The Speech House Hotel

We have stayed at Speech House for a few years. In the house itself and with our dogs in the Courtyard. This last Christmas 2025, for the first time we stayed for the Christmas package and what a magical time we had. Well structured few days, amazing food (never hungry) we were well cared for.
Speech house is family run and feels homely. All owners, staff & team are clearly happy in their work, it feels like a very supportive environment. Not forgetting Chef who offers amazing food, pride in the presentation.
We highly recommend a stay at Speech house, enjoy the setting, grounds, aboretum and of course the forest with great walks. Relax and be cared for !
It's our 'go to' happy place, where we feel calm and recharge.
Huge thank you to Naomi and team. See you all soon.

Wonderful couple of nights in speech house, situated in the heart of the forest of Dean.we had a lovely room in the cottage(num 26)that had a separate seating area .We had dinner in the orangery both nights great choice on special boards, food was of the highest standard and so was breakfast both mornings.
Staff super attentive eager to please and very friendly. Absolutely loved our stay and will be back soon.

Disappointed- afternoon tea booked month in advance for 20 -
Finger sandwiches- where was the filling ??
Cream - not clotted but whipped double !!!!
Utensils to eat apple crumble- missing
Advise - dont bother not worth it - and im local
All I hear is people who attended asking what was our opinion as they thought it was rubbish too.

Great location, tired decor. Staff while polite need training. The rooms are ok and are serviced each day, car parking a little erratic, with no allotted space, there was always a space.

The bar staff, are a little inattentive and are generally not aware of residents, I was asked very loudly, more than once to prove my room number.

I would stay again but only because of location.

Sunday lunch was not the usual standard I have come to expect from the Speech House, the menus was very small just to choices of meat Beef and Pork, I had the Beef, and even though it was how I like it (pink in the middle) it was very chewy and the whole meal was quite cool, the veg supplied was not great, a couple of sprouts tiny bit of green cabbage, a couple of sugar snap peas, lots of red cabbage, and some cauliflower cheese, on the plate was three large roasted potatoes (which was quite dry, a couple of bits of carrot and parsnips. The service was second to none, nevertheless the whole meal very disappointing, and the lemon sponge pudding is not worth a mention. In the past I have had nothing but praise for The Speech House but unfortunately on this occasion very negative, therefore would not recommend their Sunday lunch.

Four of us thoroughly enjoyed our lunch today in the Orangery.
We were extremely well looked after by Sue and Jayne.
They are clearly professional, knowledgeable and polite members of waiting staff. What was even better, their cheerful, friendly and happy manner made us feel very welcome.
Well done Sue and Jayne. We look forward to seeing you again very soon.

We stumbled across the speech house after a walk in the Forest of Dean on New Year’s Day and Emily, Becca and Jayne were so accommodating in sorting out lunch for us. The best tomato soup we’d ever tasted and delicious sausage rolls!

We stayed in a courtyard 4 poster for our Christmas Package.
The room was clean, comfortable and in good order.
We enjoyed the Christmas entertainment and activities, in particular Clearwell Caves and the Lydbrook brass band on Christmas Eve.
The food was very good throughout and the service was excellent. Your staff are a credit to you and we appreciate them.
Thank you 😀

Spent Christmas as the Speech House. Amazed to read two other reviews praising the hotel so highly. My husband and I had a four poster room in the Courtyard. On arrival the room was dirty with cobwebs on the framework of the bed which had obviously been there for some time. There was also a plumbing issue with the toilet (
( the plumbing issue was sorted out the following day). The cobwebs were also removed the following day). The rest of the room was dusty and again had obviously not been dusted for some time. The food was not good and the turkey dinner was barely edible. Luckily my daughter had a room (in the cottage) which was clean and the plumbing worked. To say that the restaurant offered fine dining was simply not true. On a positive note, the entertainment offered was excellent and we really enjoyed this aspect of our stay. Having travelled and lived in several different countries around the world perhaps our experiences have been different to others staying in this hotel. We had stayed here some years earlier and had really enjoyed or stay at that time but this visit simply did not measure up. Would certainly not recommend a stay here. Surroundings are wonderful though.

We had a great 3 days over Christmas at the Speech House. The programme of events was excellent, friendly and inclusive with lots going on and opportunities to meet other guests and get to know them. We had walks in the Forest, a coach was laid on to take us to midnight mass and music and dancing. The food was fantastic and abundant and all the staff friendly and welcoming. Very good value for money too. We will definitely be returning.

Stayed here for their inclusive Christmas break package. Wonderful Food. Really good staff. Amazing attention to detail. Would recommend unhesitatingly to anybody

My husband and I stayed here for 2 nights this weekend with our dog Ruby.
We had a wonderful stay - it’s a lovely country hotel and just how we like it.
We first came here last year for a wedding and decided back then we would return with our dog as we knew she would love running through the woods right across the road and also in the enclosed field backing onto the hotel-ideal for early morning and nightime toileting for her. Although the hotel provide a dog throw and towel - we also brought a stack of our own and covered everything in the room as we knew how muddy she would get!!
The food is great and there was plenty of choice for myself- I follow a vegan diet.
But what REALLY stood out for us are fabulous staff employed there!!
Shout out especially for Emily, Jayne, Adrian, Meg and Suzanne and also the guy from Melbourne- sorry I didn’t catch your name! They all went above and beyond to make us feel truly welcome and Ruby adored them! So lovely to meet staff who truly enjoy their job!
We will definitely be back again next year!
Thank you all.

