Crazy Bear Hotel-Beaconsfield

My wife and I had been really looking forward to our stay at Crazy Bear Beaconsfield, especially given the reputation of the area and what we expected from the brand. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of expectations from the very beginning.

Prior to our visit, we were affected by a serious data breach involving the hotel’s systems, which led to fraudsters attempting to contact us and access our money via phone and text. While Crazy Bear did formally acknowledge the breach, the response felt minimal and dismissive, amounting to little more than a brief apology, with no meaningful reassurance or follow-up.

On arrival, things didn’t improve. We turned up just 45 minutes early and were asked to pay an additional £20 to access our room ahead of check-in time, which felt unreasonable and set a poor tone for the stay.

The room itself was extremely disappointing, particularly as we had paid for an upgrade. It was visibly tired and in need of maintenance, with several cracked mirrors, damaged pipework, and a bath that was scratched and worn. Overall, it lacked the quality and attention to detail we had expected and certainly didn’t justify the upgrade.

In summary, the entire experience was underwhelming and nowhere near what we had anticipated. There are clear issues here that the brand needs to address, both in terms of customer service and basic upkeep. Sadly, we won’t be returning anytime soon, and I would recommend others consider alternative options for a trip away.

So sad to have to write this. We have amazing memories of the crazy bear and we’re so excited when my mother in law booked for us for my partners bday present (kid free for the night). We deliberately upgraded to the top room to have a superking bed as I have a major shoulder issue and my partner has a bad hip.

Reception were lovely, we arrived early and had some drinks in the bar. They told us our room was ready but it was £25 to check in 30 mins earlier. Strange. We were in the bar so declined and waited to pop our bits in at 3pm. Upon checking the room, it was a smaller bed. They said only two of those rooms with superking and couldn’t change us. Very disappointed and should make this clear online. We were in room 2 facing the street which was noisy and window seemed like it had a large breeze coming through. Leak in the bathroom and very tatty looking. The bed was sock hard and we barely slept.

Lady with the braids who served us at the bar was miserable unless chatting to her mates. Sadly she “served” us again for breakfast the next day and was pretty rude.

Breakfast…. Truly expect a hot breakfast when you pay the amount of money this hotel costs. Nope - choose some pastries etc off the menu which took over 35 mins to arrive even though the place was dead.

Sadly the Thai restaurant which used to be amazing was a huge let down. Set menu was pre cooked and zero flavour. Came out within three mins off us ordering. Staff were lovely though.

Was asked about our trip when we left and shared our disappointment. They just said, sorry have a safe trip home. Absolutely gutted to have experienced this as it’s always been so amazing. I’d prefer to save my pennies and book a premier inn and visit a beautiful restaurant than return to crazy bear. If anything changes we would love to come back. But pretty disappointed at the level it is at the moment with the money and time spent.

BIRTHDAY STAY - TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT We used to frequent The Crazy Bear but the last time we visited was approximately 2022 as we moved house. We thought it would be great to book in again for my wife’s birthday and travelled 90 minutes to get there. We purchased a Groupon voucher but upgraded to the ‘decadent’ room which was the most expensive (and their best room available) so paid £299 for bed, evening meal and continental breakfast. What a disappointment! The old style had gone, all the animals had gone, and so all the quirkiness was no longer! The communal areas were still opulent but it has lost all the things that made it ‘crazy’ that unique appeal! We were disgusted by the bedroom and the bathroom. The copper bath was tired, pealing and now stained, the sink in the bathroom and the mirror were disgraceful, limescale and disfigured mirror stains and the copper basin very deteriorated. The mirror wall tiles many of them severely cracked, the windows in the bedroom have a plasterboard blocking them (which is the back of the restaurant) so no light can get in whatsoever (room no 7) plus all you could see is a drainpipe and hoarding. The coffee machine didn’t work, so we couldn’t even have a coffee in the room and the least there could have been a biscuit! The bed wasn’t even that greatly comfortable. Premier Inn mattresses much more comfortable! The food was a choice of 4 mains we chose the salmon and duck, but the choices were very limited. The portions were small and the meal offered was a 2-course meal. There were no extras like bread and when we left the restaurant we were both still hungry. Luckily, we had some snacks we had brought with us (crisps and chocolate) as there wasn’t even a biscuit to have with the coffee (although it wouldn’t have mattered, I suppose because the coffee machine didn’t’ work so we couldn’t make ourselves a coffee as they were those little pods! Overall, a complete disappointment. Rated a 5 star?? It might have been 5 or 10 years ago, but we have frequented many hotels across the globe and the UK and for £299 for a night there is much better on offer! We were going to return for afternoon tea and bring some friends for their 60th birthday but after this experience it’s a no for us and we won’t be returning nor would we recommend again!

