Meet by Tony on arrival and we could book in early. Took our dinner choice and showed us up to our room. Room was family room which was large and spacious. The room was clean with bath and separate shower. Dinner was very tasty especially the dessert. As we were on ghost hunt at the prison, getting back at 0300 was no problem. Breakfast was just as hood as dinner . Would book again.
Steve Parker195 days ago
Just arrived and met buy the owner and he seems very nice. You have to pre order your evening meal so it will be ready for when you have booked your table.
We had a great meal the food was great
I have seen some reviews that state the host is unhelpful but we have found the owner could not be more helpful also he has a great dog
We had the full English breakfast and that was also great
My wife says she does not like the room as it feels creepy but I think its very good
It is only a four minute walk the the prison in Shepton Mallet
To the town is only a five min walk but get there before 3 as almost all of the shops where closed
Thomas Murphy195 days ago
Had a great time with my family. We couldn't of felt more welcome at the dust hole. The food was amazing breakfast was included with the room and dinner was pre booked for the evening which worked well for us. The food was seriously good. The bar in the evening was very nice with a good atmosphere with an open fire and people playing boardgames and chatting away. Super close to shepton mallet prison so if your doing anything there at night really easy and close to get back to your room. Thanks Tony for a great time at the dust hole and we will hopefully see you again soon
Sara226 days ago
Where should I begin? To start off, parking is an issue for this establishment. We ended up being told by the owner to park behind other guests (blocking them in) after a local resident complained about parking in the street. We were then greeted by the owner, who has a serious attitude problem when it comes to running his business, and his 'guard dog.' I understand the need for security, and we appreciated that he did warn us prior to seeing the dog, however it was let loose around the courtyard of the hotel and was obviously aggressive. Barking and bearing it's teeth to the guests certainly wasn't very enticing, nor was it very family-friendly (we had two young children with us). Now for the hotel itself. A building full of real potential, it has been kept true to it's age and by the looks of it, quite well looked after. However, it is so out-dated and cluttered, you'd think you're walking in to an episode of 'Hoarders' from the 1930s. The rooms were okay, certainly needed a lick of paint and refurbishing. The bathrooms had no hot water (sort of defeating the point of having a bathroom in the first place) but were reasonably clean. The bed linen and towels were lovely, clean and fresh however the room needed a good dusting and just more TLC in general! The owner smokes in the hotel receptions and corridors, so even if you're given a special "non-smoker" room, you will still be woken up by the lingering smell of tobacco. The bar has a lovely open fire.... but no staff. The owner seemed to have a strict bedtime of 8:30PM, meaning the hotel was left derelict and all the communal areas were shut up for the night. The welcome booklet you're left in the room states that fresh milk was available from the bar at any time, however soon realised it was a 'fend for yourself' situation. We came across the kitchen. All I'll say is I didn't feel too good about eating breakfast there the next morning, but we did succeed in the hunt for milk. I was extra vigilant when it came to serving myself breakfast, and noticed that over the two mornings we were there, the butter dishes weren't cleaned (just with fresh butter put back into the dirty dishes), crumbs left on the tables from one morning to the next, I don't even think the floor was swept. One thing I can't speak for was the quality of the food, I didn't eat anything cooked; only the cereals and toast that I served myself. I did notice that most things were from Aldi or Lidl, and I have seen other reviews stating that he tried to 'pass up' Aldi ready meals as his own homemade food, but please, take this with a pinch of salt. The owner, Tony, if you are reading this, you seem somewhat reasonable, but you're sarcastic attitude and disregard for customer needs certainly worked against you. Some people might like it, I definitely did not. The hotel really does have a lot of potential, and from what I've seen, I think some rooms have definitely been kept to a better standard than others. (We had booked four rooms in total and two of them seemed much better kept than ours) However, the prices are all the same and this makes it quite the gamble when you're booking here. For the money we paid, and the experience we had, I would certainly not recommend this hotel to anyone.
Becky Turnbull287 days ago
Absolutely fantastic! Tony is an incredible cook and host, we cannot thank him enough for such a great stay!
