First let me tell you that I haven’t miss-spelled ‘Complete’; the hotel uses the original English spelling of the word, taken from Isaak Walton’s 1653 guide to fly fishing, to tell one that parts of the hotel are 300 years old.  It’s gradual expansion over the years has created a rabbit warren of corridors and stairways to access its myriad rooms, each of which is named after a different ‘fly’; ours was called ‘Squirrel and Orange’, no. 55, an ‘Executive Room’ which was a decent but unexceptional size on the 2nd floor, with a lovely view of the River Thames as it gets ready to cascade over Marlow Wier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m usually nervous about emergency evacuation from ‘rabbit warren’ hotels, but I was satisfied they had well-signed escape routes.  And it should be noted that The Compleat Angler has been officially rated as 4 star by the AA – you might not realise it, but in the UK many top hotels self-rate.

Their promotional literature refers to the rooms’ “stunning ensuites” but the only thing that stunned me was how narrow the bath was. It contained a shower with incredibly poor water pressure and it was so narrow the (provided) anti-slip mat was too wide for it, curled over, and and became a trip hazard! But the heated floor and Motlon Brown toiletries were good touches. Towels were of a good quality.

Even though we always sleep with a window open, and we weren’t far from Marlow Bridge, we found the room to be very quiet and peaceful. The standard of painting and decorating, though, was not great.  And being an old hotel, its wooden corridors creaked when walked on, although we were never disturbed by this and I hope no-one was disturbed when I walked past their room.

For me, the bed and pillows were too soft, but I accept that’s personal thing and not a reason to criticise an hotel, as long as the bed looks clean and in good shape.  However I found the room too warm, even with radiators turned off and a window opened. And I was disappointed not to have any drawers for my clothes. Maybe they only want guests who stay for one night?  There was a Krups coffee machine, but, remarkably only three coffee pods to go into it. The mini bar didn’t have fresh milk, so I drank my coffee black.  Soft thick bathrobes were provided, but no slippers, because the bedroom was carpeted and the bathroom had underfloor heated tiles. We received two 330ml bottles of mineral water each day; I would have preferred more, given how warm and dry I felt, so tap water had to do as there wasn’t any water for sale in the mini-bar.

Breakfast was included in our room rate and was served in their Riverside Terrace room which overlooked the weir’s maelstrom.  There was a small selection of ‘continental’ items on a buffet and one could order cooked dishes from the menu. Proper barista style coffee was served, but I was disappointed by the UHT juices on offer.  And I was sooo thirsty!

Other than breakfast we didn’t eat in the hotel, because we’d come to Marlow to eat Tom Kerridge’s fayre. But we could have eaten in their Riverside Terrace or in a modern Indian restaurant, Sindhu by Atul Kochhar. The receptionist on our first night told us Sindhu had a Michelin star, but that was wrong and a misrepresentation: while Mr. Kochhar does have a star, it’s for a different restaurant, Benares, in London.  Apart from this one slip-up, I found all of the staff I came in contact with to be excellent, showing keenness to serve and to please, knowledgeable about Marlow, and warm and friendly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Compleat Angler is a world-renowned quintessentially English independent hotel in an equally famous and beautiful setting beside the Thames.  It’s facilities are “classical” and restrained, not modern and brash, and I found myself feeling comfortable and very much “at home”.  Overall 8/10

Two nights in February cost me £299, which I was perfectly happy with.