The Speech House Hotel

Beer goes flat within 2 minutes and £12 for 1 glass of wine are you kidding , absolutely no signal in the area aswell. Rooms are reasonable for the price but very dated. I'd rather travel further afield than ever stop here again

We had our wedding day at the Speech House Hotel on Saturday 28th June, and overall it was a beautiful day. The venue looked absolutely stunning and we received so many lovely comments from our guests about how gorgeous everything was. The setting was perfect, and we really appreciated the effort that went into making the day run smoothly. However, there were a few disappointments that did put a slight dampener on things. I was quite upset to find that our outdoor Jenga, which we had paid a significant amount of money for, wasn’t even put out on the day. It was something we’d really looked forward to our guests enjoying, and it simply being forgotten was very frustrating. I was also extremely disappointed to be charged £40 on the day for the postbox — this felt unnecessary and could easily have been offered as a goodwill gesture, especially considering the amount we had already spent at the venue. Additionally, we had paid extra for sides such as coleslaw to go with the hog roast, and these were not supplied and due to a error in email we didn’t receive the roast wine, as this was missed off are bill. Another issue was the dismantling of our wedding cake without anyone checking with us first. This felt rushed and quite disrespectful, especially as we had plans for it and weren’t given the opportunity to say otherwise. We had borrowed the chair covers off my sister in law, which she had done so many weddings there, but when we get them out the box they was all damp and wide range of them missing. Then a couple of the young boys, that were the evening staff was seen to have been throwing items of are’s across the room, also seen ripping up are table number photos, these were personal photos that I had made myself. This was addressed and then we had been given the blame for not getting them out the bag. Finally, while many of the staff were lovely, a few individuals’ attitudes left a lot to be desired, which was disappointing on such a special and emotional day. Despite these things, we had a truly wonderful wedding overall. The venue is beautiful and the setting is magical. With a bit more attention to detail and communication, it could have been absolutely perfect.

The first thing that you notice as you get out of your car in the rear car park is the smell of sewage. I guess that they have no mains drainage and the septic tank / sewage system is not able to cope with hot weather. The staff throughout our stay were welcoming and friendly. Beware of the dog friendly courtyard rooms , they are very basic with no carpets, poor quality mattress and small TV. Our room backed onto a function room. Two days before we arrived we were told there was a wedding on the Saturday in the function room. We said we understood and know that hotels are a business that has to earn a living. We were not told our room backed onto the function room and were kept awake until midnight by an extremely loud disco. The hotel could have offered us a room on the other side of the courtyard. I did complain by e-mail on the Sunday morning but my complaint was not even acknowledged - a small refund or offer of a complementary meal or something would have been nice. Now to the food served in the restaurant. I will start with breakfast - generally good but how can you cook mushrooms - four days running that are actually HARD !. Evening meals were OK but no more than that two / three stars at a push. One evening they had a group in the verderers restaurant and all of us in the other restaurant waited ages for the meals we ordered. One couple opposite us waited nearly 3/4 of an hour just to get drinks they had ordered. The hotel seems to have a shortage of kitchen staff and in my opinion the chef tries hard with posh sounding names for the food / specials board but does not have the skill set or adequate help to meet customer expectations. Best thing about the hotel is its' great location.

Our second visit in 10 years! We love this hotel. We treated ourselves and stayed in Room 4 this time!!! The staff are lovely. Our room was very clean. The bed was gorgeous. Pillows just right. We ate in the restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Cooked to perfection. Amazing walks straight from the hotel. We will definitely be back.

Visiting this hotel is a delight from start to finish. Reminded of the country hotels you read about in novels. Fabulous setting in the Forest of Dean. Beautiful building filled with character and history. Rooms and bathrooms well presented, clean and well maintained. Staff friendly and helpful. Food is absolutely excellent. Whole experience very enjoyable. Will definitely return. Highly recommend for quality and service. On my list of favourite places to visit.

Stayed here for a week whilst attending a training course. It wasn’t awful, but wouldn’t be somewhere I could recommend or go back to. The room I was allocated was on the top floor and it was uncomfortably warm. No air conditioning and fan did little to help. Couldn’t keep the windows open due to the noise from the busy road next to the hotel. Room could have been cleaner, bathroom in particular could have done with more attention. Breakfast was okay, but understaffed and so couldn’t serve anything other than standard filter coffee. Lunches were good. Evening meals were not great, very repetitive menu and some strange experimental cookery going on. Overall, if I needed somewhere to doss down for a night and I had no other options I would reluctantly book in.

Went here today for the first time! Have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food we were talking around the table and saying how isn’t often you go to a pub/restaurant and the roast dinner actually has flavour. This roast dinner was to die for the gravy was totally mouth watering and I would love the recipe for the Colly flower cheese 🧀😉. The service was decent. The interior is really what gives it the one of a kind experience (Henry 8th hunting house and court room). Loved the history and gardens great place to go with the family for a special occasion. I thought the price was very reasonable considering the quality you pay for! 10/10 well done guys.

