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Reviews of The Red Lion Inn

4 out of 5
The Red Lion Inn
32 High Street, Saffron Walden, England

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 32 out of 53 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 11 out of 53 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 8 out of 53 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 53 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 53 reviews" "

9.2/10

Cleanliness

9.0/10

Staff & service

8.6/10

Amenities

8.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

Ian

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Disliked: Staff & service
Good, spacious and clean rooms, comfy beds. Ceiling lights were either one third on, fully on, or flashing continuously (Room 6, reported back to the staff). Food was generally good but the service both at dinner and breakfast was INCREDIBLY slow to the point of annoyance. Additional staff are needed front and back of house. And what pickled red cabbage is doing in a Thai green curry I have no idea… certainly different.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

David

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A lovely old pub, good people, clean and quiet room
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

asha

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

6/10 Okay

Graham

Business traveller
Premium price but an average experience. Location is its high point.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Shyamali

Staff were helpful and friendly and very welcoming
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Adrienne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Deborah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ian

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Trish

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property is in the same grounds of the very cosy traditional pub. Staff really nice and friendly. Our room was in a quiet corner. Spotlessly clean but it was very bland. Very high ceiling with grey walks and plain white duvet It would have been more welcoming with a colourful throw on the bed, perhaps a picture on the wall something to soften it. Other than that (hopefully constructed criticism) it was a nice place to stay and we would go again.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent short stay
Quiet , Helpful people , great Parking - Nice food and atmosphere.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

Neil

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

6/10 Okay

Aila

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Really Good Hotel and Pub.
This is a great Hotel in this part of England. Very easy to enjoy the slow pace , great bar and good food. Quiet and within easy reach of main roads. Highly Reicommended.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Overnight stop
Friendly and welcoming proprietor. Comfortable, spacious room although a couple of maintenance issues. Well presented and prepared food. Lovely location and building.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly Recommended
Nice location and easy to relax , close enough to major roads and quite enough with that village feel. Nice rooms great management / Staff. Thank you
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

8/10 Good

James

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Fantastic Location
Great location with wonderful gardens. The accommodation is a lovely group of cottages in the garden with a lovely setting to enjoy. Our cottage had a maintenace issue whereby the toilet did not flush. I understand from a staff member when checking out that this has been broken for a while but yet to be repaired. The food at dinner was good quality but as an overall dining experience it could have been so much better had some background music been played to help create an ambience when dining. The staff were nice enough however clearly just doing their job without showing too much attention to the paying guests, perhaps some staff training would be of benefit .Breakfast experience was very good and the lady breakfast staff member was very efficient and friendly. Overall we enjoyed our stay however for the price per night at over £150 for the room with breakfast I think it is priced on the high side.
Accommodation Cottages
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

6/10 Okay

David

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Good food and staff- rooms need attention
The staff were helpful and friendly. Yhe rooms are separate from the pub and are quite new. Our toom was cold at first as the radiator was turned off. The toilet was dufficultvto flush and we could only get lukewarm water from the taps. Ourvfriends had the same problem with the flushing but did get hot water. They could not empty the bath and had to use thr shower in the next room. The food was good both for the evening meal and breakfast.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2022

10/10 Excellent

Graham

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazzzzzing!
Excellent stay, accommodation very comfortable and warm. Staff extremely friendly, efficient and professional. The food and service in the pub was outstanding with an introduction to a local stout!
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

8/10 Good

Gary

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Place to stay
Great place to stay. Good food and beer - rooms very comfortable away from the pub
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

8/10 Good

Ann

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable accommodation
Enjoyed our night away whilst having a tour of Chilford Hall. Comfortable room & pretty village setting in a traditional style inn.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Dominica

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hinxton mini break
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021

6/10 Okay

Kevin

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Red Lion
Lovely bungalow type annex set in a pub garden. Comfortable quiet and cool with small skylight above the bed letting in evening breezes Unfortunately room let down by little or no hot water, tried to have a shower on arrival but could only get cold water Could not get any hot water through the hand wash basin Then on morning of check out we got hot water. Very Odd Also the toilet flush was very difficult to operate I think the bellows mechanism needs renewing my wife was unable to get it to work The restaurant is part of a very old nice pub and very nice We had our evening meal and breakfast at the property and both were presented nicely although if you like a hearty full breakfast I would recommend asking, We were served an adequate breakfast but consisted of just 1 rasher of bacon 1 small sausage a little measured pot of beans 1 hash brown and small portion of button mushrooms Comically and not sure if intentional or mistake our large pot of tea contained just one T bag We did not want to spoil our stay by complaining as overall we enjoyed our stay Compared to a lot of other places we have stayed this was a little expensive and a little remote if you like to browse Please be aware we took a taxi into Saffron Waldon but had great difficulty getting one back at 19.00 on a Saturday night
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Peter

