Name: Bell at Hampton
Address: 11 Oxford Road, Hampton Poyle, Kidlington, Kidlington, Kidlington, OX5 2QD, United Kingdom
Rating: 9

Smoke-free property

Heating

Terrace

General

Non-smoking rooms

Hairdryer

Shower

Toiletries

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Concierge services

Services and amenities

Coffee/tea for guests

Diet menu (on request)

Breakfast

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Transfer services

Transfer

English

French

Multi-language staff

Languages Spoken

Library

Recreation

Parking

Free Parking on Premises

Event facilities

Conference Hall

Business

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the guest house

Room amenities

River Cherwell

Oxford Airport

Asaba International Airport

Raf Brize Norton

Milton Keynes

Wycombe Air Park

Bell at Hampton

Kidlington

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Most disappointing Christmas Day lunch, for £130 per head it was a load of bought in food and they cooked on the premises was substandard. There was nobody to complain to on the day except a bunch of hungover teenage staff. I complained by email and response was thank you for the feedback. I requested a response by senior management, nobody bothered. Completely ruined our Christmas Day.

Christmas Day disappointment.

The venue was lovely (far from full on the night, so much the better for us!), the staff welcoming and efficient. 
As to the food and drinks: 
- "The gallows" was a real experience: the presentation original and striking, but above all, the meat was incredibly tender, juicy and tasty; chips, green beans and rice excellent; sauces average.
- The salmon, however, was no more than ok, and perhaps slightly too much vinegar.
- The sticky toffee pudding was interesting, mainly thanks to the sorbet instead of the usual ice cream; but on the whole it didn't fully convince, also in terms of flavour and texture. 
- Drinks fine.
The printed menu was somewhat different from the one on line (for instance, the duck was missing, which was a pity), and some items were sold out when we arrived (8pm).
The price was fairly high, but this would have been ok, had the food been uniformly excellent. 
We thought, however, that £5 for a side dish of 5 small boiled potatoes was excessive.
Also, we really don't understand the meaning of the "discretionary" (but in fact compulsory) 10% service charge, which is not mentioned on the web site. True, many venues do it (although more and more do not), but it is simply a way to boost the bill. Like in any other business, the service costs should be included in the price of the goods, or at the very least very clearly stated on the web site: no surprises/guessing.
All in all, and notwithstanding the little minuses, it was an enjoyable evening in a very pleasant atmosphere, and we appreciated the little extra that the staff laid out to celebrate our daughter's birthday.

An enjoyable dinner, some quibbles

We stayed at The Bell for the weekend whilst visiting Silverstone for the F1. We stayed last year and we were pleased to be able to book again.
This year we stayed in room 3 which is a very large room, it was very clean and comfy. We ate in the restaurant during our stay and thoroughly enjoyed the food.
We always find everyone that works at The Bell to be extremely friendly and helpful and we hope to stay again next year. 

10/10 Great stay!

I went to the Bell around 5 years ago and was fantastic can’t believe it’s gone down hill so much!  My self and my girl friend with her friend stopped off today for a drink and meal. Lovely pub and lovely weather so feeling good about life. When are food came out also the chef come out using the f word every sentence with his mates and was smoking and drinking in his cooking uniform found this very off putting! It’s sad that one person could destroy something so great!! 

Down hill!

Firstly, we confirm this is a completely unsolicited review.

We had been to dine at The Bell some time ago, which was a very good experience, so had made a reservation to stay and dine there on Monday, 22nd May 2023, on our journey back for The Lake District.

We were quite dismayed by the negative Tripadvisor reviews and on arrival, openly and honestly shared our misgivings, with Majec at reception. He listened to us, acknowledging that he and the team were aware of the negative postings on Tripadvisor.

He showed us to Room 5, a comfortable double bedded room with a good sized bathroom and its huge bath. Thoughtfully he provided a flask of fresh milk for our tea and coffee.

In the light of the poor reviews, we wondered what our dinner booked for seven o’clock, would prove to be like. With the restaurant probably three-quarters full already, we were shown to our table and Louie introduced himself as our waiter. We were very pleasantly surprised by the convivial atmosphere amongst the staff and the other guests, many of whom appeared to be local folk.

For starters, we chose  a cheese soufflé and asparagus with crispy duck egg, both well prepared and presented. The duck egg was perfectly cooked, with a soft runny yolk. Compliments to the chef. We shared a delicious pizza to follow, whIch was also excellent. Glasses of wine were generous in measure and Louie did a great job attending to us.

Tuesday’s breakfast professionally served by Honor, with a buffet of juice, cereals, fruit, yoghurt and pastries was supplemented by a good selection of cooked food. The portions  were generous and, in particular, the large mushrooms were delicious, as was the bacon.

It was a very comfortable stay and we are pleased to be able to redress the balance of some o f the negative reviews. 

It is quite apparent that  the manager, Matt and his ‘team’ Majec, Louie, Honor, the kitchen brigade and the back-office team  are working hard to catch-up after the post-Covid issues that many establishments like the Bell experienced. Notwithstanding the poor reviews, we’re pleased to have stayed and dined there and have no qualms about returning when the opportunity arises.

Surprising excellence!

This is a gorgeous pub/Inn located on outskirts of Oxford. As a business traveller this had everything I needed from great wifi to beautifully presented and tasty food. I resided in Room4, the mahoosive bed was wasted on me but so comfortable and I had 2 great nights sleep. The team at the Bell are efficient, friendly and very helpful. Okay you are thinking there must be something so here you are, my room was near the road but after 9pm hardly any passing vehicles, my shower only had a waterfall head but it was hot and powerful (I like a handheld to clean my feet)... Good parking onside, minutes from main A roads to Kidlington and Oxford so thats my review complete.

What a find, thank you Hotels.com

Great ambience and staff always jolly and food excellent and well worth a visit  chef is Hard to explain he is a star not just at coking he is a bourne entertainer ps ( Gordon Ramsey would love to have him on his team ( but Gordon May learn off of him . Great people and  Try it and leave a true Review pjt 

Patrick j Thornton 

We had dinner at The Bell last night. The Autumn risotto at £19.50 was little more than a bowl of rice with no courgettes, peas or beans as described on the meal. Service was poor. Extremely disappointing meal out. I would find another country pub!!!

Overpriced food and poor service

we went for dinner tonight quite early on the 15th October. we both had the belly pork with black pudding mash. dinner was excellent, so very tasty. we both had desserts also, i had profiteroles and my partner had sticky toffee pudding both of which were excellent. staff service was so lovely and attentive despite being very busy with restaurant guests. fabulous service from a wonderful team.

just dinner.

Awful.
Served by inexperienced young waiters. Had no idea on how to pour Champagne.
Roast beef cut up in chunks and tough
Pizza too tough to cut. inedible!
Rather not mention my particular starter. {Sort of cheese on hard pastry, I think)}
Good thing must not go again.
NOT RECOMENDED.
At a special birthday meeting too.
Should not have paid the high bill.

Bell at Hampton

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