Very comfortable and accommodating. Good dining and great service.

We had made a reservation for dinner at the Severn and wye smokery and the week before thought it would be nice to stay nearby. I’m not usually this last minute but after some deliberation I booked ‘the speech house’. Its website looked impressive and the reviews weren’t bad, also there’s not much choice in the area so it seemed like a good find. It is a historic building in the Forest of Dean, I was a late booker and that being said I had little choice but to book a superior suite at £275 bed and breakfast. Firstly, the area is beautiful. We’re from Bristol and familiar with the area but driving deeper into the forest was an experience. The hotel is easy to find on a main road , it is a historic hunting lodge with newer /converted lodges and annexes. The hotel was busy and the car park full. Upon entrance it was apparent that we were some of the youngest resident there (in our min forties) We had a nice, prompt welcome and were directed to our room (4 ) which was upstairs in the main house. First impressions of the room were good. A sumptuous four poster with plentiful seating in keeping with the period feel. Furniture also suited and what was remarkable was some of the electric plugs - very 'vintage'. We had a beautiful bay window . There was an adjoining room with a desk, a wardrobe and an adjoining bathroom. The bathroom was visually appealing with good white goods, obviously recently refurbed but to be honest the finish was badly out of keeping with vinyl floor and plastic marble effect shower panels instead of the tiling I would expect of this sort of establishment and price. The over bath shower was good and functional but the screen leaked as there was a seal missing from the middle third of it. Having spent £275 what I would have really liked to have seen was a fully tiled bathroom in fitting with the period. Bonus points would have been given for a free standing roll top bath in the adjoining desk room which in my mind didn’t do much to enhance the living space- it could have been all one large sumptuous bathroom. These additions would have made this room luxury and brought it up to the standard I would expect for a room of this price. After our fantastic meal out out we had some wine in our room - unfortunately no glasses were supplied and it being late we didn’t ask. Also, there was no fridge which is frustrating when spending this amount of money. Still not to worry. We did have a lovely sleep (luckily traffic tailed off later in the evening - it had been a concern earlier .. I know, listed buildings etc are very hard to sound proof due to protected Windows..) What really let us down was everything from deciding to have a coffee. The tassimo didn’t work in our room -it would not pierce the cartridges no matter what I tried . I’ve fixed these machines many times at work and never had this particular issue. After many tries we had a weak cup of tea (the instant coffee not being to our taste) anyway, we were to go to breakfast so my nice coffee would surely be forthcoming… I put our bags in the car and returned past what would be the Orangery restaurant- I spied a bean to cup machine on the bar as I went past which whetted my appetite for the elusive coffee. Upon entrance to breakfast in the restaurant there were few tables laid- I'd say the restaurant looked a little tired with fabrics that could have done with freshening up, a couple of staff were about but not forthcoming so I bumbled about around the tables while my wife started plating what turned out to be self service hot buffet food- It could have been clearer when booking that this would be the case but the price was reasonable given the addition to the room cost (should there really be a seperate fee for a £260 ish room? ... there's an argument to be had both ways). Frustratingly as further guests arrived they were directed to tables, offered coffee and tea and explained the menu and that specific hot food could be ordered (damn..) I listed keenly to the conversation only to hear that coffee was self service from a large urn. Like a rective dog my triggers were gradually stacking. And this particular trigger was purely caffeine based. Further things to note were the guests having to ask for hot buffet food and Juice to be refilled. Sometimes there would clearly be several things needing doing at once but they would be missed until highlighted and not checked at the same time as a refill of other items was occurring. There didn't seem to be a lack of staff and I can only think that the staff we saw covered the Orangery as well. Now, there were several things we could have raised at the time but all this adds time and stress to the day. I wasn't going to wait for a coffee machine to be replaced or to be bought a special coffee if I'd made a fuss. I completely understand the costs associated with refurbing rooms so can understand things being done that looked good but were cheaper but would expect a room of this standard to be better equipped . It must be a neverending job but carpets and fabrics in the public areas we frequented could definitely do with being updated- our room carpet was quite tired and worn although the rest of the room was suitable. Finally - The hotel clearly has an older client base - either that or special offers are being pushed on a partiucular demographic -when we checked out we raised our gripes over the coffee machine but it was just noted and no apology offered. Frustratingly the lady on reception was in the process of explaining bath disabled access to what I imagine was another elderly guest on the phone. Other staff were nice and friendly but this dismissiveness seemed a bit off. All in all this hotel definitely has something to offer certain clients - the premium aspect could do with some work though if that area wants to be explored.

Beautiful old hotel, very friendly staff and great food located in beautiful area