Everything was great for my stay. Not sure why the overall score isn’t much much higher. Maybe rooms vary?! My room was pretty much perfect other than it being too hot & me not knowing until the next morning that I could have turned it down or off during the night. My own fault. (After a pub crawl though so…) Very comfortable bed. I guess it’s slightly noisy-ish on the main street but it didn’t bother me at all. I wanted the old/historic room with the low ceiling and that’s exactly what I got. Shower was perfect for me too. Very clean bathroom and very nice amenities for shower use. I ate lunch on arrival before check in and it was delicious. I had dinner towards the end of my pub crawl & the fish and chips here were so good. I have had bad fish & chips in England a lot in the past and felt lucky that wasn’t the case here. I had my 3rd meal here for breakfast the next morning. It was very fitting to hear ABBA “Waterloo” somewhat blasting when I got to breakfast after 9 am and then Tom Jones right after that. The staff was always friendly and helpful too. The breakfast woman was a character & working with two fun people hanging up Santa hats for Xmas decorations. The woman who checked me in and answered many questions was also great. Sorry I don’t remember names. She and her husband who also works there were very kind. A new staff member who had lived in Australia for two years and was new to Saffron Walden showed me to my room and she too was great and very personable and seemed to be a good fit with the others. The young guy who closed the pub area and restaurant was also awesome. He recommended places in town for what I was looking for and all recs were fun. I’m not sure how people can dock them points for insufficient parking options within the beautiful walking district within Saffron Walden. Seems a bit strict and unnecessary to be honest.

Nothing to dislike. It was pretty perfect for me. I think there is some confusion about the breakfast choices. The menu shows prices and apparently they have to have menus with prices for customers who just show up for food but if you have breakfast included you can just select anything off of the menu and other solo travelers around me seemed confused by that for their first few minutes there. The full English breakfast was delicious! I didn’t fall for the “pudding” though. I remembered to ask them to leave it off. Thought it was chocolate “pudding” the first time years ago and haven’t really warmed up to it since.

Room lovely, venue lovely and breakfast lovely and reception/ breakfast lady very pleasant. Although we really enjoyed our evening meal we has a problem getting our starters and ended up not having any. Also was told it was shutting earlier than previously told.

Although we really enjoyed our evening meal, we had a problem getting our starters and ended up not having any. Also was told it was shutting earlier than previously told so felt a little rushed. I understand this was because of the weather and they had had cancellations. Our last stay was fine with no complaints so would definitely come again.

The hotel is central for the town and market. The staff were very helpful and the food very good.

No Wi-Fi in pub or bedrooms.the pub was very cold and not a comfortable seat anywhere if you wanted to spend time out of your bedroom that only had a wooden chair. The bedroom was adequate but small, very limited space , and the wardrobe door could only open half way as the bed was in the way. No parking on site, you have to park in the nearest paying carpark

Lovely hotel & pub, full of character! We stayed on Friday night and had a really nice time. The team were very friendly and also very responsive prior to arrival which was great. The room was great, all very clean and the bedding & towels were really great quality. One thing to note, if you’re tall then watch your head, my husband walked into the lampshade in our room a few times, and some of the doorways are a little low. We also chose to eat in the restaurant for dinner, and the food was absolutely incredible! We started with the Frickles and Sausage Bites, the frickles were delicious, not too much batter and big chunks of pickle. For main we had the steak, which was cooked perfectly, and the pie, which I would 100% recommend. The dauphinois potatoes were amazing, and the things we were most looking forward to from dinner, and they did not disappoint. The breakfast was great in the morning, and the fact it was included in the room rate was brilliant! I would definitely recommend, it’s also great as a little pit stop if you’re on a big drive down the A1, which is the reason we picked Cross Keys, as it was a nice looking and reasonably priced hotel that had some character, and wasn’t just a run of the mill chain hotel.

> Great Location, 5min from Car park (Straight Road) & 10min car journye to Quendon Hall. For anyone wanting to know, it's roughly £18-£25 Taxi cost from Cross Keys to Quendon. > Rooms are cosy but FYI it's very humid although it's a graded building nothing the hotel can do about it. > Breakfast fantastic with a range of selections from hot too cold. > Hotel Reception Team staff where friendly.

