Russell’s
Broadway, Worcestershire
Good Hotel Guide Review
In a picturesque village of honey-stone houses, antique shops and galleries, Andrew and Gaynor Riley’s restaurant-with-rooms occupies a 17th-century building overlooking the Green. It was once the workshop of Sir Gordon Russell, pioneer of utility furniture, but there is nothing utilitarian about the Rileys’ operation. Bedrooms share a tastefully neutral palette, but each is special in its own way, says a reader who stayed for seven nights. Some have ‘wonderful’ beams, exposed stone walls. The swishest has a separate seating area, a marble bathroom with spa bath and walk-through shower. Room 4 has ‘some awkward projections and sloping ceilings’ – all part of its charm – and ‘windows looking up the grassy climb to Broadway Tower’, a Georgian folly, brainchild of Capability Brown. Chef Jorge Santos’s daily-changing, locally sourced menus include such dishes as pan-fried wild halibut, seafood bouillabaisse, Parmesan gnocchi; cumin-roasted rack and belly of Lighthorne lamb, sweet potato and spinach curry, pickled cauliflower, tomato jus; always a vegetarian option. The imaginative prix fixe menu is a steal, with one of the dozen house wines. Service is ‘excellent’.
Hotel details
Address
20 High Street
Broadway
Worcestershire
WR12 7DT
England
Telephone
01386 853555
Bedrooms
7. 3 in adjoining building, 2 on ground floor.
Open
all year, restaurant closed Sun night and bank holiday Mon.
Facilities
residents’ lounge, bar, restaurant, private dining room, free Wi-Fi, in-room TV (Freeview), patio (heating, meal service), restaurant and bar wheelchair accessible.
Background music
in restaurant.
Children
all ages welcomed, under-2s stay free.
Dogs
allowed in certain bedrooms, public rooms.
Credit cards
MC, Visa.
Prices
per room B&B £140–£300. Set dinner (Mon–Fri) £23–£27, à la carte £50. 1-night bookings refused weekends.
There is no garden, and it is rightly described as a restaurant-with-rooms, but most of its rooms are special in their own way. We stayed in two. They were clean, with excellent furniture. Though the building overlooks the main street we were unbothered by traffic noise. The breakfast is comprehensive and served accurately. Dinner has a short fixed menu and a carte. The presentation and quality of the food are exceptional. The long wine list has a choice of reasonably priced house wines. The staff take trouble to please.
- Tom Mann - August 1603
Last updated:
October, 2019. Information from the 2020 Good Hotel Guide
Comments about Russell’s