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Cosy old pub, with modern rooms.
Lovely building. Very cosy pub.Rooms are separate so no pub noise. Slept so well I missed breakfast!
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Fabulous fusion of traditional English pub and modern, luxurious accommodation.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
the inn was located in an idyllic location and I expected it to be dated however quite the contrary was a modern contemporary accommodation. The bed and pillows were so comfortable and the property and bathroom squeaky clean. Staff were very friendly and helpful and the food at the inn was really really good. Will definitely be visiting again. Thanks for a lovely stay.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Cecilia

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very nice, helpful staff
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Dominik

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

8/10 Good

Michele

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A very enjoyable stay at The Redl Lion inn
We enjoyed an overnight stay at The Red Lion Inn as a mid week break in February. The evening meal eaten in the bar was a very good standard and there was plenty of choice. We were offered the chance to eat in the restaurant from either menu but it was such a nice atmosphere in the bar that that is where we remained. We were impressed by the size and cleanliness of our room and bathroom. The weather was very good so we were able to enjoy the pleasant gardens and watch the doves. There was an excellent choice of teas and fresh coffee in our room with the kind offer of fresh milk in a jug should we require it. The room was also agreeably quiet. Breakfast was of a good standard and adequate portions. We would certainly return in the future.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Last minute booking a little bit pricey but room was nice really tasty breakfast
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

Lisa

Nice spot, great food, lovely pub.
We chose this inn for its convenient location to Duxford. The room was nice, the decor was soothing (great color on the wall in room 6). I can imagine the courtyard is quite lovely in spring and summer. The bed was comfortable. The shower was a tad bit awkward-but I’m learning shower enclosures in England are in themselves awkward.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Last minute booking
Booking was last minute, late at night after mix up with another hotel booking. Very warm staff, even offered to have chef stay back late so that I could have a meal when I arrived. Lovely facilities - only irk was the TV light so bright when on standby that it lit up the otherwise beautifully dark room and so I found myself having to stand on the bed to turn the TV off at the plug in order for the room to be dark. Would have been much easier had the plug been a bit lower, but then again I am not that tall and the light might not have bothered most people. Breakfast was lovely and the accommodation was very characterful and welcoming. would definitely stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

8/10 Good

alan

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice rooms and great breakfast
Nice rooms attached to a pub. Great breakfast, only gripe is that the room has lots of cobwebs above the bed....not good to look up at!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Beat, east yorkshire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely surroundings, great accommodation
Lovely venue, great food and drink and staff were very welcoming. Accommodation was great,
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018

6/10 Okay

Ruth

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Room comfort
Disappointing
I was very disappointed with my stay. I booked a room in what I thought was an old country pub with history and atmosphere, however I was shown to an annexe which was soulless and just like any other hotel room. I wouldn't of minded but the room cost £136.00 which was a complete rip off. The evening meal was very average and the breakfast wasn't great with over cooked eggs and under cooked sausages
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017

10/10 Excellent

Justine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Work stay
Such a lovely stay I ate in the restaurant and the food was amazing

6/10 Okay

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Room was lovely and so was the breakfast. The evening meals were terrible. I am a vegetarian staying for three nights and there was very little accommodation for that.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness

8/10 Good

devin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Convenient hotel for Cambridge and surroundings.
Great country style accommodation with great bar food and restaurant, nice atmosphere and friendly staff

10/10 Excellent

Joanne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Modern and freindly gem of a B&B
Beautiful rooms, lovely friendly staff and great food. Anywhere that eggs benedict is included in the free breakfast is always going to get 5 stars from me!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice new rooms
The restaurant in the pub is open for limited hours at breakfast lunch and dinner, so check this beforehand - but the food was lovely and the staff (although busy and not around much) were very helpful and nice when you managed to get hold of them. Room was brand new, excellent ensuite bathroom, warm in winter, good size. Overall was a lovely stay.

4/10 Poor

CATHERINE

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Over priced and uncomfortable mattress
I think this hotel is well over priced. The wine fridge at the bar was broken so the Prosecco was served warm with ice in the glass. The mattress was uncomfortable and we didn't have a good nights sleep.. We stayed in room 7. The service at the hotel for dinner was extremely slow and it took 1 hour to get our starters. However when the food was delivered it was very good. Our wifi wouldn't work. I did not rate this hotel and I wouldn't stay here again.

8/10 Good

Ivor

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice place with good beer and breakfast (and a shouty chef)

10/10 Excellent

alan, Nottingham

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
gret stay , great food
A great quite hotel based within a superb pub. Great food and the rooms are at the rear of the site meaning that they are very quiet (apart from the dove cote !)