Myself and my friend stayed here for my 50th birthday. Room 14

We couldn’t get parked and called the hotel for help, only to be told there is free parking everywhere. Yes it may be free but where?

We checked in and were taken across the street to another building, this wasn’t apparent upon booking, to a random air bnb traffic cones behind bushes. Carpet needed a good cleaning and we had a graveyard as a garden. Snug room more like bruise your body lose a toe bang your head. Room

We went for cocktails waited outside in whats meant to be a pool area. Mmm. 10 mins later no drinks. My friend went to look for the bartender only to have our drinks pointed at, at the end of the bar. Just left there….. luckily I took a trip to the toilet and it’s so dark I nearly took a tumble, couldn’t find the toilet door, pulled a curtain back and nearly walked into a wall! No I wasn’t drunk! girls were in the toilet and told me a lot of people have accidents one woman had cut her head so badly had to go to A&E. (Her mum works there)

We bought two more cocktails and halfway through girl came over and said I forgot to light it to give you the experience. Bless her she tried to light a sugar cube that was halfway down the glass…. It’s so dark

On booking the hotel knew it was my 50th. I’m sitting wereing a bloody badge saying 50 and darling fried gave me a pink sash saying 50 (tied that to my bag)

There was nothing. No happy birthday just nothing!
We came back after being out for dinner had a few more cocktails chatted with other guests and went back to our room.

Around midnight we called reception enquiring about food. Yes they had stopped serving and it took over 20 mins for manager Louise to advise I walk to a kebab van! Yeah a woman in an unknown area being advised to walk to a kebab van. I have nothing against kebabs but no. I asked and asked for where was near for deliveroo and was told it’s not company policy. I called again, ignored. Called again, ignored and I ran across the street to reception in my dressing gown. Herself and companion were so rude I said nothing and walked back in my dressing gown across the zebra crossing past the traffic cone into the lobby that stunk of cannabis. !

We hardly slept due to the poor aircon and the windows didn’t not open. I was up and down all night but was extremely respectful of other guests.

We attended breakfast roughly 7.30am and paid for a late checkout 1pm. I wanted to give it another chance. Yes our previous room was rubbish, and yes the night staff were seriously put out at having to work. £343 decadent room. £50 late check out.We decided to give the crazy bear another chance and booked a larger room in the main building for that evening.

At 12.50 We took the room key to reception asked if they could call us if the room was free earlier. We were going for lunch and some fizz and were told. ‘Yes absolutely no problem’!!

2.15pm I received a call from shane something. I thought great our rooms ready we can take the cases back and really have a lovely day……..NO

He told me we were not welcome due to ordering cocktails at 11 am rude to staff and upsetting all other guests in our block. . They also had to compensate all other guests in our block due to the noise. I was in absolute tears. Louise expected me to drive after having drinks with lunch. Shane threatened me. Other guests got involved at the poor behaviour of the staff, two of which had been Compt for a previous visit. Shane is so unbelievably hostile. Louise just doesn’t listen.

So Louise eventually agreed to pay for a taxi to another hotel and a return. Here’s the best bit
I got a message through on my phone just after 3pm. Our booking had been cancelled at 9.34am and they took our late checkout 1pm out fee. They only told us 5 hours later. Humiliated us infront of others guests and fail to see the error.

We weren’t loud. We had the door open now and then due to poor ventilation but were late 40’s and 50. We’re not raging party animals. So 10 rooms didn’t make a call during the noise but instead all rooms did it on check out?? The hotel knowing we were still in our room as we had paid for a letter check out didn’t bother advising us, no they left it 5 hours.
We checked at 3pm when we arrived at our new hotel and the crazy bear was fully
booked!!!!!

