The White Bear

Centrally located with easy access to dining and parking, ideal for Cotswolds exploration. Exceptional service from friendly staff, spacious and clean rooms with comfortable bedding. Delicious breakfast served by friendly staff.

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!

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.