Six Bells Inn

I'm frankly amazed by the number of 5* reviews that the Six Bells has received! I'm giving it 3 and that's really only because of the friendliness of the staff. In all other respects I found it overpriced and deeply disappointing. Our bedroom was cold on arrival and we had to turn on the radiator. The bathroom had an electric blow-heater fixed to the wall. The shower was ineffectual and less than clean. The only shampoo or shower gel provided came in the form of two tiny plastic sachets of 'hair and body wash'. The towels were small and had seen better days. There was no hairdryer and no wifi available in the room, though apparently there was access in the main building. The whole place was old, tired and had a distinct 1970s air. Having said all that, the bed was comfortable and we slept well, particularly as the place was so quiet. Breakfast was ok, if underwhelming.

If I was going for a meal, then I wouldn't hesitate to give this place 4 stars, but to stay, well, that was a very different experience. The rooms are clearly in a converted stable block. No issue there, but seemed closer to its original use than as a nice place to stay. First impression was not great - I'm all for rustic/distressed look, but this room just came across as more shabby - less chic. Not sure if the furniture was meant to look as it did, but it really did not look good! Little things like missing curtain hooks, making them hang all squint, poor finishes etc, raised my hackles a bit, then the cleanliness issues became apparent... Big obvious cobwebs on the curtain poles and dangling from the ceiling indicated the level of cleaning that had been performed. Then the bathroom... the ceiling fan had clearly never had a quick vacuum, and the soap tray was not pleasant. Also in the photos is the questionable electrics situation! The bed itself was spotless, and it was a bonus that there was a spare blanket... I tend to run quite hot, but I kept my down jacket on when in the room, as it was uncomfortably cold. The shower room has no radiator, but there is an electric fan heater on a timer, once you can figure out how to get it going - I used this to try and heat the room in general up. The soap tray aside, the shower was disappointing - somewhat akin to walking outside on a misty day. A suggestion would be to have refillable shampoo/soap containers, as the couple of sachets (confusingly kept in the main room, rather than the shower room) didn't go far. To have no hand soap available was also not ideal/hygienic. Evening meal was perfectly adequate, as was the breakfast, and staff were friendly and welcoming, but the stay in the room was possibly the worst I have had in decades of travelling. Sorry, but I just could not recommend.

Monday 5th September 2022, We drove up to Bardwell to the Six Bells Inn, which was to be our home for the next four nights. The Six Bells Inn is a perfect country escape and is set on the edge of the village green near the duck pond in the pretty village of Bardwell. Dating from the late 15th century, the Six Bells Inn was enlarged in the 19th century and again in the 20th century. The pub offers a character full blend of old and new and is totally surrounded by countryside. The Six Bells was used in the filming of several episodes of the famous TV series ‘Dad’s Army’. It was used for the following episodes – ‘Ring Dem Bells’, ‘Wake Up Walmington’ and ‘All Is Safely Gathered Inn’ The Old Barn and Stables (now the bedrooms), were also used in the series. We were greeted by Paul, the owner of the Six Bells Inn and given a warm welcome and given the keys to our rooms. Jackie’s Room No 1 and Our Room No 5 were situated in the stable rooms which surrounded a pretty flower be-decked courtyard. Ours was a large room with a four poster bed with white cotton sheets and duvet with gold cushions and gold bed runner. The decor of the room was a soft cream and white. The room had cream and beige curtains. The furniture was warm pine wood with a lovely dressing table and seating area, which was in keeping with the lovely old world decor of the inn and had a large flat screen television. Our shower room was done out in black, grey and white with modern style bathroom fittings. It had a walk in shower cubicle with lots of lovely hot water and white fluffy towels and complimentary toiletries. Mark and I unpacked and settled in. We then rested on the bed and then we then later dressed for dinner. We then met Jackie and went to dinner. We were then served to a nice meal in ’The Six Bells Restaurant’; we had a nice cosy table for three which overlooked the garden. The décor of the restaurant was old world with dark timber beams and white walls with pictures and mirrors. The wooden tables were all laid with white tablecloths, shiny cutlery and there were flowers on every table with lovely comfortable red upholstered chairs. Our waitress for the evening was Polly who was very friendly and very professional in everything that she did, and nothing was too much for her. Jackie, my husband and I were given menus to peruse and there was a small but very nice selection of meals to choose from. My husband drank IPA bitter, Jackie had a lemon and lime drink and I drank chilled Aspinalls Cider with our meals, the food was delicious. Jackie, my husband and I for our starters had the flat garlic mushrooms with a cheese and garlic crumb top and served with a nice fresh side salad, which were delicious. The starters were just the right size to get the palate started and was a good start to our meal. Jackie for her main course had scampi served with salad and chips and served with a tartare sauce dip. For his main course my husband and the chicken in a port