If we had been so aggressive and drunk surely we wouldn’t have been served alcohol.
I’ve never stayed anywhere like this. Not a positive.
It was my 50th birthday!
I have asked repeatedly what time all the guests complained. Louise didn’t know. Hadn’t checked the logs????

I am currently speaking to Anna who has been completely professional to try and resolve this. Unfortunately though it’s happened

We had been planning a visit to the crazy bear for a long time and finally got around to it this weekend. I booked a 'Decadent' room for my wife and I for a night away to ourselves and as a little treat for our 50th birthdays.
Upon arrival, it was clear parking was an issue, but we managed to get a spot outside the hotel.
When being shown to our Decadent room, we noted the bar area and we were disappointed to note a number of people in there wearing dirty tracksuit bottoms. Not the clientele we had expected.
On our way up to the room, i was hoping (from the pictures we had seen) to have the 'wow' factor. The room itself (Room 2), although pleasant, was well, a little but 'Meh' to be honest. It cost £430 for the night. But we quickly realised it was a hugely over inflated price for what we actually received. It was clean, spacious and decorated well, but the mirrored tiles in the bathroom were cracked and broken, curtains were not hanging correctly and there was a draft coming through, tea/coffee making facilities were poor with no snack selections and not mini fridge. At £430, I expected more by means of facilities. There was a leak from the ceiling dripping next to the toilet, limescale all around every water outlet, and the lighting was confusing to work and the room too dark. So much so, I whacked my knee on the bed post and cut it!
The bar area was ok. We expected more opulence however. Dinner was ok-ish. We had planned to get dressed up for dinner, but quickly realised that amongst the other guests and lack of dress code, we would have been severely overdressed. So didn't bother. As my wife said - eating a cheese burger in a posh frock didn't really feel right!
The staff were friendly and welcoming and service was good.

Overall, it was a disappointment. If the room had of been £200, I would have still questioned why it was so much, but it most definitely wasn't worth £430!
Will we be coming back to stay again?? Absolutely not. More amenities in a premier inn at a quarter of the cost!

Myself and my husband stayed for one night and had dinner in the Thai restaurant. The food was nice, not excellent.
All staff were polite and well spoken.
I was a bit disappointed that the decor wasn't as good as the photos or compared to the other hotel.
The room was nice but the tap in the bathroom ( room 9 ) was just dribbling out and the sink was too far forward to catch the water properly when washing your hands. You couldn't use it to fill anything quickly and I feel this was so you would purchase the bottled water.
I was looking forward to using the bath but the water came out so slowly and was boiling hot so I gave up on it. Not sure I would book again for the same price.

We recently stayed at the Crazy Bear Hotel and had a fairly mixed experience.

The staff overall were very nice and welcoming during our stay. However, when we shared some feedback at checkout, the response felt quite defensive, which was a little disappointing.

One of the main issues was the “Snug” room. The photos online are quite misleading and make the room appear much larger than it actually is. In reality, the space felt very cramped and somewhat claustrophobic. I’m not a tall man, but I still managed to hit my head multiple times getting out of bed due to the low ceiling and tight layout. While the bed itself was comfortable enough, the room simply didn’t feel worth the price we paid.

The pool is another feature that looks very appealing online, but unfortunately didn’t live up to expectations. The pictures suggest a vibrant, open space with seating and a lively atmosphere, but in reality it felt quite the opposite. The water was freezing cold and the area lacked the ambience the photos imply, so I wouldn’t recommend choosing the hotel for this feature alone.

On the positive side, the Thai restaurant was very good, the cocktails were excellent, and the massage was also a highlight of the stay.

Overall, the hotel has the feel of a quirky boutique property that became popular and then tried to maximise space by squeezing rooms in wherever possible. We were told there are around 35 rooms spread across multiple buildings, and we weren’t even staying in the main hotel but across the street.

In summary, there are some enjoyable elements here, but for the price point we expected a lot more — particularly when it comes to the rooms and facilities matching what’s advertised online.

I have wanted to stay at a Crazy Bear for a long time now, but have never got round to it, but finally found the right time to stop by on the way to the Cotswolds.

