Pub with rooms in Upper Sapey, Herefordshire
Curator's notes:
Rooms from:
5 doubles £80; Meadow Room £110; Lodge £144
Good to know
All credit cards accepted
Disabled access (lodge rooms only)
Alfresco & private dining
Parking available
Bike storage
Dog stay: £15
Dog-friendly
Canine guests are welcome overnight in the inn rooms and the garden cabins/lodges (£15 per dog per stay), where they will find a comfortable dog bed, water bowl and biscuits. Poo bags and bins are also available on the patio. Excellent local walks too.
Events & celebrations
There are three private dining spaces, two of which even have their own bathroom facilities, and the Clubhouse seats up to 32 people.
Retire upstairs to one of the six bedrooms, all named after local hop varieties and refurbished to a high standard in simple, contemporary style with crisp linen and down on wooden beds, Nespresso machines and smart bathrooms (the best have baths and separate walk-in showers).
Better still, book one of the luxury, high-spec wooden cabins dotted around extensive grounds beyond the car park. All are well insulated and have central heating, a fully-equipped bathroom with walk-in shower, a kitchen area, a double bedroom and a large sofa bed in the living/dining room, plus a private patio with fire pit and hot tub.
Six spacious Meadow Rooms were opened in July 2020 in the same area as the cabins. Expect a good-sized bathroom, large bedroom with king-size bed and a relaxing sofa or armchairs, Nespresso machine, mini-bar, and private patios.
Former Mr Underhill's (Ludlow) chef Charles Bradley has transformed the pub into a must-visit dining destination for his innovative modern British cooking - the Baiting House is now firmly on Herefordshire's culinary map.
Charles's sensibly short menus champion local produce, where possible from the Teme Valley, so perhaps tuck into smoked haddock scotch egg with lime and seaweed mayonnaise, followed by lamb rump, shepherd's pie, broccoli, mint, leek, and lamb sauce, and caramelised lemon tart with raspberry sorbet for pudding. The set lunch menu is a steal at £20 for two courses and £25 for 3 courses.
Tip-top local ales come from Wye Valley Brewery just down the road in Bromyard, Hobsons Brewery in Cleobury Mortimer and the Ludlow Brewery. Heady ciders are sourced from Tenbury Wells and from Herefordshire, and there's a real local theme to the choice of spirits - the back bar groans with the gins and vodkas produced by Chase Distillery (tours & tastings), and a few Chase cocktails are also available.
