The White Bear

This was the Inn place to go in Shipston only 5 years ago, on my last visit, so it breaks my heart to see how absolutely awful it’s become! Rooms, passageways are dirty and in awful condition and staff seem totally demoralised, plus the beer was cloudy and had yeast in the bottom of the glass, a clear sign of dirty beer lines. No staff appear to be staying overnight and no information on fire evacuation or emergency contact, which is illegal. No offer of breakfast available as no one on site before 10am and no information on where to leave keys on departure, despite no staff to hand them to. Our room had new flooring but unfinished with lining sticking up against the walls(see pictures) Definitely the worst hotel I’ve stayed in and even a Britannia Hotel would be an upgrade on this place, and they’re the worst hotel group consistently!

Me and my friends had a girls weekend and it was such a treat! We were on a tight budget so we decided to stay at the White bear and we cannot complain. The rooms were nice and tidy although the walk upstairs was quite steep it wasn't too bad. The bathrooms were lovely and the towels were big and soft. The owner was great he took our baggage upstairs for us and when we asked if our rooms can be next to eachother as we forgot to mention it he sorted it out! We were SO grateful. The rooms are quite old fashioned and could use a refresh but we really didn't mind. I would say it gets quite loud at night but we decided to join in the fun downstairs. Its understandable as its above a pub. It was a great atmosphere and we had a wonderful time. We definitely stay again.

I particularly appreciated the safe onsite parking, which made arrival and departure incredibly easy and worry-free. Furthermore, its good location in the village was a huge advantage, providing convenient access to everything I needed while maintaining a pleasant, local feel. The towels were large and soft Several issues unfortunately overshadowed these initial positives. We had booked bed and breakfast for two nights, but were dismayed to find no breakfast available on our second morning. The premises were all locked up with no staff around, which was incredibly disappointing. We ended up leaving our room unlocked and the key in the yale lock, as there were NO staff members on site, OR if there were they could not be contacted. We did subsequently email The White Bear, and asked for a part refund for the breakfast we purchased at a local Garden Centre. This was only £15 and represented an excellent deal, and we included the receipt detailing what we had ordered. Sadly Miro sent an AI generated response to our queries, and failed to mention anything regarding a refund, but blamed his staff “ladies” for not turning up. Upon our return to the room on Monday evening after staying Sunday and Monday night, we discovered our room had not been cleaned, or the bed made up. Dirty teacups from the previous day remained, and there had been no top-up of essential items like additional milk or tea bags. When I went to the bar to request milk and tea, I was provided with only a small jug of milk. Given there was no fridge in the room, this milk had unfortunately gone off by the morning, rendering it unusable for our tea. Furthermore, we noticed a significant safety concern: there were no evacuation instructions in the room in case of fire, which is a basic and crucial requirement. The White Bear is NOT for anyone who has any kind of mobility issue. Access to our bathroom was down three steps. Access to all rooms was up a steep winding staircase, with a worn out carpet, and sad looking handrail. Lastly, the website advertised "home-cooked food," which was a key reason for our booking. However, when we inquired about an evening meal on Monday, we were simply advised that no food was available that night. This was quite misleading and left us in an unexpected predicament for dinner. While The White Bear boasts good parking and a charming village location, the lack of basic services like a second breakfast, room cleaning, and accurate information, coupled with safety omissions, made for a rather disappointing stay.

From outside The White Bear Inn in Shipton on Stour looked like what you would expect from a country village pub, then we walked into filth!!! There was nobody to book us in. Eventually a lady appeared from the cellar and took us to our room. We were in room 5. The stairs had filthy carpets, filthy walls, pictures from room in corridors lent up against the walls that had fallen down. Trip hazard. Our room looked nothing like the photos advertised. We had a run down room, the paintwork has flaked off. Mirror in bathroom and picture just lent against wall that had fallen off and not been put back up. We decided after seeing the room we decided to eat out. On returning to our room we decided to watch TV. No remote. Went to ask for replacement to told there wasn't one. To use the settings on the side of the TV we were told. It didn't work!!!!no help from the owner at all. Poor. We had loud music outside our room until half 2 in the morning. It was so loud we couldn't sleep. In the morning we wanted to just leave but we decided we would have the breakfast that was included from 8. Surprise, surprise nobody there, just another couple disappointed, and tired as they had no sleep and claimed there room and was as awful. I rang the hotel telephone number, we could hear the phone and nobody answered. Poor!! We left our keys on the stairs as bar was locked and left. No breakfast. Avoid this pub and definitely do not book!!!

Staying the night and so pleased...Chris is working his socks off to get it back to it's former glories...such a genuine guy ...no negativity...beer is fine ..great location..good free parking...room was spacious and very clean ..and a hearty brekkie...Cheers Chris ..

Chose this hotel for a weekend break to celebrate my wife's 70th birthday. First impressions were of friendly staff and a clean room, however the photos must have been taken some time ago because the decor is tired and dated. Loud music was playing in the bar all the while and when we returned from dining out it was still going on until after midnight. Our room overlooked what was obviously the smoking area and whenever it was in use the smell came up into the room. At 1230 a heated argument ensued under our window involving women and the gentleman who signed us in. There were still people there until 1.30. This is obviously a drinking hole, for the locals when everywhere else is shut. Needless to say we did not take breakfast or stay the second night. Although the lady who took our key was very apologetic I am still waiting for a reply to my emailed complaint. I am not holding my breath. I would advise avoiding this establishment if you are looking for a place to stay for a quite weekend break.