J G348 days ago
Beautiful old worlde inn/hotel. I believe they are only open to hotel guests but the food alone was well worth the stay. The ‘guard dog’ is vocal but a lovely old boy once you’re past him.
Christopher geoghegan1 year ago
This is usual hotel pub. The food and hospitality were great, Tony is a great, knowledgeable host.
David Hull1 year ago
Great place to stay. Tony is a great cook, and is a treat to chat with. Spent many hours sat by the fire with him,during our stay. Room was quirky,oldy worldy,but clean. Suited us perfectly. If you want a sterile, dull hotel chain room, this is not the place for you. Will definitely be going back.
We had a great meal the food was great
I have seen some reviews that state the host is unhelpful but we have found the owner could not be more helpful also he has a great dog
We had the full English breakfast and that was also great
My wife says she does not like the room as it feels creepy but I think its very good
It is only a four minute walk the the prison in Shepton Mallet
To the town is only a five min walk but get there before 3 as almost all of the shops where closed
We couldn't of felt more welcome at the dust hole.
The food was amazing breakfast was included with the room and dinner was pre booked for the evening which worked well for us. The food was seriously good.
The bar in the evening was very nice with a good atmosphere with an open fire and people playing boardgames and chatting away.
Super close to shepton mallet prison so if your doing anything there at night really easy and close to get back to your room.
Thanks Tony for a great time at the dust hole and we will hopefully see you again soon
To start off, parking is an issue for this establishment. We ended up being told by the owner to park behind other guests (blocking them in) after a local resident complained about parking in the street.
We were then greeted by the owner, who has a serious attitude problem when it comes to running his business, and his 'guard dog.' I understand the need for security, and we appreciated that he did warn us prior to seeing the dog, however it was let loose around the courtyard of the hotel and was obviously aggressive. Barking and bearing it's teeth to the guests certainly wasn't very enticing, nor was it very family-friendly (we had two young children with us).
Now for the hotel itself. A building full of real potential, it has been kept true to it's age and by the looks of it, quite well looked after. However, it is so out-dated and cluttered, you'd think you're walking in to an episode of 'Hoarders' from the 1930s. The rooms were okay, certainly needed a lick of paint and refurbishing. The bathrooms had no hot water (sort of defeating the point of having a bathroom in the first place) but were reasonably clean. The bed linen and towels were lovely, clean and fresh however the room needed a good dusting and just more TLC in general!
The owner smokes in the hotel receptions and corridors, so even if you're given a special "non-smoker" room, you will still be woken up by the lingering smell of tobacco. The bar has a lovely open fire.... but no staff. The owner seemed to have a strict bedtime of 8:30PM, meaning the hotel was left derelict and all the communal areas were shut up for the night. The welcome booklet you're left in the room states that fresh milk was available from the bar at any time, however soon realised it was a 'fend for yourself' situation.
We came across the kitchen. All I'll say is I didn't feel too good about eating breakfast there the next morning, but we did succeed in the hunt for milk. I was extra vigilant when it came to serving myself breakfast, and noticed that over the two mornings we were there, the butter dishes weren't cleaned (just with fresh butter put back into the dirty dishes), crumbs left on the tables from one morning to the next, I don't even think the floor was swept.
One thing I can't speak for was the quality of the food, I didn't eat anything cooked; only the cereals and toast that I served myself. I did notice that most things were from Aldi or Lidl, and I have seen other reviews stating that he tried to 'pass up' Aldi ready meals as his own homemade food, but please, take this with a pinch of salt.
The owner, Tony, if you are reading this, you seem somewhat reasonable, but you're sarcastic attitude and disregard for customer needs certainly worked against you. Some people might like it, I definitely did not. The hotel really does have a lot of potential, and from what I've seen, I think some rooms have definitely been kept to a better standard than others. (We had booked four rooms in total and two of them seemed much better kept than ours) However, the prices are all the same and this makes it quite the gamble when you're booking here.
For the money we paid, and the experience we had, I would certainly not recommend this hotel to anyone.