> Went for food downstairs (dinner) and the woman said there closing soon (6pm) we then said we are guests she then proceeded to sit us down. Why would she deny us in the first place, she didn't seem very happy with us after. > Dinner was average, got the chicken which was over cooked and tasted burnt and the ribs where decent but nothing spectacular. > Lighting in room is pretty bad, the room was pretty dim throughout so hard for partner to do make up without natural light.

What a fabulous stay! We arrived early so was allowed to check in and leave our luggage in a secure room while we had time to have a roam round the town. When we back to the hotel the lovely Simon took our cases and showed us to our rooms, which were absolutley beautiful. We enjoyed the delicious food in the evening, being looked after by all the staff with smiles and banter which makes it feel comfortable & homely. And well as for the beds, heaven! Had a great nights sleep. Didnt want to get out of bed for breakfast but so glad we did. The wonderful Wendy is one of the best to greet you with a warm friendly smile and great personality. And must say Wendy the choice of music in the mornings be it rain or shine can only just brighten anyones day 😊 From check in to check out we were so looked after and nothing was too much trouble... We left feeling happy, relaxed and 100% sure this is a great place to stay See you soon guys for sure, keep up the good work 🥰

What a fabulous stay! We arrived early so was allowed to check in and leave our luggage in a secure room while we had time to have a roam round the town. When we back to the hotel the lovely Simon took our cases and showed us to our rooms, which were absolutley beautiful. We enjoyed the delicious food in the evening, being looked after by all the staff with smiles and banter which makes it feel comfortable & homely. And well as for the beds, heaven! Had a great nights sleep. Didnt want to get out of bed for breakfast but so glad we did. The wonderful Wendy is one of the best to greet you with a warm friendly smile and great personality. And must say Wendy the choice of music in the mornings be it rain or shine can only just brighten anyones day 😊 From check in to check out we were so looked after and nothing was too much trouble... We left feeling happy, relaxed and 100% sure this is a great place to stay See you soon guys for sure, keep up the good work 🥰

Breakfast was great. Room was comfortable and pleasant to stay in, nice decor The day manager was very helpful and attentive both with our breakfast and when he checked me in

Dinner - not everything was available on the menu which we could have been told as we sat to eat. We requested to move to a table but was told it was reserved - it was not it was vacant all night Manager clearly wanted to get home. We felt rushed with our meal. Restaurant closed early which we were expecting but when we asked for a final round of drinks they did not even try to accommodate us. They could have easily warned us and asked if we would like anything, but they didn't. A real shame there is nowhere for guests to sit given the restaurant and bar closes at 9.30pm which is pretty early

We decided to stay at this hotel since we had a flight from Stansted the next morning. The staff was very helpful, particularly Libby, who served an entire dining room by herself and did an excellent job! The food was very good as well as the beer. Very nice beer garden too. Our room was comfortable and airconditioned.

The parking is farther than the hotel says it is. We finally decided to leave our suitcases in the car overnight and just walk to the hotel. Our room was up a spiral staircase as well, so the suitcases were not going to work!

Dinner in the restaurant was lovely - steak done beautifully and spicy crispy chicken actually had chilli heat and really tasty. Very pleasant serving staff. A little bit worrying that despite an extensive wine menu there wasn't much choice - however what we had was good. Room - Small but comfy and clean. Lovely shower and big bath towels. All staff were very pleasant and happy to help. The public car park that was recommended was well lit and felt safe. (And cheap!). It was only a short walk from the hotel - even my husband who has mobility issues took only 10minutes to walk it !

Various things in the room were getting a bit tired. We rejoiced in that we seemed to be the only ones at breakfast who had a working Nespresso in our room but later found it was leaking rather badly. The washbasin was only big enough for rinsing hands and had lost its soap dish. We were a bit concerned that the hotel had no overnight resident staff but were happier when we found that the fire exit was easily accessible and there was an off site night porter.