The Izaak Walton Hotel

Avoid, a once beautiful place (used to go here in the 90s) but it is now sadly on its last legs. The rooms are spacious and clean, but very tatty and not what you expect for £160 a night. The WiFi didn’t work. We were told they don’t do food anymore but that we could order an Indian meal from their outside cateres. We did so, and were told to come to the bar at 19:30 to have the meal. We arrived at the bar, got a bottle of wine and waited, and waited and waited… by 9pm we had drunk too much to drive safely, so we had no choice but to carry on waiting. The food finally arrived at 22:15, cold and with some of the order missing. We ate it anyway as we were ravenous by then, it was mediocre at best and ridiculously over-priced. Breakfast the next morning was a bit better, at least it was on time, but poor quality, cheap ingredients and badly cooked. Such a shame to see a once splendid hotel come to this. On a brighter note, the staff were excellent, trying their best in an impossible situation, so hats off to them

The hotel only appears to be open at weekends and there was little or no provision of an evening meal. I had stayed here last year with my husband when the food was great. This year I had stayed with my sister in April whilst walking the Limestone way, when we had a very good meal in the Dovedale bar.
However,apparently the chef left earlier on in the year and they have had locums since. This week's evening chef had not turned up.
There was a chef for breakfast but the whole thing felt very basic and the hot food provided was not exactly what was listed on the menu.
On the plus side, the rooms are spacious and clean, the views are fantastic and you can do lovely walks from the door.
Overall, I would not visit this hotel again unless it improves as it didn't feel good value for money.

This hotel is in a lovely setting near the stepping stones . Staff are nice and room was no nice , breakfast was nice , only downside was there was no food on in the evening only an Indian caterer coming in and we didn’t want Indian so had to go off site to eat which we didn’t want to do. After a long drive !

Location was perfect & the hotel looks nice, although needs a bit of updating. Breakfast was very limited especially if a person doesn't like cooked breakfast, there wasn't anything else to eat apart from 2/3 types of cereals.

To take a shower was an absolute nightmare as the shower head & knob was very old. Water pressure was awful which meant I couldn't stand under the shower head so I had to do everything single-handed. A quick shower turned to a very long one!

Cleanliness was not great as spiders & spider webs were in many places of the room.

Heating would not come on when needed as they set it a timer for it

Reception never answer the phone whenever we rang, when we go to reception there were 2 people there!!

Good-sized room with lovely view. Good hot breakfast.

The location of this hotel is awesome. Waking up with the view of the hills is very special. The room was comfortable and the food was good. There is a mild air of under-investment throughout the hotel and while the staff were perfectly pleasant to us, they did seem a bit overwhelmed at times. Overall though we enjoyed our stay and would stay here again.

Stopped for lunch but the menu offered in the bar area was much reduced and very different from that on the website.
The cutlery was dirty and had to be returned and overall the bar area is tired and gloomy.
Disappointing experience and nothing like portrayed on the website

We had stayed here many years ago and loved hiking around the hills and then coming back to the hotel for a beautiful dinner. This is no longer true. The hotel is tired, very short staffed and the food is "ok". Dinner was not in the beautiful dining room as advertised on the website, instead in the dark bar. Jodie was the only staff person that was friendly and very helpful but she was new and didn't know all of the details yet. Breakfast was a lukewarm buffet. The hiking is still wonderful. The hotel has been sold so I hope the new owners turn it back into the jewel it used to be.

Lovely location. Good bedroom. Poor bar with very poor choice and disappointing restaurant.

However good this hotel used to be, it certainly is not now.
For it to trade under the auspices of 3 AA Stars and a two AA-rosette restaurant is a
misrepresentation, and our arriving for a four day stay with the expectation of a
quality dinner each evening was rapidly shattered.
After waiting for eight minutes at check in whilst the receptionist on the phone
arranged for her car to be mended and transport arranged for the following day, the
only apology and welcome we received was ‘name’ and ‘you’re in room **’, together
with ‘You need to pay in advance’ On asking about Dinner we were told it was not in
the large dining room but in a room at the back of the hotel. No mention of a menu at
this stage.
The room was categorized superior, clean but basic, with two tea bags and two
packs of biscuits on the hospitality tea tray. Petty and confusing notices on display,
left us unsure whether room service would happen at all, and thinking that we were
only to ask about fresh towels after three days usage.
At the bar we asked for a sample dinner menu for the evening and were shown a bar
menu, which would be liable to change as a new chef was due to start that evening.
Unexpectedly, meeting the incoming chef at the reception desk as we left the bar, he
informed us that he had only just arrived and would have a new menu ready in a
couple of hours when he had ‘seen what was in the fridges’. True to his word the
menu was ready two hours later, far more comprehensive than the bar menu, and
later remarkably executed considering the time he had ‘Thank You, and Well Done,’
All food and drink needed to be paid for by credit card, no cash and no putting on the
hotel tab.
Unfortunately, the improvement did not extend to breakfast, which was basic tinned
fruit and a bowl of yoghurt, sliced bread (without tongs) and cold greasy cooked food
because the plates and tureens were not hot. Miniature pots of a well-known
preserve, with labels and paper seals removed from the jars but not the lids, had
been refilled, we were told with sweet marmalade from a large container. Surely this
is a hygiene and deception issue.
After speaking with the waiter who agreed with us, we took our complaints to the
receptionist who firstly went to speak with someone ‘behind the scenes’ and then
told us that we should put our complaints into an email. When we insisted that we
wanted to speak with a manager she told us that the duty manager would be coming
to stocktake in the afternoon but was unable to supply a name.
Not getting anywhere with the receptionist we spotted an older woman speaking with
other staff and clients and entering the private areas of the dining room and
reception areas.
When she returned, we asked her if she was a manager/ owner. but without
answering us directly, she told us to put our complaints into an email as she had a