The reviews are not amazing, average below 4, but surely this can’t be right. Nope. It was wrong. No way would I say that it warrants that high a mark.

The room we stayed in was damp, it smelt damp from the moment we got in and let them know. They didn’t do anything about that.

The WiFi and TV didn’t work. Had to call someone into the room. Met with the comment “it is a known issue in this room”. Then fix it!!!

The shower was not hot. It was like warm. It was pointless having a cold tap. You would never use it at all. We called someone out. And were told the boiler would be rebooted. And had to wait. By 11.15pm the water was still not hot. The following day, the same.

Tile on the bathroom floor was cracked and loose. It will cut someone’s foot. They were not bothered when o told them.

Thai food. Pretty bland. Had to send a dish back as there was no flavour.

Breakfast in the morning. Meh. Poached egg looked hard boiled.

Attitude of the management. Poor.

However , after complaining they have given me a staggering £35 refund.

There is a reason it is rated as the 5th best hotel in the village out of 5.

Save your money people. Head someone else where the hotel is better and the staff want to be there.

Would of got a higher rating if we managed to get some sleep, frustratingly as much as we loved the room and had a great experience, we struggled sleeping due to a loud dripping noise coming from the ceiling into the bath. It was very frustrating and we barely got any sleep. Myself I was in and out of sleep all night due to not being able to sleep during the sound. We tried placing towels in the bath to muffle the sound but actually made it worse.
I feel slightly more frustrated due to the fact I actually paid extra to stay in the top room (descendent) and felt like I couldn’t even enjoy it.

We also had to travel a few hours there and back and made the drive unpleasant on the way back home due to lack of sleep.

However we had food at the Thai restaurant which was lovely
I like the quirky vibe however I would not pay the price I paid to stay there again.

My only moan was the lighting (or lack of) in the room. I understand and enjoy the atmosphere of the lighting but it would be good if it was adjustable. The staff were great and the food top class so would definitely return and recommend

My husband booked a one night stay here through Wowcher, as a surprise, which included dinner, 2 x glasses of champagne and continental breakfast. Upon arrival by car, although the pretty town was fairly busy, we found a place to park opposite the hotel itself for the entirety of our stay. There are quite a number of parking places/areas you can park for the night, all free of charge. Upon checking in at reception we were shown to our room. (Room 7) . The first and most noticeable thing about the room is how very dark it is, this may have something to do with the fact that the only windows were three small oval shaped windows which you could not see out of as they were blocked on the outside by walls which were lined with plasterboard! This made me feel very claustrophobic from the word go. The lighting could not be turned up at all to brighten the room in any shape or form. Having said this, I completely understand that this was part of the "ambiance" overall. But it would be nice to have had a choice. I myself, am not a big makeup wearer, however if you are, be prepared for not really being able to see what you are doing! Overall the room was, in our opinion, rather on the small side and the completely padded walls, floors and ceiling gave us the impression that we were in a padded shoe box, apart from the mirror on the ceiling above the bed! There was a lovely (well used) copper bath at the end of the bed, which apparently was filled by the ceiling tap, but we did not use this. The bathroom was at the end of the room, door being a heavy draped velvet curtain. This was mirror tiled throughout, but unfortunately a large number of the tiles were cracked with numerous large cracks and clearly needed replacing/refurbishing, again the bathroom was very low lit. We had our glasses of champagne seated at the bar before dinner, which was quite a nice atmosphere. We had the choice of eating from the two restaurants, English or Thai, but unfortunately the English was closed on this particular evening (Wednesday) so we had to opt for the Thai, just as well we love Thai food! The food and the service in the Thai restaurant were very good indeed! Our breakfast in the morning was booked in for 9.30 and it was not busy at all. The choice of continental breakfast was very good and the service again was very good.
We wouldn't book a stay here at The Crazy Bear again, as it wasn't really our 'cup of tea'. Overall in our opinion the whole place needs a good refurb as there are so many things that are looking tired, or as in our room things that need to be fixed or attended to, which is a shame as it is such an old lovely building and could be tip top! As my husband says, the only way to describe this hotel is "MARMITE" :)

The hotel does state it’s a bit unusual which is fine. But for £342 for room only we were not expecting tiny cramped rooms (we tried 2) that you accessed by leaving the hotel and walking down the street / across the road to one of their 9 buildings. More like an Airbnb.
Some would say beautifully furnished and yes a fortune has been spent but so blingy.
Rest of hotel was cramped / overfull.