It’s 1:38 am and i am wide awake thinking why on earth did i not just book an Airbnb instead of this dive. After reading several reviews I'm intrigued to see what snide comments the owner will reply to my review, but here goes..

The entire hotel is in drastic need of renovations and a good thorough clean. New mattresses. New carpets. New baby beds. New appliances. A course of mold treatment, perhaps. For nearly £200 a night i expected far better.

To have so much black mold in a room where a child is staying is abhorrent. Theres no way you can excuse this, sort it out.

The 4 poster bed is far too small, both mine and my husbands feet are currenrly hanging off the end, and one wrong move and one of us is going to fall 5 feet onto the (stained) floor. I also have my 1 year old sandwiched between us, as the crib provided was covered in unidentifiable marks and the ‘mattress’ inside it was about as padded as a piece of cardboard.

Doors arent sealed properly and the floor is very old and thin, so you can hear EVERYTHING. Our room is next to the stairs so every time someone walks to their room you can hear every step and their entire conversation.

The heating was also broken but stuck on full blast, so we had to get maintenance to come and resolve the issue.

Ordered room service which was OK, generally lacking seasoning and way too flouncy with the ‘microgreens’. Dishes did seem like they had been prepared earlier in the day and simply reheated when ordered, though.

Will not be returning, will not be recommending.

A return visit after 50 years — we had a lovely time then, and a lovely time this time too. Nothing is too much trouble for these people though they didn’t fix the weather! My wife described the atmosphere as ‘faded grandeur’ with old fashioned service, no little extras charged for, one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a hotel, and the sense of being with people who care. A bit ‘shabby without the chic’ here and there, but a wonderful few days at a very fair price for a large room. Great.

I have never used Trip Adviser to write a porridge review before but reading the reviews and their replies on here I feel that I must share my experience. A group of 5 friends went to this hotel to celebrate the 60th Aniiversary of our meeting at Teacher Traing College and we were made aware before our arrival that wedding was going to taking place on one of the days and that we were lucky to get rooms at all as the venue was fully booked. We were allocated our rooms for which we had all been charged identical sums. One person was in a suite and two others in a sweet cottage with views of the forest. One was in an accessible room as she has mobility issues and I was in a very small twin with views of an air-conditioning unit or some other mechanism. My room was right next door to the wedding venue and I was not only kept awake by the music but people were gathering outside my room to smoke and chat. Later in the evening the language used by the guests was quite offensive( and I am no prude or party pooper).
My shower was faulty and the television took up the entire space of the dressing table. The hotel was shabby, the veneer is badly chipped on the tables in the dining room and apart from the staff the place was very disappointing. When I complained on checkout, I was told I should have asked to move rooms, but on check in we were told they were full, so where would I have been moved to? Why was my inferior room the same price as the suite? Despite my first email getting a reply dismissing my complaints I have heard nothing since which is just rude. I would not recommend this hotel ever

We stayed here for two nights to take part in the Forest of Dean Trail Half Marathon which starts in the adjacent field.
I dont know where to start with compliments but I think the staff is the greatest asset here. So genuinely helpful and friendly and that was during an extremely busy period.
The food was excellent during our stay. We tried both the Orangery, which is very pleasant, light and airy, and the Verderers. The mackrel starter in the restaurant was particularly good. One our second morning we had a perfectly cooked full breakfast served in the restaurant. If the hotel is full they do buffet service but on quieter days it is cooked to order.
Our room 3 on the first floor was spotlessly clean and the bathroom looked newly refurbished with a nice rainshower over the bath. Lovely towels and plenty of hot water. Good wardrobe space with sufficient hangars. Plenty of sockets with USB ports for chargers. The radiator had a thermal control which was great to have the room temperature to suit us.
From our experience here I would recommend this hotel and would definitely stay again.

Really enjoyed our time here, 2 nights but could have absolutely stayed a week. Beautiful base to explore the surroundings. Comfy bed, beautiful architecture, food and staff were excellent. Looking forward to returning

Great breakfast and evening meal, however breakfast on our last day was very dissapointing, overcooked eggs and clearly a different chef from the previous day. The hotel states light cleaning is carried out during your stay but our bed wasnt made and the dirty cups not cleaned. We found this very dissapointing, the only thing the housekeeping did was empty the bin and refill the tea bags, we would of much preferred the bed making. We had a junior four poster room in the main building it was very comfortable and spacious. The hotel has an old charm about it and is situated in an ideal position for exploring the forest of dean. The staff were all warm and welcoming and we would stay here again if in the area.

Stopped in for a drink on a long walk. The Bar staff were helpful and friendly. Place looks clean and toilets were clean. They have a lovely little outside seating area. We didn't eat there but the food we saw coming to other people looks very well presented.

Beautiful place, with excellent staff.
We were unluckily because they celebrate weddings and we arrive with a wedding on-going.
The music was fine (not too loud) the guest were fine, normal noise for a wedding.
The kids fron the wedding were under our window, playing shouting and screaming (normal for kids) but it was very late night and very early morninig so we did not have too much rest.
We will come back but we will make sure is not a wedding day.