazing. The ground floor room we had opened up onto the chef\'s garden, and it was quiet, and even pastoral. A lot of people come there to go to Kingsclere castle, i.e. "Downton Abbey" -- but we stay there for the food and service, and it\'s a wonderfully quiet place with great people.

We stayed here as local to Bombay Sapphire, the location was ideal (7 miles away) and the hotel was perfect, comfortable, friendly staff, food amazing and room spacious and extremely comfortable. 10 out of 10 from me.

What a wonderful night away to celebrate our wedding anniversary, loved our lunch the steak was so good, All the staff were really welcoming, Such a lovely atmosphere! We went for a stroll around the village, when we came back the bar was busy but everyone there was enjoying the evening, We felt really lucky to have the huge lounge to ourselves, Our room was perfect 👌 gorgeous big bed and a role top bath just set it all of nicely, Breakfast was amazing!!

A really nice overnight stay and dinner at The Swan / Bel and Dragon. The building is delightful - full of beams and historical atmosphere but very well maintained. The bar was certainly very well patronised and appears popular with locals while most of the 9 rooms appeared to be occupied, based on the numbers at breakfast. We had a good evening meal and an excellent breakfast with a wide range of choice. Nice touches were the residents-only sitting room, which is a lovely large room with a vaulted beamed ceiling and a decanter of whisky available for a complimentary nigh-cap! Would certainly stay there again if in the area.

Breakfast was amazing, with excellent service.

Delightful 15th century pub with very comfortable rooms. The food in the pub was superb at both dinner and breakfast and we would highly recommend staying here.

A wonderful hotel. Our bed was large and very comfortable. The bathroom had all you need. We ate in the restaurant and the menu was very varied with lots of local produce. The evening meal and our breakfast were delicious. We would definitely stay again. The staff were very friendly making the whole experience execeptional.

We stayed on an incredibly hot weekend. We were given a small room which overlooked the outside dining area and the extractor fans (noisy & pumping out even more hot air) for the kitchen. We were given a fan, which redistributed the already hot air around the room. It was impossibly difficult to sleep - both noise & heat - including kitchen noise, dining & drinking noise, kitchen staff noise (til late), road noise & then all the bins being emptied very early the following morning. I ended up sleeping in the floor in the shared sitting room space. The staff were apologetic the following morning and moved us to a room at the front of the hotel which was significantly better. Request that you are not in a room called Kisby. I am gluten free and the staff tried hard to provide gluten free alternatives. These were limited but I appreciated their efforts. Beware - Avocado on toast in the morning is overprocessed guacamole. It’s a young team - that tried hard - were friendly - but not what I would have expected for the price we paid. Kingsclere is very pretty and the walking locally was great. The food was good but expensive. Slightly bizarre to have a menu fit for deep autumn when the weather was so hot.

Excellent accommodation and stunning restaurant - definitely recommend anyone to stay or dine here.

Great short stay. Our room oozed character and history, enhanced by top quality fittings. Bed was enormous and super comfy. Breakfast was absolutely spot on. Complimentary bottles(!) of gin and whisky and the posh shower toiletries topped it all off.

Great choice food. Separate lounge for guests if want to use it and a very spacious room.

We stayed here as local to Bombay Sapphire, the location was ideal (7 miles away) and the hotel was perfect, comfortable, friendly staff, food amazing and room spacious and extremely comfortable. 10 out of 10 from me.