meeting to attend. When we answered that that was not satisfactory, she told us that
we should not speak to her ‘like that ‘as she was a consultant paediatrician and that
we should leave.
As she stalked off, we followed her to a room where she then claimed she was a
visitor and was having a meeting. The meeting turned out to be with someone
dressed in a tabard – possibly a housekeeping staff member, who asked us to leave
and claimed that she would ‘find a solution’ to our problem. Our solution was to leave
immediately with a full return of our prepayment, which was achieved with a little
difficulty
Clearly this hotel is in trouble and is contemptuous of its clients’. It is hiding behind
some of its employees and is employing evasion tactics to deal with complaints. At
least two of its employees admitted to being told not to identify hotel managers to
hotel clients. However, Companies house records soon expose who the owners/
managers of this hotel are and that we had spoken with one of them despite her
having an identity crisis. No wonder the hotel is up for sale.
Meanwhile, we can only concur with and add to the many negative comments made
by other travellers on Trip advisor. If you don’t want to risk having your arrangements
ruined by inconsistency, often poor food, indifference, unacceptable behaviour and
contempt we suggest giving this hotel a miss until some caring new owners/
managers are able to restore its former reputation.

The views of Dovedale were superb and the position of the hotel idyllic with easy parking.
Dinner and breakfast were not high standard and the only waitress was rushed off her feet.
Generally pleasant and helpful Staff.

Hardly any staff...toilet in room did not flush...had to use bar toilets..despite us paying a lot of money for a "superior room" breakfast was awful on first morning
Second morning even worse..appeared to be leftovers heated up ftom previous day....would never go back

Very quirky and dated needs a complete refurb. Great location

Booked on Booking.com and requested late check-in as we were flying into Birmingham after work on Friday 18th July and driving up. The booking was accepted but then I received a blunt refusal from the hotel for the late checkin. The hotel wouldn’t answer the phone or respond to VM or email and Booking.com were similarly unable to contact them. We had to pay for another hotel for the Friday night as the Izaak Walton wouldn’t engage and we had to find somewhere to sleep after our flight. We proceeded to the hotel on Saturday and were told that it was all a mistake! - they could have facilitated a late checkin because they had a wedding the previous night! They apologised profusely and assured us that our booking.com reservation would be refunded - and indeed was apparently alreadycancelled on their system. However, they would need to charge us separately for the Saturday night. We paid this in good faith, however what we witnessed later that evening was an indication of what was to come. Sitting in a corner of the bar we heard management discussing who to cheat! “You can’t cheat Peter, we need him but don’t pay Ashgates”. Perhaps unsurprisingly after this, we received no refund, and the hotel won’t engage or reply to emails. So in effect, we paid for 3 nights for a one night stay. It’s a shame because the Izaak Walton used to be popular for Sunday lunch for my family in the 1980s. It was always an elegant hotel in beautiful surroundings. So it’s really sad to see that it’s descended to this. It’s clearly on its last legs, (we even heard staff talking about jobs they were applying for) so maybe after it finally collapses it will be bought by someone who will run it competently and honestly again. In the meantime, I would suggest, it is best avoided.

As others have said dated but clean. Hot water ran. Wifi was good.

Problem was food, there was no cooked breakfast and only basic options for toast and cereal. Someone mumbled that the chef had worked late the night before so hadn't come in. But would they let food sit there in fridges and go to waste? Another guest had said it was the same the day before. And breakfast started at 8.30.

To be fair, unlike others, our meal the evening before was pretty good, not great chips but one of the best steaks I've ever had. So they can go from 1 to 2 out of 5. But still, there are't enough staff - although they were friendly and trying.

I think then if you look at recent reviews its a bit inconsistent and difficult to know what you're going to get. Check companies house to see if its changed hands, it is for sale.

But perhaps if you can get a cheal deal, it might be ok.

Full Breakfast , location excellent for walking
Bedrooms big historic hotel

Restaurant closed and no other in village. We were not told about this despite booking on the morning of our stay.
Breakfast very poor, poor sausages,lack of eggs, my wife did it get gluten free bread despite prior notice.
Room on ground floor no sound proofing, people upstairs sounded like they were in your own room.
We have had lovely stays here before so very disappointed.

Great location in Dovedale. One bedside lamp was broken

We stayed here last year and the staff were different and a pleasure to be around.
The food was much better last year and there was more choice.
The hotel needs a makeover in our opinion

Awful menu choices,only in the bar area not the restaurant. One man running around doing everything,hence,the very slow service. Food was cold. Breakfast was worse,there was a permanent cry of "no eggs" staff were kind but not up to catering for a hotel full of guests. Shower was noisier that a pnematic drill and when using it there was tap no water! The TV didn't work as a TV only as a radio in the morning . The cups in the room were dirty.Beautiful views ! I came a few years ago and can't imagine that it will still be here in another couple. Running on a shoe string,about to snap!