We had the most amazing time at The Crazy Bear, we were shown over to our room which was number 23. I had opted for the Romance bundle and a bottle of rose champagne which went down a treat! The sharing steak was delicious along with the Chi Chi cocktails. All staff were so friendly and really went above and beyond. Cannot wait to book another stay!

Had a lovely time, the staff are so nice, the food was lush and super cocktails thank you.

Room 47 (across the road!)
We arrived 1/3/26 & were greeted warmly. We were early so were offered an early check in if our room was ready. for an extra £25. 45 minutes before the confirmed check in I received a call saying we could now go our room for £25 - in hindsight we should have waited & put that £25 towards the exorbitant drinks prices.
We were hugely shocked when the receptionist started taking us out the hotel door, up the street, across the road, down the street to a door to a street house. She took us upstairs to ‘our room’. It is not stated on their website or in any correspondence, that the Crazy Bear Hotel Rooms are scattered all up & across the road!!!!! There was no outside light by the front door & with a very uneven pavement that is an accident waiting to happen.
The room was so dark - decadent not! You didn’t walk in there & feel a sense of luxury or wealth. Everything was black - no oppulent accessories or colour that we could see at that point. The room stank of a very stale odour - the sofa stank too. Which by the way needs replacing as the seats tilted back when you sat down which was so uncomfortable. The leather has worn at the bottom making it look so shabby. The tiny wardrobe in the room only held 2 dressing gowns - no other hangers.
The bathroom was lovely & no complaints from us there. That was luxurious, except for the build up of green scale in the rain shower head - maybe that was the decadent part!
The chalk build up on the shower head & the ceiling tap for the bath in the main room was disgusting & very visible even in that darkness. The dust in the air con unit was absolutely shocking - filthy & thick masses of dust - a health hazard! The air vent in the wall was old, cracked & again dusty. The room was so stuffy but we didn’t want to use the air con due to amount of dust sat in there, so we had the windows open which let in all the road traffic noise. There was a huge gap under our main door so we heard a saw shadows every time our neighbours came in or out so we felt a huge lack of privacy. It was so noisy.
Not that the reservations team would have known but I buried my sister last week so when we opened the blinds to our room to look outside there we were struck with a church & cemetery. My husband took me away to get away from all that. Horrid view.
Staff: are amazing - so polite, attentive & professional 10/10.
Food: incredible - we had the 12-plate Thai tasting menu - it was faultless & staff attentive.
Breakfast was continental but really good. Plenty to eat, as much as you like but this is continental - if you want a cooked breakfast this is an extra charge!
Would we come back? No, for the price that you pay there is far better elsewhere. It’s very expensive to go & drinks are extortionate. The rooms need updating as they just look tired & smelly.
All in all a great disappointment.

Stayed here for my partners birthday. The room was abit dated and dark we had problems with the lighting. Walking round with our phone torch. Lights above the bath didn’t work. The staff tried to fix them gave us another lamp still didn’t really help. The bar and the thai restaurant was nice. The staff was helpful in ways but the hotel does need a spruce up in areas. Carpet up the stairs need attention not really worth the money you pay for it.

Absolutely amazing. So different and lavish was a great setting for our 20yr wedding anniversary.
One feedback would be there was no light into the dressing table or bright enough light into it so couldn’t do your make up in there.

My partner and I had an overnight stay here Fri night, absolutely superb.We have stayed at the Oxford venue before which is fabulous but this one is definitely "glitz and glam", we stayed in Room 29, really spacious, spotlessly clean,. We ate in the Thai restaurant , the meal and service was excellent.
Staff in the hotel are a credit to the hospitality sector.
We hope to return in the future.
Many Thanks for a splendid stay.

Luxury in every possible way. Towels and bedding were equally sumptuous quality.
Staff well trained in customer service to enhance our excellent stay.

Sarina have us great customer service throughout the whole night. She explained every dish and made us feel so welcome. She really made the whole experience 10x better. Thank you Sarina, you’re amazing :)