The Admiral Hornblower

Fancied a stay near Rutland Water before walking the circumference and settled on the Hornblower. A really nice place bang in the heart of Oakham with great links to the surrounding area. The room was really comfortable and the bed tremendous. The pub offers a lovely choice of food and we didn't need to venture too far from the place in order to be well served for our stay. Thoroughly recommended.

Stayed over for business - wonderful character to the pub with the outbuilding transformed to accommodation , however the heating was at its maximum and I had a very uncomfortable night with the windows having to be opened. Not usually a fan of Greene King establishments , however the beer wasn’t too bad , my only issue was the food . The starter of garlic mushrooms on focaccia was tasteless , a hint of garlic but no seasoning The beer battered fish and chips was huge but the tartar sauce again needed some punch to it. Breakfast seemed bland also with the highlight being the toast

The accommodation was very pleasant enough. Very small room, no drawer space, could not access wi-if and parking was extremely limited. I booked and paid in advance for a room with breakfast but the service was appalling. We ordered two cooked breakfasts at 8.30 am. We received tea and coffee but after waiting 50 minutes we had still not received and had to leave as we were going to my brother’s funeral and had to meet other members of my family at 9.30 am. I am not in the habit of complaining but I had a very long and harrowing day ahead and a seven hour drive home afterwards so a good breakfast was essential. On checking out the waiter said he would sort it out with the manager. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to discuss it further and my husband was extremely annoyed. I emailed the hotel with this complaint the following day but so far have received no response at all.

Another great stay in the Hornblower, staff and management are very good, stayed many times and cant fault the place and right in the centre of Oakham, with anything you need only a short walk away, food always of a high standard and breakfast will set you up nice for the day.

Very friendly and helpful staff made sure that our stay was excellent. Exceptional breakfast with top quality fresh components including delightful little wrapped pats of local butter. Good car park at the back of the hotel. Hospitality tray with Highland Spring water, variety of Twinings tea bags etc and plenty of milk capsules.

Enjoyed a two night stay with family and highly recommend. As per other reviews the staff make it. Great service and helpful even when we were locked out of our room! Lovely breakfast included. Good location despite carpark- tip- ask for the separate postcode! Tip- kitchen closed mid afternoon. Beer garden nice and relaxing

Decided to stop at the Hornblower for a couple of nights on way back from Devon as we had stopped in for a drink on a previous visit. So pleased we did. The room we had, number 1, was great. The food, both breakfast and dinner was exceptional and the overall ambiance of the place we felt was great. What made the experience truly lovely though were the staff. Everyone we met were incredibly friendly but in a very natural way. All were very attentive and made you feel quite special. Great place, great people.

This pub is definitely going down hill. The summer menu does not include fish and chips - the best in Oakham and neither are the famous pies available - the best in the UK. I tried the burger, what a mistake, it was some sort of meat ground up with herbs to a paste like consistency. Any decent cook should know the a burger is made from 100% beef and not ground but minced. This used to be the best pub in Rutland it has a great location and ambiance.

We paid for a premium en-suite room, the room was in a converted loft space. As a result although appearing to be spacious the head room on three sides of the room was limited. The natural light was provided by four skylights and two tiny side windows at floor level. There was a larger window at the bottom of the stairs opposite the bathroom that overlooked another roof. The blind on this window was damaged. The blinds on the skylights were poorly fitted and semi-transparent and therefore did not provide any blackout. The furniture was tired and the drawers on the bed side units fell out when opened. The bathroom ceiling was papered and painted. The paper was peeling in several places. The emergency lighting as positioned in such away as to cast light into the room rather than downwards creating a strange ethereal glow when other lights were out. One of the bedside lights was damaged and dangerous. There was a small selection of cereal, three fruit juices and filter coffee available for breakfast with a selection of warm dishes. The food served at other times was a selection of local variants of “pub standard’ food. Although showing Wi-Fi was available it was low quality and available for any pub user, if they wish to offer Wi-Fi there system needs to be updated and specific range proceed for guests. Parking was on a first come first served basis and available to people dining at the pub and staff so limited at times. In general expensive for what it is.